powder coating - did not turn out well, could use some thoughts

[todd3131]

Call me paranoid but if I was the business owner and I blasted the wheels I was brought I would discount at the least and more likely refund the total cost of blasting and coating, but to help find new wheels makes me suspicious that there is something else going on. I have blasted, glass beaded and painted and powder coated more wire wheels than I can remember and even with the ones covered in rust you could tell
how pitted they were going to be. If the wheels looked good before blasting
I don't see how they could hide enough rust to be severely pitted without knowing going in.

Reminds me of a saying "Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean there not out to get me"

[CarlG]

Sounds like the "coater" got caught with his hands in the cookie jar, by keeping the "good wheels" for his own rig and passing off crap to the customer and hoping no one would notice. Now he's trying to cover up for his transgression.

I could be wrong. (I usually am!)

[J Franklin]

Maybe your "new" wheels will be your old wheels.

[stouchton]

Hey! you guys are making me nervous

I'll post a complete followup on this when I am made whole. I kind of kept it a little vague in case they are reading this. Hopefully this will end up a positive experience.

I appreciate all your thoughts - helped me prepare for this mornings meeting and to be centered in what I wanted to come out of this happy.

[stouchton]

Originally Posted by J Franklin

Maybe your "new" wheels will be your old wheels.

Actually - they are allowing me to buy the wheels, and I will ride shotgun through the process.

[ronn]

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sounds like you have nothing to lose at this point-good for you.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by ronn

sounds like you have nothing to lose at this point-good for you.

That's true. I believe he lost his good wheels in round one.

[WRA]

IN my area, the blaster and powder coater are two differnt vendors. I once had a set of wheels and other parts blasted and then the blaster send to the Powder Coater. Bubbled and rusted in less than a year. Was ultimately a very poor blasting job. Now I inspect every part before I send to the powder coater.

[Barry B./ Ma.]

The powder coater I used sandblasts then primes with polyester primer, powdercoats and bakes to cure. That's his process and it stands up well. If there are pits you need to fill them with something that will take the baking heat so I don't think regular Bondo or lacquer based putty will take the heat. I have seen items like garden carts that do not get primed and are just powdercoated over bare steel and they peel away in a few months, cleaning and priming is important.

[5window]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

That's true. I believe he lost his good wheels in round one.

Yep, I hope it works out , it sounds like there's at least hope. Although I have no problem with powder coating, I am surprised that no one has commented on PC wheels for a "show car" that the OP's wife wants. We've had quite a lot of threads on that subject and I'll side with the group that goes for nice looking wheels on a driver, paint as close to original as possible on a show car.

[stouchton]

I tossed out that show car term a little too loosely.

Not Blue Ribbon Model A - just local or regional classic/antique shows.

Looking for the wheels to be smooth and pretty.

[bart78]

I have a friend that does powder coating. He said sometime something comes in and is pretty rusty like wheels. Instead of blasting he dips them and converts the rust. And then coats them. He said they allways look good. And had had no problems with them.

[Ken Ehrenhofer]

All Paint can be removed and it is about 40 hours of filling and sanding to get them to show ready. Use Urethane enamel and this is how it was done before on your wheels to make them smooth. The reason I do not like Powder on wheels is you must have really good wheels to get a good job and even then some orange peel is usually found.
Sanding wheels is no fun but the end result is the best. Do not sell them if they have good holes and good spokes as you will have trouble finding better ones to restore

[Dodge]

Its always hard to tell how deep the rust goes before blasting, I have been surprised both
ways. Sometimes the rust does't look too bad but after blasting is very pitted. The sign
over the door at the blaster we go to says "we shall reveal the truth" amen.
Powder coating also makes a good base if you want to fill and paint also.
When we strip a car down completely to make a race car out of it we powder coat it
with the roll cage and all modifications done. Then we use the powder coat on the outside for a base and paint over it.

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by stouchton

Just a quick update. Had a good meeting this morning. Went into it loaded for bear, but was totally floored when they stated WE OWE YOU NEW WHEELS!!!!!

So - we are working thru the details of new wheels. Also complete refund for work performed. They will of course keep my old wheels in exchange for helping me out with the new wheels.

At the moment - I am happy. They want the opportunity to make this right. Will post how this turns out (got my fingers crossed).

That is great!!!!

Did they give you a dollar amount ? If you don't have a show car maybe you can workout something for the new wheels that are sold. Split the cost in some way.

[freak]

Something is fishy. If the wheels were pitted and they are truly your wheels, why would they OWE you new ones? If I did the wheels and neglected to call at most I would not charge for the work I did. Assuming I didn't switch them.

[Mitch//pa]

Originally Posted by freak

Something is fishy. If the wheels were pitted and they are truly your wheels, why would they OWE you new ones? If I did the wheels and neglected to call at most I would not charge for the work I did. Assuming I didn't switch them.

exactly

[stouchton]

Good questions. Still waiting on the refund to show on my credit card so I am a little unsure where this is going.

In a nutshell, the older gentleman who made the offer of the wheels seemed concerned that they simply took my wheels and blasted away. Made a comment they must have had much filler in them, and if they had gently and slowly stripped and found filler, they could have refinished them with a painting process instead. He agreed that the cost of fixing these wheels far exceeded the cost of new wheels. He also agreed that I could not put 5 of the 6 wheels back on my car - they were ruined for my use.

He was not the owner, and I am very concerned the owner can nix the deal that we do have in writing.

This is a large facility - does much more than powder coating. Unfortunately my wheels were done on second shift. The powder coating supervisor was "disgusted" by my wheels and we agreed he would redo the new wheels himself.

Again - keeping vague until resolution. I truly hope to be in a position where I can post that this turned out well for me.

[5window]

Originally Posted by stouchton

Good questions. Still waiting on the refund to show on my credit card so I am a little unsure where this is going.

In a nutshell, the older gentleman who made the offer of the wheels seemed concerned that they simply took my wheels and blasted away. Made a comment they must have had much filler in them, and if they had gently and slowly stripped and found filler, they could have refinished them with a painting process instead. He agreed that the cost of fixing these wheels far exceeded the cost of new wheels. He also agreed that I could not put 5 of the 6 wheels back on my car - they were ruined for my use.

He was not the owner, and I am very concerned the owner can nix the deal that we do have in writing.

This is a large facility - does much more than powder coating. Unfortunately my wheels were done on second shift. The powder coating supervisor was "disgusted" by my wheels and we agreed he would redo the new wheels himself.

Again - keeping vague until resolution. I truly hope to be in a position where I can post that this turned out well for me.

Oh. Just realized you're, kinda, a neighbor. When all the smoke clears, good or bad, put up the shops name.

[stouchton]

You betcha! Shops name will be posted upon completion. It will either be a glowing review of customer service, or ......... well, lets hope that does not happen!