Powder coat wheels?

[fl-mike]

Any reason to not powdercoat the wheel halves (not the mating surfaces or bolt contact areas, I?ll treat those areas with Alodine)
I?m thinking gloss white for inspection and cleaning.

[DHeal]

Powder coating has the potential to hide cracks beneath the thick coating. For this reason, powder coating is generally not recommended for such things as motor mounts, etc.

[David Paule]

The wheels are generally hidden under the wheelpants. And the wheels come anodized, I think. So powder-coating them does nothing except hiding their condition, adding weight, and offering the likelihood of coming off in the future.

Dave

[jibby212]

My wheels did not come anodized but I had them clear anodized just for the corrosion protection. Corrosion gets ugly quick down here in Florida.

[fl-mike]

Not anodized. I took anodizing off the table due to the steel bearing cup and the decrease in fatigue resistance.

All vans engine mounts are powdercoated.

I was also considering transparent or clear powdercoat.

[noelf]

I have powder coated a number of non-structural parts in my RV. But not the wheels. Different Powder coat vendors specify different temperatures to "cure" the powders. Do not use any that require temperatures above 420*F. Aluminum will start to change its properties in the 450-500*F range.

[David Paule]

My non-RV has a powder-coated engine mount. Have to say that was a mistake. It discolored and softened under the heat. On my RV-3B project, I made a simple resolution: since so many of the steel parts came bare, I chose a non-powder-coat coating for them.

The few powder-coated parts got some rather careful consideration as to whether they had a chance of standing up.

I had the engine baffles powder-coated on that non-RV, too. Another mistake. It can't be cleaned, since the dirt gets embedded in the paint, and in a few places, the paint peels off.

Dave