Powder coated wheels - safety issue

[flashp]

I wanted to share my experience with powder coated wheels with respect to using my car on track on one occasion. This is not intended to be a discussion thread but purely advisory. Any are welcome to comment but I shall not be posting further once I have shared this.

My wheels were prepared by The Wheel Specialist of Fareham in accordance with their warranty conditions and seemingly global policy, so expect the same procedure to have been followed by any branch. The overall finish and appearance of the wheels was completely satisfactory, however, the area of concern in my instance was both the hub face and tapered wheel bolt seats. These had been powder coated fully.

During my time on track the coating became sufficiently hot to melt this coating on both the hub face and tapered seat. I have received advice from well respected businesses who have experience in preparing vehicles for track use and they have advised that this could have potentially had serious consequences such as wheels parting company with the vehicle had I persisted in using the vehicle.

As I have said, this thread isn't intended to discuss the process of powder coating wheels or indeed the trader but to highlight a potential safety issue.

[stealthwolf]

So is this something we need to inform refurb companies of? Or can we just sand off the faces?

[flashp]

So is this something we need to inform refurb companies of? Or can we just sand off the faces?

Fair question, so I'll answer as best I can. My issue was resolved by the trader, I can say no more than that. I chose not have the faces sanded since I didn't want that face abraded or potentially made 'not flat'. There would also have been no way to clear out the tapered seats. My wheels were stripped and reworked. Whether or not I was correct in my thinking is not for debate here, just make what you believe to be the best decision for you.

[brady88]

Same as always... sand inner face and inner bolt holes... re-tighten wheels again a few days later ;) job done!

[tony_danza]

Jeeze, you assume people know this. You absolutely don't want powder in either of those places. Decent refurb places should do it right.

[Polo6n1600i]

The place I use has covers that fit tight in the bolt holes and it bolt to a seat that covers the mounting face (sort of like a false hub) this is then screwed into what I would describe as a tree that holds the 4 rims. They are then powder coated - when they undo the mount, the nut seats and mounting face have now powder coat on them. Place I use is tiny, but he's been in business for about 28 years now - always thought everywhere did it that way - guess not??!!

[flashp]

Which company is that?  Sounds good.

[Polo6n1600i]

They are just called Perth Powdercoat.

[Ryan88uk]

I wanted to share my experience with powder coated wheels with respect to using my car on track on one occasion. This is not intended to be a discussion thread but purely advisory. Any are welcome to comment but I shall not be posting further once I have shared this.

My wheels were prepared by The Wheel Specialist of Fareham in accordance with their warranty conditions and seemingly global policy, so expect the same procedure to have been followed by any branch. The overall finish and appearance of the wheels was completely satisfactory, however, the area of concern in my instance was both the hub face and tapered wheel bolt seats. These had been powder coated fully.

During my time on track the coating became sufficiently hot to melt this coating on both the hub face and tapered seat. I have received advice from well respected businesses who have experience in preparing vehicles for track use and they have advised that this could have potentially had serious consequences such as wheels parting company with the vehicle had I persisted in using the vehicle.

As I have said, this thread isn't intended to discuss the process of powder coating wheels or indeed the trader but to highlight a potential safety issue.

OMG! Scary when you think about they quoted me £430-50 if I remember right you'd think that for that sort of money they would think of that?