Powder coated Rock Warriors - questions and picture thread (1 Viewer)

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AeroAggie

AeroAggie

Joined
Nov 6, 2014
Threads
19
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117
Location
Texas
  • Have you powder coated your Rock Warriors? Show me some pictures!
  • Did you powder coat the plastic center cap too, or did you have to paint it to match?
  • Did you powder coat (or paint?) the lug nuts or
    • or did you leave them chrome
    • or did you buy some other already-black lug nuts?
I just picked up a set of 4 yesterday, and number 5 is on its way from another mudder. My plan is to powder coat them black for my Magnetic Gray cruiser, similar to @619TOY's.

GkXP9Cb.jpg



I'll follow up with more pics later when they're done.
 
Are these wheels forged? I understand that powdercoating forged wheels is not recommended due to the additional heat required for the powdercoating process. This deminishes the structural integrety of forged wheels.

Can anyone verify this?
 
So, when fitting a 33" tire, you have to put spacers up front with these rims on a 200? Does it differ for th e LX ? Searched, but couldn't find a definitive answer.. My questions are for a stock height 200..
 
chipsterguy said:
Are these wheels forged? I understand that powdercoating forged wheels is not recommended due to the additional heat required for the powdercoating process. This deminishes the structural integrety of forged wheels.

Can anyone verify this?
Click to expand...

Yes the RW's are forged, but I haven't heard this before, will need to research.

@AeroAggie mine are still stock so nothing to add except you cannot powder coat the center caps. They are mostly plastic and would not survive. BTW, I checked with a local powder coater and I think it's around $600+ for a set of wheels. What pricing have you encountered?
 
chipsterguy said:
Are these wheels forged? I understand that powdercoating forged wheels is not recommended due to the additional heat required for the powdercoating process. This deminishes the structural integrety of forged wheels.

Can anyone verify this?
Click to expand...
They are forged. I've not heard that powder coating is detrimental, but I'll certainly look into it before proceeding.

It would depend on the temperature of the powder coat cure cycle. If it's 400 degrees, then yes, you risk over-aging the aluminum and causing it to get brittle. If it's under 300F, I don't think there's significant risk. While aluminum heat treatments haven't changed significantly in decades, coatings are constantly evolving with new technology. I think some modern powder coats require lower temperatures than those which conventional wisdom like "powder coating harms forged wheels" is based on. Just have to ask your local shop what material they use and what their actual process is.

If it turns out that powder coating really is a bad idea, then I'll just have them blasted and painted.

Yossarian said:
Yes the RW's are forged, but I haven't heard this before, will need to research.

@AeroAggie mine are still stock so nothing to add except you cannot powder coat the center caps. They are mostly plastic and would not survive. BTW, I checked with a local powder coater and I think it's around $600+ for a set of wheels. What pricing have you encountered?
Click to expand...

My local shop gave me a ballpark quote of $80-$90 per wheel without actually seeing them yet. I'm guessing the trim rings and screws will add some additional cost.

Some plastics are compatible with some powder coats, but it's obviously temperature dependent. I don't know exactly what plastic these caps are made of, so thought I'd just throw that question out there to see if anyone has experience with it yet.
 
chipsterguy said:
Are these wheels forged? I understand that powdercoating forged wheels is not recommended due to the additional heat required for the powdercoating process. This deminishes the structural integrety of forged wheels.

Can anyone verify this?
Click to expand...

It doesn't sound plausible to me. Certainly there are a lot of opinions out there by wheel owners warning that there MIGHT be a problem, but wheel makers seem to think it is no problem - they powdercoat the forged aluminum wheels they make: Process - Brixton Forged Wheels

The Rock Warrior wheels are forged aluminum wheels - probably 6061-T6. Powdercoating is cured at 350-400 DEGF for about an hour. I don't think it would be a problem.

HTH
 
gaijin said:
It doesn't sound plausible to me. Certainly there are a lot of opinions out there by wheel owners warning that there MIGHT be a problem, but wheel makers seem to think it is no problem - they powdercoat the forged aluminum wheels they make: Process - Brixton Forged Wheels

The Rock Warrior wheels are forged aluminum wheels - probably 6061-T6. Powdercoating is cured at 350-400 DEGF for about an hour. I don't think it would be a problem.

HTH
Click to expand...

An OEM wheel maker can produce a powder coated wheel with no detrimental effects by incorporating the powder coat step into the aging process, thereby preventing over-aging in a tertiary heat cycle. Edit to add - They may also use a low temp powder after initial heat treat.

I've gone from skeptic to "hmm....maybe there's something to this" in the span of about 15 minutes from posting the original question. I'm planning to do some thorough digging before proceeding at risk.
 
Last edited:
gaijin said:
And here's a link to a pdf download from a U.S. wheel maker who supplies powdercoated wheels to auto makers:
Click to expand...

Nice find. They don't really go into specifics about the processes, so unfortunately, I don't think any good conclusions can be drawn from that article for doing an aftermarket powder coat.
 
Sounds like you're on the right track, @AeroAggie . Let us know what you find that finally convinces you one way or another - good info to know.

TIA
 
Yossarian said:
Yes the RW's are forged, but I haven't heard this before, will need to research.

@AeroAggie mine are still stock so nothing to add except you cannot powder coat the center caps. They are mostly plastic and would not survive. BTW, I checked with a local powder coater and I think it's around $600+ for a set of wheels. What pricing have you encountered?
Click to expand...
That's the same quote I got from my local powder.
Seemed expensive, although I do live in Sonoma County.
 
cc93cruiser said:
So, when fitting a 33" tire, you have to put spacers up front with these rims on a 200? Does it differ for th e LX ? Searched, but couldn't find a definitive answer.. My questions are for a stock height 200..
Click to expand...

If you consider the LT285/70R17 (32.7") tire a "33" tire," then no spacers are required. In fact, Toyota specifically recommend that tire for use with the TRD 17" wheels on the LC200:

TRDwheelTireSize_01AUG16_zps1idk5hbn.jpg


TRDpoopSheet1_17MAR16_zpsz1nrluhz.jpg


Should be the same for the LX, but I'll let someone who knows for sure answer that one.

HTH
 
AeroAggie said:
An OEM wheel maker can produce a powder coated wheel with no detrimental effects by incorporating the powder coat step into the aging process, thereby preventing over-aging in a tertiary heat cycle. Edit to add - They may also use a low temp powder after initial heat treat.

I've gone from skeptic to "hmm....maybe there's something to this" in the span of about 15 minutes from posting the original question. I'm planning to do some thorough digging before proceeding at risk.
Click to expand...

Please let us know what you find out here... when I owned my STI, of which many owners are mod-happy, there was constant discussion about the potential issues with aftermarket powder coating forged wheels. I suspect that what you find out here in the course of your research will be valuable to many...
 
Luckily, I work in the aerospace industry and have access to some great materials and process folks. I'm just an engineer so I know how to use the charts they produce, but I'm not comfortable trying to predict the effects of a process without test data to back it up. Hopefully I'll be able to post a definitive answer by the end of the day.
 
I powder coated mine for about $400. I ended up going with a very dark grey for both the wheel and the bead-lock ring. I left the lug nuts chrome and bought new center caps. The chrome accents of the lug nuts, ring screws and TRD center cap look great IMO. I was reluctant to go with a glossy finish and to leave chrome accents but so happy i did. To me flat black or matte black wheels look lie cheap spray paint.





 
I forgot to add a bit of advice- make sure your powder-coater tapes off the inside of the wheel where it mounts over the hub. The rock warriors are very tight to begin with and just a mm of powder coat made it very difficult to mount. it took me about an hour with a grinder to remove the finish just so i could mount the wheel on the LC hubs.
 
I have rock warrior wheels and I had them powder coated a dark grey color to match my grey LC. I painted the center caps myself with a high quality spray paint. I had the rings powder coated as well. I bought black lug nuts online, maybe McGuard brand? No problems so far.
 
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