Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Has anyone had their wheels grit blasted, zinc sprayed or dipped and then powder coated?

I'm thinking of having it done, but as yet have no idea where (in UK) or how much it might cost.

Interesting, I have just had email replies from two galvanizers saying that zinc dipping is not suitable for wheels as the thickness of the zinc is not controllable and the wheels would possibly not balance or the zinc might be too rough surfaced to make a good air seal.

Zinc spraying is recommended instead.

Hi Bill

Not really sure you need Zinc spraying....in my experience, it goes on with a gun that melts zinc rods (with a flame) and at the same time is sprayed onto the metal surface......fantastic way of keeping rust at bay (better than dipping!) but the finish is very textured (IMHO) and once sprayed/powder coated over, it is not a very smooth finish.
I had a boat trailer zinc sprayed & it was a great finish for that but not good enough for a set of wheels.

A good quality paint on a well blasted set of wheels should look very nice & possibly outlast the car & probably the rest of us too!

A

Just last week I had 4 wheels and some other small parts sand blasted. $170US, blast only. As soon as the weather co-operates, I will prime and paint. My blaster here in Florida does powder coating, but I much prefer paint. I've seen way too much powder coat rusting under the PC shell, like there is no adherence to the metal underneath. One scratch or chip in the PC is all it takes to fail.

Roger

POR15 ?
I'm painting all parts underside with it as my powder coating didn't last the course.

John

Blast, check for straightness, etch prime and paint - cellulose is my preferred option but is very un-PC these days. However it will last much longer and be easier to maintain as a finish than powder coat and you will get a much shinier finish!

Nigel F.

I had my S4 wheels blasted by Autoblast, (www.autoblast.co.uk) at Dial Post,rh13 8nx, and they have also blasted and powder coated some motorcycle wheels for me. Both jobs were excellent and very reasonable,although I can't remember the exact figures. A nice run out into the country to visit them.

Elan45 wrote: I've seen way too much powder coat rusting under the PC shell, like there is no adherence to the metal underneath. One scratch or chip in the PC is all it takes to fail.

Roger

That's why I want the zinc.

billwill wrote:

Elan45 wrote: I've seen way too much powder coat rusting under the PC shell, like there is no adherence to the metal underneath. One scratch or chip in the PC is all it takes to fail.

Roger

That's why I want the zinc.

as said above, you should check in person the finish level (smoothness) of the zinc service you are considering (not only on a flat surface, but also on an item that has bird beaks and openings like a Lotus elan wheel). It may also be safer to get a single wheel done (the worst one, that may be kept as spare wheel) just in case... Personally I would stick with paint as the best (only?) option until proven otherwise.

Bill, There are zinc rich primers on the market. I'd use one of them. I don't know if you have Ditzler DP40 primer over there, but it is a zinc rich product. I'ce used it for over 30 years on all sorts of projects. The newest iteration has a changed formula and mix ratio. The one place I quit using it was on magnesium, because I think it reacted w/ the magnesium and even though top coated w/ quality urethane, the finish would wrinkle.

Roger

remember that the part must be conductive for powder coating which is why its normally done to bare metal, I think hot zinc spray would be but would it be conductive enough? - best to enquire of your powder coater.

I am aware of zinc paint/primers; we used to paint our aqualung tanks with it. So I am not convinced that it will stick to a steel wheel as reliably as hot zinc spray.

As to electrical conductivity, without looking it up, I'm fairly sure that zinc is MORE conductive than steel. Think of the Zinc/Carbon torch batteries in which the whole outer shell was zinc. Also sacrificial anodes are made of zinc and used to protect the hulls of steel ships; they work by intrinsic electricity flow.

I was thinking more of the "zinc rich" paints which if applied would probably be a partial if not complete insulator, and reduction in conductivity will result in a reduction of powder coat thickness, the powder is an insulator, thats why compared to paint spraying it is unskilled work, they just wave the nozzle near the part, the charged particles stick to it and when a certain thickness is achieved no more sticks resulting in a uniform film, apart from sharp edges and other magnetic anomolies.

I have some allgedly zinc rich paint which contains zero zinc I have some other stuff so thick it takes an hour with chisels and scrapers and stirrers with thinners to get it to a consistency that you might spread it on!

billwill wrote:Has anyone had their wheels grit blasted, zinc sprayed or dipped and then powder coated?

I'm thinking of having it done, but as yet have no idea where (in UK) or how much it might cost.

Hello Bill, I had my wheels blasted a while ago to remove the multiple layers of old paint and have recently started to wonder what to have done to them...

Mark

Hmmm, i understand that it's best to have the protection, whatever it is, done immediately after the blasting, before the steel has any chance to form any kind of film/oxidization/rust over the bare steel.

So yours might need a light blasting again before whatever is added as protection.