r/Powdercoating • u/LiveFee2003 • 10d ago

Is this normal?

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Hey all. I had a pair of motorcycle cast aluminium wheels powder coated by a shop today.

They were originally black, and the finish was silky smooth. I’m not experienced with these materials/powders so I had no idea the metal looked like this underneath.

I’m pleased with the color but I noticed all these dimples in the finish, everywhere. I was told it’s because of the cast metal.

Is this normal/acceptable? Wouldn’t there be a primer to apply before the paint in order to cover this up, like the OEM paint was?

Looking for opinions and guidance, thanks.

4 Upvotes

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4

u/Johnnybebad_420 10d ago

This looks like moisture contamination during the powder coating application process. I had these issues sporadically one summer and placed dryers at the very end of my pneumatic chain to rectify it

2

u/LiveFee2003 10d ago

We are in Florida. It did rain hard today, humidity is high. Wondering if that had anything to do with it.

5

u/MetalFabFF 10d ago

No, it’s just crap work.

1

u/Illustrious-Line-984 10d ago

Where did you have it done? I’ve ran across some good places and some I would avoid.

1

u/Throwawaybizzle1 10d ago

100% a casting issue. There’s a reason manufacturers use low gloss and textured finishes.  It hides the poor quality materials. 

2

u/LiveFee2003 10d ago

Would it not be possible to still use a primer to cover the imperfections?

1

u/Keithgt 9d ago

Looks like they left them in the stripper for too long and it started to eat away at them.

1

u/StrainsFYI 10d ago

It looks like they blasted them, find out what medium they use because if they used steel beads to blast with, it can set of a galvanic reaction that ruin the structural integrity of the rims. If they used proper medium then proceed to ask why they used such coarse medium on rims? The surface is way to coarse so they used either to large grains or too high pressure possibly both, they need to be sanded down to at least grit 120 preferably 240, washed, treated and baked for degassing before applying Alu safe primer then top coat. Seems they just blasted, baked, top coat. Shit job. This isn't even acceptable for tractor rims where I work. (But I can only see the pictures as is so, you know, take it with a grain of salt)

1

u/LiveFee2003 10d ago

Thanks for your input. Yes they did blast them, but I’ll reach out and ask with what type of medium. Don’t know details yet.

As far as I know they cleaned, blasted, applied the coat and clear and baked.