“I don’t see the reason for sugar coating anything.”

Damon Dash, Businessman

Advantages & Disadvantages of Powder Coating Rims

Powder coating wheels have become increasingly popular over the past years.

Powder coating is a technique that aims to change the color of wheels.

It is used to improve the aesthetics of your wheel and you can save plenty of money since you do not have to get a new custom rim.

Instead of using conventional paint, powder coating relies on electric charge to ensure that the powder sticks to the wheel.

While the use of powder coating wheels can have many advantages, there are still some issues related to this technology.

In the following, the pros and cons of powder coating wheels are examined in detail.

Audio Lesson

Advantages of Powder Coating Wheels

1. Can significantly improve the look of your wheels
2. Powdercoating wheels can help to make your rims more durable
3. You can save significant amounts of money on new rims
4. Powder coating pays off in the long run
5. Can protect your wheel rims against damages from heavy weather
6. May improve the overall resistance of your wheels against outside influences
7. Powder coating is more durable than conventional paint
8. Powder coating does not contain VOCs in contrast to conventional paint
9. Powder coating does not take too much time
10. Can be used with most rim materials
11. Powder coating is a quite clean process
12. Powder coating is quite efficient
13. You can save natural resources
14. Protection of our natural habitats
15. Less air pollution
16. Less particle pollution
17. You can slow down global warming by using powder coating wheels

Can significantly improve the look of your wheels

Many people use powder coating in order to improve the overall look of their wheels.

Over time, the color on your rims will fade or will be damaged due to various outside influences.

In the long run, your wheel rims will no longer look nice and you may just not be happy with the overall look of your wheels due to that.

Powder coating is a great alternative to using conventional paint since it provides unique looks and has various other advantages.

In fact, many people currently prefer powder coating over conventional paint and this trend may continue in the future.

Powdercoating wheels can help to make your rims more durable

Another important advantage of powdercoating wheels is that the powder coating technique makes your rims much more durable.

In the powder coating process, a thick coating layer is applied to your rims and due to the heating process related to powder coating, your rims will become quite resistant against all sorts of outside influences.

Therefore, powder coating not only has an aesthetic aspect, it can also help you to protect your rims in various different situations.

In turn, you can have fun with your wheels for much longer compared to a state where you just used conventional paint which does not protect the same level of protection for your wheels.

You can save significant amounts of money on new rims

When their rims look bad, many people also consider buying completely new rims.

However, using powder coating can be much cheaper than buying new rims.

Moreover, many people will not even see a difference since powder coating wheels can make wheels look like they were actually new.

Hence, if powder coating is used properly, you can save plenty of money since you don’t have to buy new rims and can still have similar results.

Powder coating pays off in the long run

Another benefit of powder coating wheels is that this technique will pay off in the long run.

Many people are not sure whether they should use conventional paint or powder coating for their wheels.

While conventional paint can be a cheaper alternative in the short run, it is often also less durable and you will have to apply new paint more often.

In contrast, powder coating is often much more durable and even though it might be more expensive than conventional paint, it will also last much longer and therefore, using powder coating for your rims can save you plenty of money in the long run.

Can protect your wheel rims against damages from heavy weather

Since powder coating makes your rims quite resistant against various outside conditions, it can also be quite helpful when it comes to heavy weather.

While conventional paint will often suffer from hail or other extreme weather events, powder coating will be more resistant and can protect your rims much better.

Therefore, if you look for long-term protection for your rims, powder coating may be much better compared to using conventional paint.

May improve the overall resistance of your wheels against outside influences

In general, powder coating wheels will also be much more resistant against several other things that might damage the wheel rim.

For instance, rock chips can make your rims look really bad over the course of months or even years.

However, by using powder coating instead of conventional paint, those rock chips will not hurt your rims too much anymore, especially if you choose a quite resistant and thick layer of coating for your wheels.

Powder coating is more durable than conventional paint

Another upside of powder coating rims is that they are also much more durable compared to rims that have just been treated with normal paint.

Since powder coating relies on electric charge, it will stick to the rim for a quite long time.

In turn, this can not only save you plenty of money in the long run, it can also save you plenty of time since you don’t have to bring your car to your local auto repair shop to fix issues with your rims anytime soon in the future.

Powder coating does not contain VOCs in contrast to conventional paint

Another important benefit of powder coating wheels is that powder coating does not contain significant amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like conventional paint does.

Those VOCs can be quite harmful to our environment and can also cause serious adverse health effects for us humans in the long run.

Therefore, powder coating may also be healthier compared to using conventional paint for your rims.

Powder coating does not take too much time

The process of powder coating also does not take too much time.

In fact, powder coating is often faster than using conventional paint.

This also implies that you don’t have to wait a long time at the car repair shop.

In turn, you can use the time that you saved for other things you like more.

Can be used with most rim materials

Powder coating wheels can also be used for many different rim materials.

In fact, most rim materials are suitable for the powder coating application as long as they can be exposed to the heating process related to powder coating.

Hence, powder coating is a technique that can be applied to a variety of different rims and is therefore suitable for the mass market instead of being just a niche product.

In turn, powder coating rims have become increasingly popular over the past years and may even increase in popularity in the future.

Powder coating is a quite clean process

Since powder coating relies on electric charge to stick to the respective surface, it is also a quite clean process.

In fact, there is almost no powder wasted at all in the coating process due to the beneficial characteristics of powder coating.

Hence, powder coating can be regarded as quite clean technique and far less material is wasted compared to using conventional paint.

Powder coating is quite efficient

Powder coating is also a quite efficient technique.

While plenty of paint will be lost while rims are painted, this is not true at all for powder coating rims.

In fact, almost all of the powder will stick to the rims and therefore, powder coating can also be regarded to be much more efficient compared to using conventional paint for your rims.

You can save natural resources

Powder coating can also be considered to be much better for our environment compared to the use of conventional rim paint.

In fact, since powder coating is much more efficient, we can save plenty of resources through this technique.

Moreover, powder coating is also much better for the environment compared to just buying completely new rims since through buying new rims, significant amounts of metals have to be used in the production process.

In turn, large amounts of resources will be depleted over time. Hence, in order to use our natural resources in the most efficient manner, powder coating is much better compared to buying new rims.

Protection of our natural habitats

If you buy new rims, significant amounts of metals have to be used in the production process.

However, we don’t find those metals on the surface of our earth. Instead, we have to mine those metals out of the ground and mining can be quite harmful to our environment since it also implies the destruction of many natural habitats.

Moreover, mining also implies significant deforestation.

Therefore, in order to protect our natural habitats, our forests and the natural living conditions of numerous animals and plants, using powder coating instead of buying new rims is also the right way to go in this regard.

Less air pollution

Since fewer natural resources have to be used for powder coating, also the level of air pollution could be reduced.

In the production process of rims, significant amounts of fossil fuels have to be used.

However, since we can avoid the production of new rims through the use of powder coating, we can also mitigate air pollution to a certain extent and can significantly improve the local air quality in many regions of our planet.

Less particle pollution

Since we have to use fewer amounts of fossil fuels for the production of new rims, we can also reduce particle pollution and the related adverse health effects to a certain extent.

Thus, powder coating can not only protect our planet, it can also protect our overall health and may therefore also indirectly increase our overall life expectancy.

You can slow down global warming by using powder coating wheels

We all should be aware of the fact that every material good that has to be produced implies some negative effect on our environment.

For the production of most material goods, fossil fuels have to be used in the production process.

In turn, significant amounts of harmful substances are emitted into our atmosphere.

The same is true for the production process of new wheel rims. In this production process, significant amounts of fossil fuels are used, which also implies the emission of harmful greenhouse gases into our atmosphere.

In turn, the emission of greenhouse gases also implies a contribution to global warming and to the adverse effects on our planet.

Hence, by relying on powder coating instead of buying new rims, we can also mitigate global warming to a certain extent.

Disadvantages of Powder Coating Rims

1. Higher costs compared to conventional paint
2. Color issues with powder coating wheels
3. Powder coating implies a thick surface on your rims
4. Grinding your rims is necessary before powder coating can be applied
5. Contamination of various sorts can significantly affect the end result
6. Results may be disappointing
7. Powder coating for larger parts can be a problem
8. Limited number of firms specializing in this technique
9. Only works if people know what they are doing
10. Some companies may try to rip you off
11. Powder coating will not work magic

Higher costs compared to conventional paint

Apart from the advantages of powder coating rims, there are also some issues related to this technique.

For instance, powder coating wheels is often more expensive compared to using conventional paint.

Sure, powder coating is usually more resistant and may also be more durable and may therefore pay off in the long run.

However, in the short run, using conventional paint may seem to be a cheaper alternative to many people.

In fact, if you are currently on a budget and don’t want to spend too much money on powder coating, chances are that you will be better off with using conventional paint as a short-term solution.

Color issues with powder coating wheels

Opponents of powder coating wheels also often claim that there can be serious color issues through the use of this technology.

In fact, there had been some cases in the past where the color of the rims after the coating process was different from what clients expected.

However, this is often due to insufficient knowledge of the staff who advise clients in a rather poor manner instead of due to the process itself.

If the powder coating process is applied in a proper manner, chances are that also the color will fit the expectation of clients most of the time.

Powder coating implies a thick surface on your rims

While the thick surface of powder coating can protect your rims against various outside conditions that could potentially harm your rim, some people just don’t like the look and feel of the powder coating on the rims.

In fact, many people just want to have a thin layer of paint instead of having a thick layer of powder on their rims.

Hence, if you prefer thin instead of thick coating for your rims, you may want to go with conventional paint instead of powder coating.

Grinding your rims is necessary before powder coating can be applied

Another disadvantage of powder coating rims is that you have to grind your rims before you can apply this technique in order to get an optimal result.

Only if the rims are ground and the surface is prepared in an optimal manner, the powder will stick to the rim and will last for an extended period of time.

Therefore, the grinding process may take additional time and may also result in additional expenses, especially if it is done in a professional auto repair shop.

Contamination of various sorts can significantly affect the end result

Not only the grinding of the surface of rims is important for powder coating to work properly, you also have to make sure that are no contaminants left on the rim surface since any sorts of contaminants could affect the end result.

In fact, contaminants can greatly hurt the end result of powder coating since the color could be altered in a rather unpleasant manner and also the durability of the coating may be lower.

Therefore, before applying powder coating to your wheels, make sure that all sorts of contaminants have been removed from the surface of your rims.

Results may be disappointing

Another problem with powder coating wheels is that the end result may simply be quite disappointing to the customer.

While people often have a vague idea how the coating result may look like, they will often be rather disappointed when they see the true result since they expected it to be better than it was in reality.

Therefore, if you have too high expectations regarding the result of powder coating, you may be really disappointed after you see the true end result.

Powder coating for larger parts can be a problem

While powder coating can be used for most conventional rim sizes, it can be rather problematic when it is used for larger parts.

In fact, the larger the part that needs to be coated, the higher the probability that there will be some issues and that the coating will not be durable.

Hence, powder coating may not be suitable for oversized rims and other bigger parts of your car.

Limited number of firms specializing in this technique

Depending on the area you live in, you may also have difficulties finding someone who specialized in the powder coating process.

Especially if you live in a remote rural area, you will often simply have to drive long hours until you find someone who has the experience and the proper equipment to powder coat your rims.

Hence, if you live in one of those remote areas, you may have to spend plenty of additional time to find someone who knows what he’s doing.

Only works if people know what they are doing

In general, the process of powder coating is not as straightforward as just using paint for your rims.

In fact, powder coating involves different steps and phases and if it is not done properly, it will not lead to the desired outcome.

Hence, make sure that you give your car in the hands of experts so that you will get the best possible result out of powder coating.

Some companies may try to rip you off

There are often also huge price differences when it comes to powder coating.

While some companies will offer you to coat your wheels for just a few hundred bucks, there are companies out there that may charge up to a few thousand bucks.

However, the quality you get may be quite similar.

Consequently, in order to protect yourself against rip-offs, make sure that you compare prices for powder coating before you make your final decision.

Powder coating will not work magic

Another downside of powder coating rims is that people simply expect far too much from it.

Yet, powder coating can make your rims look nice.

However, quite often, your rims will not look completely new and there will still be some minor issues.

Hence, don’t expect powder coating to work like a magic pill so that you will not be disappointed by the end result.

Top 10 Powder Coating Wheels Pros & Cons – Summary List

Powder Coating Wheels Pros	Powder Coating Wheels Cons
Powder coating wheels can save you money	Powder coating wheels will not work magic
Can make your rims more durable	Powder coating rims can be costly
Powder coating rims are quite resistant	You may be disappointed with the result
Coating lasts longer than conventional paint	Color may not be the way you wanted it to be
May pay off in the long run	Implies a thick powder surface on your rim
Powder coating does not take much time	Powder coating firms may rip you off
Powder coating is quite efficient	Not suitable for all rim materials
You can reduce air pollution	People often expect too much
You can protect our natural habitats	May be hard to find a coating expert
You can save our natural resources	Many people don’t know what they are doing

Should You Use Powder Coating Wheels?

As we have seen from the discussion before, there are many advantages and disadvantages of powder coating wheels.

In my opinion, powder coating rims is a great alternative to buying new rims and can save you plenty of money.

It is also better for our environment and powder coating is often also much more durable compared to conventional paint.

Therefore, powder coating wheels will likely also become even more popular in the near future.

Sources

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a12105577/powder-coated-explained/

https://www.exclusivedetail.com/ceramic-coating-on-wheels/

https://blog.iglcoatings.com/ceramic-coating-wheels-adds-value-for-detailers/

About the author

My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people of all ages about our environmental problems and how everyone can make a contribution to mitigate these issues.

As I went to university and got my Master’s degree in Economics, I did plenty of research in the field of Development Economics.

After finishing university, I traveled around the world. From this time on, I wanted to make a contribution to ensure a livable future for the next generations in every part of our beautiful planet.

Wanna make a contribution to save our environment? Share it!