[wrndln]

I have had two sets of whells powder coated. The coating is tough and holds up well as Dave mentioned above. The only problem I have had with PCed wheels is the preparation. First I try to start with pretty nice wheels. I sandblast the wheels myself, which is a job in itself, and them use some filler to fill the flaws - almost always in the outer part. Nearly all wheels have nicks, curb dings, some rust pitting, etc that will show through the PCing. I tried J-B Weld and it worked so so. J-B Weld is supposed to hold up OK to about 500 to 600 degrees. Powder coating ovens are in the neighborhood of 350 to 400 degrees I believe. That means J-B Weld should hold up in the curing process. I don't know if the J-B Weld shrunk or melted a little, but the places I "fixed" were not to well fixed after PCing. I told the powder coating person not to heat the rims any more than necessary when curing them. Maybe there is a better filler to use that will hold up to the PC oven curing operation. I am thinking of painting the next set of rims. Our local model A club has a painting fixture that slowly rotates the rim for painting. I think painting would be hard to do well, but it should not effect he filler need to make the rims smooth.
Rusty Nelson