I've heard in doing this the wheel itself becomes less stronger. do they heat the wheels then powder coat them??

 

heres a thread on it:
http://tinyurl.com/28fm8ll

 

lawl

 

or:

http://tinyurl.com/39o4rm8

 

powder coat them

 

psh! lol really!

 

hahaha

 

lol

 

Hahaha, I love that site... I use it for everything.

 

Cast wheels like rotas and other less expensive brands have very small air deposits within the metal from being poured during manufacturing and this porosity in the metal can come out and make the wheels brittle when powder coating because of the temps needed for podwercoating. So yes they will become more brittle.

 

It's actually more likely to be a problem with forged wheels than cast wheels, because forging provides strength through heat and work-hardening. A heavier cast wheel that relies less on a specific heat-treating process is less likely than a lighter forged wheel to be affected by minor annealing that happens with an improperly regulated PC oven or process.

For example, a CE28N has a very delicate spoke that relies on the extra strength imparted by the forging process. Anneal that even slightly and you have created a weak point that was not accounted for in the spoke design. A cast equivalent usually has more material in a given area to compensate for a potentially lower-strength alloy or inconsistencies in the manufacturing process, so you have leeway.

Ideally, an oven will be properly regulated, not be cranked up to too high of a temperature, and you won't re-heatcycle the metal (annealing) - the wheels has to heat and cool evenly and and slowly to have the least impact on the material strength. Given that powdercoating is an inexact science at most places, I would PC a cast wheel before I PC'd a forged wheel. I've had multiple sets of cast wheels PC'd over the years with no issues, including a few sets of Rotas.

 

I hear that rotas crack

confirm/deny?

 

only the good ones.

 

i hear paper will bend if youre not careful

 

yah but only 7 times.