Powder coating wheel well trims questiion

[Blue Steel]

I'm looking forwards soon this spring to get the four black wheel well trims powdercoated black satin, however, I've heard that the ovens used in the powdercoating process warps the trims as I think they are aluminum instead of stainless steel.....I've heard some say that their trims came back out of shape due to the intense heat in the oven baking process. Then they can't be put back onto the wheel wells as the holes then will not line up, as the trims are out of shape due to warping. Is this true?

Are the trims aluminum? If so, what questions should I ask the powdercoater guy to keep my trims from warping?

Is there anything else I need to ask before I get these done? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Blue Steel.....'87GN

 

[aminga]

I coated mine myself in a home oven and didn't warp them. The heat isn't THAT intense. You have to get the metal to 375 and hold it there for 15 minutes.

 

[RmvBfrFlght]

There is a thread here someplace where the powder coat shop melted the trim pieces. Not knowing that they were aluminum they tried to 'burn off' the old finish. Maybe if you cleaned & polished them yourself before taking them to be coated it will be OK.

But whatever you do, be sure to tell the shop that they are aluminum. Aminga is correct that the temperature required to flow the powder coat is not that high (375 - 400* F).

RemoveBeforeFlight

 

[aminga]

There is a thread here someplace where the powder coat shop melted the trim pieces. Not knowing that they were aluminum they tried to 'burn off' the old finish. Maybe if you cleaned & polished them yourself before taking them to be coated it will be OK.

But whatever you do, be sure to tell the shop that they are aluminum. Aminga is correct that the temperature required to flow the powder coat is not that high (375 - 400* F).

RemoveBeforeFlight

Blast them, don't polish. It's been years since I've done mine but I remember a little warping after the cure that pulled back out when they went back on the car.

 

[rmar]

Burn off ovens run in the 1000 to 1500 deg. range. Big difference.

 

[Blue Steel]

Thank you, guys, for the suggestions.
So, what I'm gathering from this is the trims ARE aluminum, that I should strip the paint off first (which I've already done to one of the trim pieces by sanding with 400 grit) then tell the powdercoat guy that they ARE aluminum before he paints them satin black.
Ronnie Martin: since you are a professional in this, is the above procedure stated correctly? Should I mention oven temperature to this guy or what? What should I tell the powdercoater, Ronnie?

Blue Steel.....'87 Grand National

 

[rmar]

They should know the temp ranges. But let them know what type of metal it is. And they should use some fluoride with there pretreatment on aluminum. Most small shops don't/won't. The difference is, one way will last 2 yrs the other 10. It is used to promote adhesion on alum. and stainless. They can even cure it at a lower temp and longer rate... it will just have a little more orange peel look but on a small surface you can hardly tell it.

 

[Blue Steel]

Thanks, Ronnie, will heed your advice as I know you are very experienced in this area as per so many postings on this site. I'll relay what you said to the painter.

Thanks all for your excellent advice....I value them.

Blue Steel.....'87 Grand National

 

[rmar]

Don't let the post count fool ya.....Most of them are BSing with the gang....
But I typically tell customers to liquid coat wheel well trim. The reason being, most are dented or pitted some where
from use and it is a lot easier to block out or putty up and paint and make them super slick.

 

[Blue Steel]

You've always been a modest guy. My trims do not have many dents in them, as they were replaced at one time back in 2001 when my late Dad had the Grand National painted.....the idiot owner of the "so called" paint shop lost all of his trims so he got some unpainted ones from a standard Regal and painted them black.....of course, all the road debri wore the paint off on the inner section....if I can see a dent it doesn't bother me at all, Ronnie, as I'm not a perfectionist anymore.....I used to be but it drove me insane (like I am now.)

Blue Steel.....'87GN (Bruce Urie)

 

[JimP]

aircraft paint remover works well for getting off the old finish. about $10 a can at an auto-body supply store and will be more than enough for the 4 pieces. It also does not harm the aluminium. The pieces will fit an an oven and you can powder coat them yourself. As stated above, 375 is about the temp most do it yourself powder coat kits call for. I would suggest slowly getting the metal up to that temp and slowly cooling it afterwards. if you have a less than perfect trim piece I would practice on that first.

 

[Blue Steel]

JimP, that's a good idea, aircraft paint remover.....forgot I've used that before to strip the paint off my '66 Vette.....I'll use it on the trim.....thanks for the idea, glad you mentioned it...as for me doing it myself, (baking the trim in the oven) there's no way I can...if I used our oven for that my wife would grind me up and sell me as cheap hamburger (hold the pickle...)

I remember a long time ago I baked the orange paint onto the intake manifold of my '69 Vette in my Mom and Dad's oven when they were not home.....forgot that the bottom of that particular intake had a steel crossover cover that had years of caked oil in it.....you can guess what happened.....the whole house stunk of burnt oil....for months on end... my parents pitched a fit.... I was banned from the house for a while until Dad needed a new roof, then I was allowed to come over as long as I was nailing down shingles and stayed outside. No one loved me anymore....

I've since replaced the manifold with a nice aluminum one so no baked paint caper will be pulled...but my wife, Shirley, still remembers the story of the manifold in the oven caper as repeated by my poor mother every now and then. She still gets wary everytime I step into our house with a car part in my hand and walk into the kitchen....I get the stink eye good.

I'll get some aircraft paint remover this week....thanks Jim.

Blue Steel.....'87GN (Bruce Urie)