I was another forum and i read about taking the powder coat off of your rims...

so heres my Question. I want to take the black powder coat off my rims and polish them to look chrome... is this possible...? ive read on the other forum that you get apint thinner and take the coat off easily and then get polish to make them shine... any suggestions>?

i really like the idea i just dont want to do it until i know what the deal is.

Thanks

 

I heard that they can like burn it off or something like that.
If they put it at above a certain temp it melts or burns or comes off somehow.
Ask a shop near you to confirm.

I highly doubt chemicals would have an effect on powdercoated objects; at least I heard of powder coatings to be chem-proof.

Now I don't know all the types of acids in the world, maybe there is such a solvent/acid that can remove it.

But call a local place that powder coats and ask them.

Then, report back and post your findings. I think I am right though.

 

U might just melt your wheels at the same time....
I'd say it would need to be sand/shot blasted off but just ask at your local p/coaters as i'd doubt powdercoating is irreversible.

 

Correct, sandblasting or bead blasting is the only real way to remove powdercoating.

 

The temperature required is not hot enough to melt metal. There is a reason why turbo exhaust housing (turbine housings) are not powdercoated -- the heat burns the coating off

[quote]ORIGINAL: http://www.pfonline.com/articles/cli...00cl_pwd1.html
Now we can deal with stripping methods, which by definition require the complete removal of all the powder coating from the part or hanger. Stripping methods can be broken down into four general categories: mechanical; thermal; thermochemical; and chemical. We will examine each of these separately and discuss their drawbacks.

Mechanical stripping methods entail the use of blasting media. This media can be sand, water, CO2 pellets, glass bead, steel shot, plastic media, slag, oxides, garnet, etc. As the name implies, these media are “shot� at the coated surface, removing the coating via abrasion. Choosing the right media will affect both the speed of coating removal and the profile left on the part’s surface. The most aggressive blast media will remove the coating the fastest but can leave the roughest profile on the metal’s surface. This is not normally a problem when this method is used to clean racks and hangers but can be detrimental to the surface of a repaired part. There are more gentle blasting media, like plastic media, that can strip the coating and leave the product surface with a smooth profile. But, cleaning time with these materials can be a bit longer. Sometimes this method is used in conjunction with other stripping methods, such as removing the ash left on a product that was thermally cleaned. Mechanical cleaning systems can be automated or batch operations.

Thermal cleaning methods use heat to breakdown the coating and turn it into an ash residue, usually removed by water or media blasting. There are three types of thermal cleaning methods: bake-off; burn-off; and fluidized bed. The key to this method of stripping is that the hangers or parts must be resistant to the temperatures employed in the process. Parts that are made of magnesium or have soldered joints would not be good candidates for this stripping process, since temperatures can be as high as 1,200F.

Bake-off stripping systems are batch-type processes where parts and/or hangers/racks are loaded into the oven for cleaning. The oven temperature is set between 650-750F, which is generally the temperature where the coating will degrade and eventually ignite. The byproducts of this process (VOCs) are often destroyed by afterburners in the exhaust stack. These ovens usually employ water-misting systems to control the rate of burning and prevent damage to the equipment or parts/hangers being stripped. This process will not completely strip the product to bare metal, and the residual ash must be removed to prevent fouling of subsequent pretreatment, coating and curing processes.

Burn-off stripping systems expose the products to be stripped to much higher temperatures, between 1,000-1,200F. At these temperatures, the coating ignites quickly and literally burns away from the product. Normally these systems are used as inline processes, either direc

 

I actually do powdercoating and there are chemicals you can use to remove it. If you go to your local Wal-Mart you can pick up a can of stuff called Aircraft Remover in the automotive section. It is a paint stripper and if you brush it on and let it set about 15 min it will lift the powdercoat right off the metal. you may need to get a wire brush and scrape it off as powder tends to hold up alot better than paint would. but I usually use this let it stand for about 10-15 minutes, then hit it with the pressure washer and blow the old paint or powder right off. then I use a sandblaster to finish up any little spots in hard to reach areas. You can also go somewhere like eastwoodco.com and check out the powdercoating section they will have other chemicals there for removal. if you get your wheels sandblasted your going to need to sand them down to about 1500-2000grit before polishing to get them to look anywhere near chrome.

 

Just to get back to the first post..are you sure your wheels are powdercoated..I have run into alot of people that believe that the wheels come powdercoated from the factory...they are not. They are painted