Refinishing Alloy Wheels

[TWFAUST at aol.com]

In a message dated 2/21/2007 9:52:37 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
quattro-request at audifans.com writes:

Just  found out I can get my old wheels refinished through work,  but am 
concerned  about one aspect.  They will burn  off  the old paint using an 
oven that 
gets to 800 degrees.  The wheels  then get cleaned and powder  coated.  My 
question is will  the  burn off affect the strength of the wheel at all.  
Some  
supposed experts on another list  tell of horror stories like wheel  strength 
and 
roundness being compromised from  heating aluminum  alloys.  My tech  staff 
at 
work disagrees, just wondering if  anyone else has any experiences they  
would 
like to  share.



The best I can offer is that is how my local powder coater does it. They've  
been doing it for years. Although recently, he mentioned that he is sand  
blasting first. I was more interested in questioning whether the plastic  would 
"fill" after the blasting and forgot to ask why he wasn't burning it off.  Might 
be food for thought.
 
I had the ancient steel rigging from my rowing shell powder coated last  
year. I remember that they burned those off.
 
I have a hydraulic straightener for alloy wheels. They need to be heated,  
the manufacturer recommends nothing more than a propane torch for heating. I  
recall that aluminum molecules do "re align" at fairly low temperatures. But, I  
have no idea what that temperature is.
 
P.S. The price is $25.00 per wheel, plus $10.00 for the sand blasting.  There 
isn't much to "discount" there.
 
Tom Faust
<BR><BR><BR>**************************************<BR> AOL now offers free 
email to everyone.  Find out more about what's free from AOL at 
http://www.aol.com.