POWDER COATING

NW Wheel & Tire makes Powder Coating your wheels easy!

We remove your tires for you.

We repair damage before coating.

Thorough preparation ensuring a long-lasting finish.

We paint plastic center caps to match, if needed.

We reinstall tires using the latest balancing technology.

All this with a maximum 2 day turnaround

Powder Coating offers a great way to change the look of your vehicle.

Powder coating your original wheels is less expensive than buying new and you can choose between a variety of colors to give your vehicle a personalized look. One of the biggest advantages is that you retain proper fitment and high quality construction of your factory wheels, while getting the custom look you’re after.

We can safely remove and reinstall tires at our shop.

Drop your vehicle off and let us remove the tires before powder coating, eliminating the need to take your wheels to another shop before coating. This allows for a maximum two day turnaround for the entire process, just leave the vehicle with us and pick it up completed.

To finish the job, we have one more additional touch. In most cases we only use stick-on weights giving your wheels the best possible appearance. And if your wheels are coated black or another dark color, we use black stick-on weights. This means there is no weight clipped to the front side of your wheel and the weights used do not have high contrast to your chosen color.

We can address any damage to the wheel before coating, i.e. curb damage, checking for bent wheels and removing original finish, leaving a rock chip free finish.

The bottom line is that we focus on wheels and have for years and we put that experience to work on every wheel that comes through the door. It’s your choice whether we completely restore your wheel giving you a “like new” appearance, or just give your wheels a quick color change.

There is more in-depth information about our experience and equipment for repairing damaged wheels in the links below.

Curb Damage: From light scrapes on the edge to deep gouges across the face of the wheel. Click the link above or call to talk it over.

Straightening: We check for bent wheels at the start of the process to give you the option to address any issues before coating. Click the link above or call to talk it over.

We have standard colors that have been proven to look great on wheels and can offer guidance from past wheels on many other colors and finishes available.

One of the biggest advantages of powder coating your wheels is that you are able to keep your factory wheels, while giving your vehicle a different look.

Car people will remember the old saying “wheels make the car” and it’s true. But what’s surprising is that just changing the color of the wheels can have the same effect.

By keeping your factory wheels you get to take advantage of perfect fitment, higher quality construction and most of the time, a cleaner “look.” After-Market wheels, unless a substantial investment is made, are of less quality construction and are more susceptible to bends and finish deterioration over the years than factory alloy wheels.

Our coating process doesn’t cut corners on preparation.

Not all powder coating processes are created equal; it boils down to the prep work done before you apply the powder. For wheels the ideal surface to start with for a long lasting durable finish is bare metal that has been media blasted. This is what you get from NW Wheel & Tire.

Keep the clean lines of your wheels visible. It’s quick and easy to put an excessive amount of powder on your wheels. This insures coverage, but leaves you with a more rounded edge and a loss of that sharp look. This sharp look is especially important with metallic finishes as one of their best qualities is the change of color as light reflects over the wheel design. We take the extra time needed to insure powder coverage of the wheel, without “piling” additional powder on your wheel.

From preparation to application we strive to exceed your expectations.

Plastic Center Caps

The application process of powder coating does not transfer well to plastics. There is more in depth information about the process in the technical section below (How does powder coating work?). The short story is, there is no way for plastic to hold a negative charge and it can’t stand up to the heat of the curing process.

The good news is we can paint your center caps to closely match your newly coated wheels. This is not available in all colors due to the finish some powders have that cannot be duplicated by paint. However, in those instances a nice satin black finished center cap looks appropriate.

This is part of the fun though, looking at different color options and going for that perfect look. Sometimes the chrome emblem will come out of the center cap allowing for a color matched cap that looks like it came that way from the factory. Feel free to stop by and look at your options.

We use professional automotive grade paint that offers the highest durability for your center caps. There is no reason to powder coat your wheels just to use a can of spray paint to finish the job.

Everything needed to make powder coating your wheels easy and get a quality result at one place.

We enjoy what we do and have all the equipment in-house to keep the process simple for you. If you live in Central Oregon please feel free to come by the shop or give us a call to chat about your options. If you live in the greater NW, give us a call or email us to discuss your options. Our company began out of a long love affair with cars, so get in touch and let us get to know you and your vehicle.

How does powder coating work?

A very basic look at what powder coating is and how it works.

The powder itself is made up of very small special resin pieces about the consistency of flour. This powder is then forced through a special spray gun with clean dry compressed air. This gun is attached to a control box, which applies a positive charge to the powder as it passes an electrode on the tip of the gun. The wheel to be coated is connected to an earth-grounding rod, applying a negative charge to it. As the powder with a positive charge spreads out in the air the negative charge from the wheel will actually begin to pull the powder towards it just as a magnet will move metal. This attraction allows for an even coating of the entire surface. After the wheel has been coated it is fuzzy in appearance and needs to be heated for the powder to melt and form the coating. During the controlled cure cycle the wheel is heated at a set temperature for a specific amount of time based on the type of powder used. After the wheel has cooled from the curing process, it is immediately ready to mount and balance the tire and drive down the road.