Powder Coating Questions

I know a cpl of you guys do it or have done it for a living. I did a set of wheels for a friends tracker hooligan sportster build and they came out not so great.
I think some of it was me...not knowing what Im doing 100% and maybe a heat issue. One wheel looks like its kinda dry and rough looking but the other was way better with just a few spots
that dont look so great. I think it may have been too close to the heating element. Any tips or ideas? After reading on powdering cast aluminun wheels I am freaking out about them breaking or cracking. I took them to just over 400 to gas them.

Powdering cast is fine. It would take a lot more heat to hurt them then a PC oven puts out. Sounds like maybe you didn't put enough powder on or there may have been some crud still on them. Too close to the element may over bake the PC too. there are experts here that will have more insight. My knowledge is based on buying powder items for a living and visiting suppliers and auditing their sites. I bought structural cast alloy parts that were all powder coated for years the wheels will be fine.

I cleaned the wheels with dawn really good with a brush and then baked them to gas them and re cleaned again. I hope that was enough. The "bad" looking wheel i did a second coat on and it looked much better.
I dont plan on making a retirement from this but I want to do a good job for the stuff I do for others...especially if I get good enough to charge someone...lol
and I really dont want someones wheel failing!

My GL1800 wheels were powder coated in ~2007. They have chipped a bit since then (tire changes and gravel roads). Survived a 50 mph get-off on I-40. I just touch up the chips with model car paint and a brush - no one notices. I had them done in dark blue. Wheels didn't seem to care although I removed the discs and had the bearing replaced when it was done.