VW Powder coated wheel stud loosening issue

Never had studs PC but it sure makes sense (not to).

That would seem very plausible, if the rim was not prepped or the powder coat applied correctly.

I'd never have thought of this. Thanks for the heads-up.

I found the article interesting thought you guys might as well.   

We did powder coating where I was working, mostly on metal cabinet parts.  What caught my eye in that article was:  “ He indicated that a knowledgeable powder coating company will take necessary precautions to protect areas of concern.“  They do, but you never want to leave the decision of what is an area of concern up to the coating company.  It is YOUR concern, not theirs.

When we had parts treated, we ALWAYS had to provide a detailed drawing of the part with the finish desired (and precisely where the finish was to appear) as well as specific directions on the print for those areas that should or should not be treated.  Both areas were equally important.  Via the engineering drawing, we would be specific about what the finished part was to look like.  If it involved “standard” masking, that would be “standard” for that particular vendor to shared specs or “industry standards”.  If we wanted something special for masking, etc., we would specify that with a note that  called it out as a deviation from the vendor’s “standard”.

So, my advice would be, if you want something special like masking your bolt/stud holes when powder coating your wheels (or anything else at a vendor), a sketch of the wheel or part showing what you want masked, and where, with dimensions (“mask hole shoulder to radius 1/8” greater than hole, five places” or something like that, with arrows from the note to the stud holes.

powdercoating is much softer than metal, it should never be used where a press-fit interface happens.

the studs Greg sent with my aluminum rims were gold-cad plated, a perfect finish for the screw-in studs