I just saw that you live in Gilbert...me, too.
I haven't had any rims done locally since moving to AZ. I've had them done in NC, NJ and PA in the past.
It is a fairly common practice for a company that has a large fleet of trucks to have rims bead blasted and powder coated as part of normal maintenance between tire changes. Very few companies do it in house for their own fleet. They send the powder coating out to a local shop, usually a large commercial truck fleet tire dealer, whether they do the actual tire work in house or not. We always kept an inventory of fresh powder coated rims on hand to use with new tires and would send the old rims out for blasting and powder coating. That kept the inventory fresh and rotated.
I always used whoever was doing the work for my company's fleet at the time. I'm not sure who does it in the Phoenix area, but I'd call around and find who is doing the work for some of the large local fleets (Basha's, Fry's, etc.). Swift Transportation is a national hauler based in Phoenix, so you might try to find out who they use.
Another advantage of using one of the big rig companies is that they have the equipment to mount and dismount the larger size tires. You shouldn't have the issue with 16", but I run 19.5" on my '57.
Echoing what Tim stated above, I run 8R19.5" tubeless radials and have had no problems with the factory rims once they were blasted and powder coated. I have also used Specialty Tires of America's tubeless bias ply tires on factory 17.5" rims with no problem.
Good luck,
Matt
Thanks Matt! We'll have to get together sometime.
Blasted? Powder coated? Tight budget? Daily Driver? Whoa there partner. None of that goes together. I've had more than a dozen old trucks and more than a dozen old cars. I have never powder coated a rim. I just paint them myself, you know, with a spray can or two, just on the outside. It's Arizona here you know? 6" of rain per year, no snow, no salt, just dust. You CAN NOT touch up powder coating.
A pot sand blaster is the same price as having 5 rims blasted. Do it outdoors and wear a breather and hood. Mask off the tire and paint. Geeeze!
Tires: make sure you don't get more than 10 year old used tires. No tire place will touch them if you need mounted. Maybe it's 5 years. You don't say if your rims are original (hub cap clips) or later additions. You don't say if your rims are good or bad regarding rust, etc.
Chevy 6 hole pattern is universal. No problem there. 6 lugs on a 5 1/2 diameter hole pattern. The rest of the rim is another story. The center hole must fit, the width and the offset are different. Your's will be the best to use. I always switch to 15", so keep in mind your rollers can be 15".
P.S. If this is a case where you just need rollers and the highway is a year or more away, why not get the flats fixed? Rollers are just for moving around the yard. If they hold air for a few days, fill them up again.
Thanks bartamos! That's what I'm looking for. Direction, guidance, reality check, etc. I haven't ever had anything powder coated before so I was just assuming it was a much more durable finish. I saw something in the Roddin and Racing publication for Glendale Powdercoating. They had a price of $160 bucks for 4 rims. Not sure if that is just blasting, caoting or both. Going to call later. It just seemed that if I could spend less than $150 and basically have to never worry about the rims again, that would be the smart move. I have entertained getting a small blaster for home use, so I may look into that some more.
And the rims are original, with hub cap clips. Have 3 of 4 of the caps too. However, one of the three has a different size/shape "Chevrolet" on it.
