Wheels & Rims
Factory and aftermarket wheels stripped to bare alloy and recoated in gloss black, satin bronze, candy or matte.
A finish that's baked on, not sprayed on. We strip, blast, prep, coat and cure every part in-house — so what leaves the shop holds its color and shrugs off chips, salt and weather for years. Serving Ithaca and all of Mid-Michigan.
Powder Coating
Powder coating is a dry finish: pigment and resin are charged electrostatically, sprayed onto a grounded metal part, then baked in an oven until the powder melts, flows out and cures into one continuous shell. There's no solvent to flash off, so the coating can be laid down far thicker than paint without runs, sags or brush marks — and once it's cured it's chemically bonded to the metal underneath.
Nightmare Coating is a veteran-owned, family-run shop at 7883 South St. in Carson City, owned and operated by John Dittenber and his son. Between them they've spent more than a decade doing this work, and every job runs the full cycle under one roof — blasting, stripping and prep, coating and curing. Nothing gets farmed out, so nothing gets rushed.
We coat both sides of the shop's workload: production and batch runs for Mid-Michigan manufacturers and fabricators, and one-off personal projects for the people who bring us a set of wheels, a motorcycle frame or a truckload of patio furniture. Same prep, same oven, same standard either way.
Ithaca is about 17 miles east of the shop, roughly 25 minutes door to door. Ithaca is the Gratiot County seat, a farming community sitting right on US-127 in the middle of some of the best agricultural ground in the state — which means a steady supply of equipment that's earned a fresh finish. We get a steady stream of wheels, motorcycle frames, brackets and fabrication work from Ithaca and the surrounding Gratiot County towns, and most of those customers make the drive because there isn't another shop nearby running blasting, prep, coating and curing under one roof. Call ahead on 989-289-2298 and we'll have a quote ready before you load up.
A powder coat is only as good as the surface it lands on. Contaminated, greasy or unprofiled metal is why coatings flake — so we never shortcut the blasting and degreasing stage, even when it's the unglamorous part nobody sees.
If it's metal and it fits in the oven, there's a good chance we've already coated one.
Factory and aftermarket wheels stripped to bare alloy and recoated in gloss black, satin bronze, candy or matte.
Frames, swingarms, crash bars, triple trees, racks and hardware — coated to survive road salt and gravel.
Valve covers, intakes, brackets, pulleys and covers in candy, wrinkle black or metallic.
Custom fab work, weldments, mounts and structural pieces finished to match a spec or a color chip.
Wrought iron and aluminum sets blasted back to metal and recoated so they stop rusting through.
Frames, tongues, hitches, control arms, brackets and axle parts built for road spray and winter.
Ornamental iron, handrails and gate panels finished in a coating that won't need repainting every spring.
Tool boxes, jacks, implements, plow blades and machinery parts that take a beating and need to look it less.
Six steps, every job, no exceptions — that's the whole reason the finish lasts.
You tell us what you're coating and what you want it to look like. We check the parts over, flag anything that needs repair, and give you a straight price.
Old paint, powder, rust and mill scale come off in the blast cabinet, leaving bare metal with a profile the new coating can grip.
Every part gets washed down so no oil, blast dust or fingerprints are left to cause fisheyes or bubbles in the cure.
Threads, bearing surfaces, mating faces and anything that has to stay bare gets plugged and taped by hand.
The part is grounded and the charged powder is sprayed on by hand — even coverage into corners, edges and inside surfaces.
Into the oven until the powder flows and cross-links into a hard shell. Then every piece gets checked for coverage before it goes back to you.
A cured powder film is thicker and harder than wet paint, and it flexes instead of cracking. It stands up to stone chips, road salt, UV and the kind of handling shop parts actually get.
Because there's no solvent, powder goes on heavy in a single pass without sagging. Edges and corners get real coverage instead of the thin spots wet paint always leaves.
Gloss, satin, matte, wrinkle, textured, metallic, candy and clear top coats — plus two-tone and multi-stage work on our custom finishes page.
No solvents, no VOC fumes, and overspray powder is recoverable rather than dumped. It's the cleaner process, which is part of why industry moved to it.
Ithaca is a fraction of the drive to Grand Rapids or Lansing, and you're dealing with the same veteran-owned, family-run shop from quote to pickup. Blasting through curing all happens in one building — your parts never leave Gratiot County's back yard mid-job.
Recent work out of the Carson City shop — see more on Facebook.
I've had these guys do a ton of work for me lately and they hands down have the best customer service and quality out of any powder coating company I've ever used. They are my new go to for any powder coating needs! They truly care about their work!
These guys are fantastic! They stripped and powder coated the crash bars for my motorcycle within a couple days and they look great! Very reasonable pricing, very responsive, accommodating, and friendly.
Straight answers to what customers ask us most. Anything not covered here, just call the shop.
Yes. Our shop is at 7883 South St. in Carson City, about 17 miles east of Ithaca — roughly 25 minutes door to door. Customers from Ithaca and across Gratiot County bring us wheels, motorcycle frames, brackets and fabrication work regularly. Call or text 989-289-2298 and we'll quote the job before you make the drive.
About 17 miles east, which is about 25 minutes of driving depending on where in Ithaca you start. We're open every day from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM, so a drop-off is easy to fit around work.
Price comes down to the size of the part, how much stripping and blasting it needs, the color, and how many pieces you're bringing. A set of four wheels prices differently than a pallet of brackets. Call or text 989-289-2298 with a photo and a description and we'll give you a real number — quotes are free and there's no runaround.
Most personal projects turn around in a matter of days rather than weeks, and we've had customers get motorcycle parts back within a couple of days. Production and batch runs get scheduled against your delivery date. Call for current lead times before you plan around it.
For metal parts that have to survive weather, chemicals or handling, yes. Powder cures into a thicker, harder, more flexible film than wet paint, it resists chipping and corrosion far better, and it goes on in one coat with no runs or brush marks.
Thousands. Gloss, satin, matte, textured and wrinkle finishes in essentially any color, plus metallics, candies, prismatics, chrome-look and clear top coats. If you have a color chip, a factory code or a photo of what you want, bring it in.
Yes. Powder curing happens in an oven, so anything that can't take the heat has to come off — bearings, seals, rubber, plastic, wiring, glass and grease. Bare metal only. If you're not sure what needs to come out, ask us before you drop off and we'll walk you through it.
Anything conductive that can handle oven temperatures: steel, aluminum, cast iron, stainless and most alloys. Wood, plastic and anything with a sealed cavity that can trap moisture aren't candidates. Cast parts and pot metal are usually fine but should be looked at first.
We're at 7883 South St. in Carson City, about 17 miles east of Ithaca — about 25 minutes, and an easy run from anywhere in Gratiot County.
Same shop, same standard — pick the town closest to you.
One shop, the whole cycle — so nothing gets handed off halfway through.
Tell us what you're bringing in and we'll get you a quote — no runaround.
Drop us the details on your project and we'll get right back to you. Prefer to talk it through? Give the shop a call.
