Grassroots wheel finishing

I did a search, found where this was asked, but never saw an answer.

What is the best method of refinishing some aluminum wheels if you don't like the color? Sanding/painting; blasting/ powder coating; sanding/brushing; etc, etc?

How about just blasting (walnuts) and spraying with a clear coat to just have the satin, aluminum finish? (I'm assuming you might have to do a bit of evening out to get a consistent appearance).

Stan

I had a set sandblasted and then hit them with some satin black duplicolor.

Jasco paint stripper, some hand polishing and duplicolor wheel paint!

Here's how I've done a couple of sets: http://www.cheapsportscar.net/diary.php?start=712

Keith wrote: Jasco paint stripper, some hand polishing and duplicolor wheel paint!

+1 on the stripper, wear gloves. I have sandblasted as well, but due to lack of foresight, polishing sandblasted surfaces to highly reflective aluminum about wore down my fingers.

Use a decent adhesion promoter or metal etching primer first, less chips in the long run. This is definitely a 'several light coats' type of procedure here!

Somewhere, I have pics of myself sanding and polishing a set of junkyard wheels up in Yosemite on a camping trip, my garage is the outdoors! Results on my garage page on the Datsun Roadster, and Supra.

Eric G

Keith wrote: Jasco paint stripper, some hand polishing and duplicolor wheel paint! Here's how I've done a couple of sets: http://www.cheapsportscar.net/diary.php?start=712

That's pretty much how I did it with the 93 LE BBS wheels I recently picked up. They had been painted a nasty black. I hit them with whatever paint stripper they sell at Home Depot, I forget the brand. Took a couple of rounds of stripper and Scotchbrite scrubbing (gotta love all the nooks and crannies in BBS wheels!). I then did a final shot with my awesome Harbor Freight sandblaster to clean up the last of the old stuff and get rid of any residue, wiped them down with acetone, and applied some etching primer. Then it was 3-4 light coats of Duplicolor silver wheel coating to make them look as close to OEM as I could get them. For the (plastic) center caps, I skipped the stripper as I assumed it would probably melt them, and just used the sandblaster, which worked fine.

I did a set of daisys last year just by sanding them down (350ish grit?) and the shooting Rustoleum primer and color from rattle cans. It's not show-quality but then again the rest of the car isn't either. Nobody looks at daisy wheels anyway.

I was told you absolutely had to get all the clearcoat off the rims we put on our autox/track car before hitting it with color. 30 minutes, some 200 grit sandpaper, an alcohol wipe down and I sprayed on Duplicolor wheel paint w/o primer. That stuff is some tough stuff, adhered nicely and is now almost impossible to chip/scratch. I'm impressed with it...

If you don't want to remove the tires and aren't very concerned about overall finish, you can just scrub, scuff and paint. As someone already mentioned, the Duplicolor stuff goes on pretty thick and looks decent.

You don't like the color? I would recommend sandblasting, I used paint stripper and it is a real pain to get all the paint out of the tiny openings in the mesh. You could tape of the lips before sandblasting so they are easier to polish if you want to keep that look.

Sandblast, followed by the truck bedliner of your choice.

Or

Sandblast, tape mask, powdercoat.

Clean/scuff with scotchbrite, dry, spray adhesion promoter, duplicolor wheel paint. I'm still freaking amazed at how nicely that stuff lays down. AMAZED.

Keep in mind that they are painted from a walmart spraycan and the paint inside the mesh "holes" is probably flaking a bit since I didn't have the sense to sandblast them. The old paint is probably going to have to come off if you want something that will last.

X10 on the Duplicolor.

I've used the chemical Jasco stripper with pretty good results. But you always end up with some small (or large) stubborn chunks of paint. If you're looking for a better, more consistent final coat, I think sandblasting is a must. But you'll definitely need to mask/protect any areas that will be polished later.

I used duplicolor wheel paint on my maxima 4 years ago. Still looks awesome.

How good a match is the duplicolor silver to OEM German silver wheel paint? I need to refinish all 4 wheels on my BMW due to some close encounters of the curb kind and if I can pick up the duplicolor rather than the expensive and hard to find locally Wurth silver I'd rather do that.

I've done a couple sets of alloy wheels...

These were sandblasted and then hit with a few coats of primer, and some satin black Rustoleum rattlecan. (Satin black 18 spoke, do not do this if you ever want to see them clean ever again....)

These were just lightly sanded with 300 grit, few coats of self-etching primer, few coats of Dupicolor High Performance Wheel Coating.

Powdercoating is another option. I didn't do these, but....

Done a bunch of steelies using similar methods. (Rustoleum, the Dupicolor stuff, glow in the dark, etc etc.

I wish someone would make a 17 in 5 lug version of that Super Aero wheel, they would look so good on my 9-5 Aero.

Oven cleaner + Dupli-Color wheel paint + hand polishing =

EvanB wrote: You don't like the color? I would recommend sandblasting, I used paint stripper and it is a real pain to get all the paint out of the tiny openings in the mesh. You could tape of the lips before sandblasting so they are easier to polish if you want to keep that look.

Ha! I wondered if you thought I was refering to those wheels. This question is actually from a friend who's looking to change the color on some black wheels with a red rim...

....although I might keep this thread in mind at a later date... ; )

Stan

P.S. Nice job P71!

81gtv6 wrote: I wish someone would make a 17 in 5 lug version of that Super Aero wheel, they would look so good on my 9-5 Aero.

I know it's not a 17, but they did make a 5-lug for the NG900 for a while -- they put them on the "Talladega" models. I ASSume the PCD is the same between NG900 and 9-5.

Here we are:

Don't forget the clear coat.

In reply to procainestart:

They will fit, I think they are 16in, if I can find a set for cheep I will put my snow tires on them.

sachilles wrote: Don't forget the clear coat.

My son just refinished his first set of rims (father son project), and the finishing touch was the clearcoat. It made a good job look excellent.

I like powdercoating because of its durability, but a local shop would paint my wheels two tone then spray clear over the whole thing for $80 per wheel.

Dan

I am a big fan of the duplicolor wheel paint, I have had my current set of wheels 3 different colors. Used duplicolor every time. Its pretty long lasting and if you prep the wheels properly you can get very nice results. That being said I feel powdercoating is far superior, but I change my mind entirely too often so I am sticking with the duplicolor for now! haha

Here is a pic of my wheels in their current color, its bronze duplicolor:

Here they are painted with gunmetal duplicolor: