Painting OEM 17" Sport Rims

I'm thinking about painting the silver OEM 17" Sport rims.

Been poking around on Amazon, Rust Oeleum, Dupli-Color and other such sites looking for a good paint system for aluminum rims and plastic center caps.

Anyone know of a good system? I'm not set on the rattle can path. I have sprayed my '81 Honda CX500 Custom with very good results using automotive grade products. The most significant difference is the Honda's tank was steel and side covers were plastic.

I know a plastic adhesion coat will be required on the center caps then primer, color, clear. My problem is the aluminum. I have not found a primer that is not a Rust Preventer. Rust is a steel based issue. I know of primer curing problems of this type of product on aluminum.

Other concerns are compatibility of the different coats. I've seen many reviews and guides which emphasize this issue. Generally, incompatible coats will lead to orange peel, bubbling, flaking, failing to cure........all resulting in "Do it again!"

I do know the devil is in detail prep work. A smaller devil is compatibility.

Final concern is the durability or toughness of the paint. Wheels live in a different environment than my motorcycle. The bike needed resistance to spilled fuel. The rims need resistance to brake dust and tire machines installing the tire, specifically the gorilla doing the install.

My final goal is a dark grey, gun metal color with a matte finish. The white Tacoma needs a stronger base than silver. Black I think will be too "heavy".

Thoughts? Suggestions? Recommendations?

 

I think you're going to find that if you're keeping those wheels for a long time, prepping and painting them correctly is going to be pretty expensive. Sure, somebody's going to post in and say they rattle canned theirs in the driveway with Plast-I-Dip and they went on a show truck at SEMA. Sorry, I'm not buying it.

If you want my recommendation, buy a set of new aftermarket wheels in the color you really want.

BTW: Although aluminum may not "rust", it does oxidize, and it can be almost as destructive.

 

You should price out a local powder coat outfit.

I was shocked to find a place locally that would do a full strip and powder coat for $99/wheel.

Tons of color options, and a 3 year warranty. Turned out to be a much better option for my situation.

ya never know until you look around...

 

Imo, why spend more on the painting process than what oem wheels are worth? Factory tacoma takeoffs can be found cheap in the used marketplace. Rattecan can turn out nice if proper prep is done and scratches can be easily touched up. Nicks and scratches to wheels are unavoidable. You'll likely get them just getting your wheels rotated and balanced.

 

Best I could find on a sand blast and powder coat was $150 a wheel. Ended up rattle canning the wheels.

 

My vote is powder coat.

 

How much is a powder coat? I’d almost want to put that money to a good set of wheels and plastidip til you can afford the wheels you want. I plastidipped my steelies on my 09 and it wasn’t bad unless you got very close to them. Looked fine at normal distances.

 

I painted a set of 4Runner wheels gunmetal using Rustoleum Universal and clear coat and it came out decent. Up close you can see the defects but from 10 feet they look great. Proper prep is extremely important, mineral spirits and a bunch of green scrub pads. I spent a lot of time but probably only $50-75, vice powdercoating which will require dismounting/remounting the tires ($10-20 a wheel) and the cost to coat them ($25-100 a wheel), costs will vary wildly based on what's available to you.

If you look at my build thread you can see several posts from when I did it. I think I ended using 2-3 cans of both color and clear, plus mineral spirit and other supplies
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/hoarder23s-war-wagon-build.416841/page-20#post-17004476
almost 3 years later of light use they still look pretty good with a layer of brake dust on them.

 

Just plasti dip them. Yes I'll be the guy Too Stroked was talking about. I plasti dipped mine 3 years ago and I've only had to touch it up 1 time - and my truck is on dirt/gravel/mud more than it is pavement.

Prep is 99% of the job. The plasti dip is legit like 1% of it. Get the truck on jack stands and take the wheels off. Wash them, then wash them again, then wash them again. They need to be clean clean clean. Then use real Plasti Dip brand spray plastidip. Not the knockoff brands - I had to redo 1 of them after settling for offbrand after running out of the real stuff.

I did 3 coats of plasti dip on each wheel. The only reason I had to redo it is I let someone else wash the truck and they got way too close with a pressure washer and a 15 degree tip. Ate it right off. Then bled the brakes and the brake fluid dissolved some of it.

Even if it does need touching up, it's not hard. Cut out the spot that is peeling, then get a rag with some acetone or something of that nature and wipe lightly to remove the non-adhered plastidip. Spray over the spot a few times. Can't tell the difference.

 

From past experiences with plastidipping wheels, the surface is much harder to clean and much more difficult to touch up once you get a small tear in the coat. PD will still fade and removing it is not as easy as you think once it's on for a few yrs. Always go with real paint if you have a choice. Pd has never held up to routine services at tire shops.

 

I painted these with krylon primer paint and clear.

 

Sorry, guys. Your suggestions are all good, but all exceed the budget.

I just acquired a 2nd set of OEM wheels for a good price. These are in good shape compared to the wheels on the truck. If I were to give chipped paint and aluminum corrosion a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being bad. The wheels on the truck are a strong 8, while the just acquired wheels are a weak 2. I have a reasonable set off truck without rubber that I can prep and paint.

So, no one has done anything other than rattle can or plasti-dip. I don't believe I'll be happy with rattle can results. I don't think wheels are a good application for plasti-dip.

Let's try to narrow the focus a bit. Automotive paint. Has anybody sprayed their ride? Looking for a durable, tough finish on aluminum and plastic.
What would be a decent choice? Lacquer, enamel, urethane, epoxy......1 part, 2 part......full paint system (primer, color, clear).

BTW, the paint system on the motorcycle cost about $175. This cost covered adhesion prep, primer, under coat, 5 colors and clear. It was a fairly complex paint scheme. I doubt if the wheels will be quite as complex.

My plan when this is complete is to find out if WheelsAmerica will buy the old set to refurbish. If not, then probably go to the salvage yard or recycle.

 

You can sell your old wheels on eBay (or similar secondary market selling platform). I did made out quite well.

 

I’m glad the newly acquired wheels are in better shape than the ones you have on the truck

And I’ve been down this road before, not with the truck but with a VW I owned back in the day. Acquired a set of OEM aluminum wheels that were in bad shape cosmetically, but were true and round. I explored all options before finally deciding on having a local powder coat company blast them and then powder coat. Final cost was just under $400. Is that a bit expensive, sure but it guarantees the new finish/color will look good and stay on the wheels a long time and hold up to the elements/gorillas manhandling them at the tire shop.

If you want to explore a DIY option that will likely be cheaper in total $ spent, but might not look as “professional” when you’re done you could buy a cheap soda/sand blaster. Use that to remove all the old paint and as much oxidation as you can with little effort compared to soaking and sanding by hand. From there pick whatever primer, paint and clear you want and take your time. You’ll spend a fair amount of time on the total process but will likely cost half as much as having them professionally done. In the end it’s really a question of how OCD are you and what’s worth more, your time or your money?

 

Wheels...

 

Thanks. Yes, thinking about having them stripped by a shop.

It'll save a bunch of time and aggravation.

 

Or look into using a furniture refinishing shop. Many of them have dip tanks (filled with paint stripper) for submerging furniture in to remove old finishes and stains.

 

If you do end going the painting route, I highly recommend you tell the shop that mounts your tires that the wheels are painted, and not powder coated. Hopefully that way the tech will not go full gorilla on your wheels while mounting the tires and mess them up.

 

I have not sprayed Toyota wheels however I have sprayed some Chevy wheels that turned out pretty good. Like most I have used rattle cans from the local auto parts store to do this. However I have since then painted a bicycle and while the two are not the same I will tell you my experience with a rattle can paint that I will say is automotive quality paint in a can. I know you are asking for paint and a spray gun but hear me out. This stuff is legitimate and will be the only thing I will use when I want to paint my wheels in the near future. The brand is Kustom Canz you can google them or find them on Amazon. Now depending on what you get you will pay up to about 15 bucks a can. They have a 2K clear that has an in can activator with a 4hr pot life. So take it for what its worth. And could save you a few bucks over spending money on a pint of paint from the local automotive paint supply store. Best of Luck

 

Just plastidip em.