Painting alloy wheels

Railvan · 10-05-2008, 09:45 PM

I always wanted black Teflon-coated American Racing Mojave wheels on my van, but I had bare alloy American Racing Baja wheels on my old Suburban, and moved them to the van when I got it. I couldn't justify new wheels so I painted my old ones. It turned out to take most of a full Sunday for the project. I didn’t have a way to easily take all four wheels off at once, so I had two wheels off at any one time. I washed the wheels with warm soapy water and a plastic scrub brush and rinsed them with clean water. I then used a rotary flap sandpaper wheel to clean the insides of the holes in the wheels. This saved a lot of time verses cleaning the holes by hand. I then lightly scuffed the wheels with 320 wet/dry sandpaper. A final rinse with water followed, and when the wheels were dry I masked the tires off with duct tape. I used masking tape for the first tire and it did not stick well to the rubber. I found an old roll of duct tape with very sticky adhesive and this worked well. I then wiped down the wheels with a wax, grease and silicon remover. They were then ready for paint. I used an acid etch primer made for aluminum in a rattle can. It covered very well and went on easily. I bought two spray cans and only ended up using one of them. I used two 500 watt halogen work lights pointed at the wheels from about a foot away to speed up the drying time on the paint layers. I used SEM “Trim Black” for the final color. I have used it before on van projects and it has a nice sheen to it that matches the powdercoating on the bumpers. I layed it on very thin and it took about 5 coats to cover fully. It didn’t spray nearly as well as the primer so I had to watch for runs. If a run started, I layed the wheel flat (They were being painted at about a 45 degree angle with them leaning up against a support). If that was not enough, I hit that area with another shot of paint and let if smooth out as it dried. This worked well to prevent any runs. I think they turned out nice, and the truck runs much smoother now, gets better fuel mileage, and has more power too… OK, I think it just looks cool… Since that’s really the only thing that changed after a days work and $50 for paint… Before and after photos are in my gallery.

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Brian

Greggd · 10-05-2008, 10:14 PM

railbat ,
Post some photographs of your wheels ! And the beauty of the painting is the ability to touch up when dinged and no polishing !
I bet they look real good with all of your proper prep work .
Greggde

cellularSTEVE · 10-06-2008, 12:18 AM

I like this idea Railbat. I am curious how they hold up over time. Look forward to seeing your photos.

steve

adventureduo · 10-06-2008, 09:40 AM

Looks really good. I was just about to do this or teflon coat them myself. Turned out perfect. Good job and thanks for posting, it's nice to see what they would have looked like if i went this route.

Railvan · 10-12-2008, 08:34 PM

I got a sunny day photo today that shows the wheels better. I like it...

http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/album_ ... b3b2a1.jpg

http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/album_ ... e8978f.jpg

deminimis · 10-27-2008, 01:01 PM

Looks good. Definatley want to hear how well they hold up over time. As you pointed out, SEM Trim Black is a great match with the Aluminess bumpers (painted an area on the swing out that I had welded and you just can't tell). Also, I painted one tube on my buggy with SEM self-etching primer and Trim Black. Its the only tube that did not have little spots of surface rust on it after six months in Baja (the rest was painted with Rust Bullet, go figure). Great stuff for a rattle can.

2much8ntenough · 04-28-2009, 04:26 PM

Brian,

How is the paint holding up? Any other tips/advice? I'd like to follow your lead...

Sean

Railvan · 05-05-2009, 10:25 PM

It has held up very well. I have had one large nick on a wheel since painting but the paint around the nick has held tight. I need to wash them as they are very dirty after going to the Overland Expo. Lots of brake dust on the front ones, but it washes off easily.

Brian

bluedog225 · 05-21-2009, 05:21 AM

Your wheels look great. I looked around on the net and it doesn't seem that SEM “Trim Black” is available in Texas. Is it just a satin black spray paint? Any idea what would be comparable? I've never seen black Teflon-coated American Racing Mojave in person.

Thanks

Tom

Railvan · 05-21-2009, 08:27 AM

Not sure what other paint brand would be the same. The SEM "trim black" has a mid-level sheen that is not flat or high gloss. As others noted it is a perfect match for the powercoating on Aluminess bumpers. After washing my wheels well after the Expo trip, I did find several small chips in the black. Not surprising since I spent a lot of time on dirt and gravel roads on that trip. Overall, I am happy with the look and the paint. I'm sure powercoating would stand up to chips better, but would cost more and you have to dismount your tires to have it done. There are two photos on this page showing the wheels on my van:

http://www.expeditionexchange.com/overl ... index3.htm

The photos are about half way down the page.

Brian