anybody ever refinished alloy wheels?

[sillyp]

i have some old alloys with corrosion on them. trying to decide how best to paint them.

[QuickDrive]

Depending on the corrosion damage you would want to sand down and of the corrosion then lightly sand the rest of the wheel down.

Prime

Paint, 2 coats Allow to dry

sand lightly with high grit like 800.

Clean with a damp rag, allow to dry.

Clear coat, or 3 coats.

That should give it a nice refinish, and it's way cheaper than getting them acid dipped and refinished.

I intend on painting my Winter wheels black whenever I get my aftermarkets.

[sillyp]

what kind of paint is durable and long lasting. will cans of spray paint work? any ideas what it cost for acid/refinish?

[evolutionmovement]

A lot of people powder coat them. I hear it's not too bad cost-wise and is more durable, although I have no personal experience with this myself.

Steve

[91White-T]

Auto Zone sells wheel paint, and clear coat for about $7 a can.

[QuickDrive]

Yup, when you go with wheels, it's all about preparation and layers.

Mind you one curb and they're going to scratch.. but that's nothing when you pay around 50$ for paint to have newly colored wheels.

[LaureltheQueen]

you should definitely use high temp paint, incase you didnt know

[Yukonart]

Steve beat me to it. . .

Powdercoat. Resists heat, chipping, and just about anything else you can throw at it.

[Legacy777]

yeah...powdercoating is definitely cool shit.

[sillyp]

i asked colorado wheel and they said it costs $100 a wheel to powdercoat. can i do it myself?

[evolutionmovement]

This was a few years ago, but I had a friend who said he got his wheels powder coated for $25/ea. I wish I still talked to him so I could find out where it was from. Did you check around with a few other places?

Steve

[sillyp]

nah, i don't think i can afford the powdershiznit. the wheels i bought are turbo wheels. the paint is fine, it's that clear coat around the outer diameter of the wheel that is corroded. looks like mold is growing on the wheelz. (not sure which one of you sold em to me, but i really like em.) i'll prolly just strip that clear coat and spray some new on there an hope it lasts a while. keep in mild, when my paint is thin or gone, i just brush on some rustoleum. my car looks like shit, and to be perfectly honest, i like it that way, because if someone hits me, i couldn't care less. performance and functionality is all that matters to me.

if i get there, which i always do. i have no complaints
if i get there before them jetta driving assholes, which i aways do, they can suck my wang and my extra control arm!

[Grant]

There's a place in the Springs that powdercoats for like 25-30 per wheel. I just bought a set of 16" WRX wheels and a set of 16" Legacy GT wheels and the WRX are going to be powdercoated black I', thinking. I now have 8 sets of wheels and tires for two vehicles. Ridiculous? I don't think so. That reminds me that I need to order my rally tires.

[sillyp]

any idea what the name of that place is?

[silverturbo]

I had good results when I used zinc chromate primer on the wheels after sandblasting them (that's that yucky green stuff they use on aircraft....) It was a spray can job....

[Grant]

No luck in finding out the name of the place. Still trying to find out. I'll let you know if I do. Might try calling Performance Wheel and Tire on Santa Fe and see if they do it or know anyone that does. Let me know if you have any luck. I have some wheels I need done.
Later

[Grant]

Just after I've given up someone else stepped up and found a place that might do them for $25 per. Questions they asked, "What size wheels, how many, and do they need sandblasted first, and what color, and how many wheels?"
I'm going to get 8 (4 16" WRX, and 4 13" Colt) done so we may get a little bit of a bulk discount. I'm probably going to do black or white.

[sillyp]

that sounds good. My alloys have a shyte load of brake dust/corrosion on the back side. I have found it to be nearly impossible to get it off, and most likely inhaled significant amounts of brake dust in the process. In any case 25-30 per wheel is begining to sound pretty good for cleaning and quality finish, and drive to the springs woudn't bother me either. If i only knew where the place is!

[Grant]

This is actually a place in Denver. What size are your wheels and what color are you wanting to do?

[sillyp]

15x6, black

[Grant]

Okay here's the deal. This is for SCCA Front Range members and was arranged by one of our board members Rupert. The deal is $15 per wheel to powdercoat and $10 per wheel to sandblast them, which is highly recommended. Make sure to mention SCCA and maybe even Rupert. Here's the contact info and Rupert response to me in it's entirity.

"cost should be 15.00 per wheel to powder coat and 10.00 per
wheel to
sandblast. We typically run 5 to 7 days turnaround. Hope to see you
soon.
Jack

Contact: Jack Howell
Powder Coating Specialties
jack.howell@powdercoatingspecialties.com
www.powdercoating.org
550 Orchard Street
Golden CO 80401
303-278-0406

Please mention you are with Colorado SCCA Rally to get this deal. You
can
mention my name as well. If you have any problems please contact me
ASAP."

[sillyp]

thanks, sounds like an sweet deal, i'll prolly contact him this week. btw, the date of your post was on my birthday - i got something after all. seems like i already made this post.

I've been looking into this scca - thinking maybe i should become a member. what is the crash and burn safety training coming up?

[Kelly]

if i get there before them jetta driving assholes, which i aways do, they can suck my wang and my extra control arm!

Ummmm, yeah.

[sillyp]

yeah, i dunno, i think i was drunk when i wrote that!

[Legacytuner]

the first thing i did was strip old paint with a really stiff wire brush on a high speed drill then used a die grinder to buff out the blemishes
used three coats of metallic silver 2 shades lighter than original i sanded with fine grit between each coat then did three coats of clear they look sweet many compliments they look like aftermarket wheels.