Painting aluminum wheels

[jason]

Is there some special kind of paint to be used on aluminum wheels? What kind of preparation, priming, or finishing is involved? I plan on cleaning with a solvent and wire brush, but is there some sort of base coat or top coat I should use to prevent chipping/insure adhesion before I paint the wheels black?

[mws]

You're on the right path here - proper paint adhesion is all about the prep work!

 

Your best bet would be to sand them well with 240 grit wet paper to give the paint some "tooth" to grab on to, and then clean well with lacquer thinner or pre-paint cleaner.

 

Also important is the paint. A catalyzed and baked automotive paint or powder coat would obviously be the toughest.

If you want to do your own, I recommend not using your average Kylon paint if you want to minimize touch up and repainting. It scratches pretty easily and fades pretty fast.

If you want a rich satin finish (like european car trim) Go to an automotive paint store and ask for a rattle can of "automotive trim paint". Yeah, it will cost close to $10 a can, but it will last 4X as long. It is tougher and has UV stabilizers in it so it doesn't fade away as quickly. It can also be applied directly to bare metal with no primer. Follow the instructions on the can regarding flash time between coats.

If you want gloss, ask the guys at the paint counter what they recommend.

My personal favorite is Por-15 Black Coat, but it does not come in rattle cans. You either need to use a gun or be really good at brushing it on... But this stuff does smooth out really nice if you know how to brush it on properly (keys are to apply the proper amount on the first pass and avoid going back over the same spot more than once or twice). If you're painting wheels with lots of smooth surfaces, you really need to shoot them to have them come out looking really pretty.

[jason]

thanks for the reply

Edited October 4, 2005 by jason