Just trying to get an idea, my stock clearcoated aluminum rims for their age are really in good shape but there is some blemishes, tire weight marks, inspection guy taking the tires off to inspect brakes and slipping with the air gun on the lugnuts, not bad but noticable. The other day with all the snow we had I was looking at my truck from an angle and all I seen was my 285 blackwalls with the chrome center caps, it looked real good. So, I was thinking of painting or powdercoating them black. With my truck being white and seeing a few trucks here and also seeing BFife Barneys truck at RRE last year, really got me thinking. Give me your feedback and with the poll to help me decide.. If everythings a go, I'll post up before and after results. Feel free to post up pics of your rides if your rims are blacked out, thanks. Let me know also in this poll..

 

 

You might be better off to have the powder-coated. It would last longer. Someone else on here did that.

 

Thanks for the pic Philip.. Jeff, do they sell powdercoat in a can I can do myself?? I'm pretty good at painting, I know they would have to be wet sanded down a bit. I see Phil's rims are bigger rims, not sure mine being stock, it would look stupid, powdercoated would work for me..

 

My truck in my sig... painted wheels. I have gone over the powder coating thing with people so many times... sure it may last longer but something that is going to chip the paint off is also going to take powdercoat off. I have painted many wheels black and not one person ever guesses that they are painted... or will ever know differently.

Not only that but say they do start to look bad... get out the can and spray then again. Mine look great going on 9 months with some decent off-roading. This really works great for me as having rims sucks in the winter... this way my truck looks decent all year round without having to switch rims and tires around.

 

i had some other rim on a Toyota that i gad sand blasted then painted at work for free and it lasted for a year and them they started to chip, i think powder coat would do a lot better.

 

Funny, I was about to post a similar thread. My wheels look terrible, the clear coat is peeling off. I can't decide if I should just strip off the clear coat and polish them, have them blasted and painted black, or just snag one of the many good looking factory wheel sets on C-list.
Anyway, I vote paint black and clear coat over powder coating. My neighbor powder coated a set of wheels, didn't take long before they got a couple of small rock chips. Problem with powder coating is once it chips it will start peeling and cracking. Paint won't do that as easily, it just chips and then you can touch it up.

 

What kind of paint would you guys recommend?? Anything particular?? Eventually I'd like to go a bit bigger on the rims and tires but I still have a ton of tread left on these tires so...

 

What about putting on por15, they say that stuff is very durable, just a thought....

 

how about this...Rhino Liner, or the bedliner paint...its durable, doesn't chip...etc...and should stay looking pretty decent...i vote for that...sandblast, then roll it on while the wheels are laying flat...i only wonder how you would balance them...how difficult that would be...

 

Let me know if you go this route Keith, I think I'm going to paint mine, leaning towards a real durable paint.

I do have another 1/4 pint of Rust Bullet, thats a thought but with a brush, stroke marks plus it silver, nahh. Thanks anyway Tom.. I want your bumper, lol...

Was thinking of that too but like you said, would I have a balancing issue. I got my tire weights on the back of the rims now, had them put there on these most recent set of tires. Paint still has my attention so far, powdercoating second.. Appreciate the info, keep it cvoming with the pic too and also if theres a specialty paint I should use would be great.

 

Been thinking of doing this also. I read somewhere of people using BBQ paint. Its supposed to be extremely durable and its black, so it seems to fit my needs. I'll probably try this in the spring with my old cruddy XL rims I have laying around and see how it comes out.

 

Do it, powder coat them! They look good IMO.

 

Pops....you have sparked my interest with this thread.I am not much on chrome/alum so I may want to do the same thing.Not wanting to buy expensive rims for the old farm truck so paint may be the thing.
I have painted many a smoker and it will be the flat look when it dries if you use that paint.

 

Mike there are special paints out there for wheels that stand up to brake dust and heat, etc. But there's a ton of options of paint. You could go with a base coat/clear coat, or single stage paint depending on how shiny you want them.
But really you can get great results from a rattle can doing it yourself. Prep is the key. It would be ideal to have the tires dismounted, but that sucks to pay someone to remove and reinstall tires. Eastwood has these rings you can put around the tires to mask them off while you paint, or you could do it out of cardboard I guess.
Eastwood Company: Search Results for wheel paint inWheel Paints

Duplicolor HWP102 Duplicolor Wheel Paint