The tire shop thread got me thinking about new wheels.  My truck has really bad discolored chrome wheels(it's what it had on it when I got it) and I wonder if anyone has had them powder coated and who did it?  I figure rather than get new wheels that may look like garbage in 3 years, why not just get my current ones "fixed".

 

I'm not really looking for a perfect look, I'm looking for something that looks ok but is durable.  We powder coat parts at work here and it's durable as hell but our powder coater only does small items.  I want very low maintenance on it, just a rinse and it looks ok.

 

Thoughts?

In all honesty, look into Plastidip.

In my opinion, Plastidip is good if you want to just cover up an old color or change the color of your wheels but don't want to spend the money on powdercoating. Plastidip offers little to no protection againt damage like curv rash, road debris, driving through high snow/ice, etc. so I wouldn't consider it durable. The nice thing about Plastidip is that you can do it yourself at a fraction of the cost of powdercoating and you can re-dip your wheels as much as you want, whenever you want. Hell, you don't even have to dismount the tires in order to apply Plastidip.

Rattle can it?  If done right it can look pretty good...  Just saying...

 

Plastidip is probably a better option.

Agree on the PlastiDip. Holds up well and easy to do.

Thanks, Plastidip sounds like a plan.  I wonder how many cans of the stuff to do 4 wheels.

2-3 cans depending on how many coats you do

I would think anything that would take out Plastidip, would take out aluminum.

 

Suggestion: use many coats. It is much easier to peel when thick. What color are you going with? Flat silver?

 

Edit: Advance carries a fair amount of colors now.

At the shop we send out our large items to a shop near Stroudsburg, PA. They strip them and coat them. JSC I believe is the name of the place.  I also will wire brush the inside and spray with Rustoleum rusty metal primer. You would be amazed how easy the bead slips on the rim.  Slows down the rust factor esp. with the boat trailer rims.

Do not plastidip!!! That shit is terrible! JUust rattle can it over a good primer

You want a minimum of 4 coats of Plastidip, 5 is best. 2 cans will do the 4 rims. Walmart carries a bunch of colors as well.

 

It does hold up well to road debris and ice/snow. It will scrape off with a curb rub.

 

Plastidip is absolutely not terrible. If it's applied properly it is awesome.

I just dipped my new jeep rims --  Can't stand the silver rims but don't want to buy new right now -- dipped them flat black

 

They look great -- I used 1 full can per rim -- put on about 5 coats -- lost count

 

Just be sure to either cover holes for the lugs or use an exacto knife, cut around the surface where the lug nuts will touch the rims, and peel the plastic dip from the tapered surface

 

tightening the wheel lugs will peel the dip if there is any on the contacting surface between lug nut and rim -

 

you can cover the holes in the rim with whatever coin will fit properly then just cut the coins out

MAybe it was just the color but I used the bright blue on my golf cart body. It took 6 cans to cover. Then I used the glossifier. It stayed sticky and mud just stuck to it. I prepped the body too and it stuck good but I hated the finish and the cost was high. I peeled it all off and used fusion and it was half the price and a way better outcome. 

http://njbentwheel.com/

 

Full disclosure: I have never had work done by them, I only know of them because I raced GoKarts with the owner.  They seem to do nice work.

I'm going to go the cheap route and just plasti dip 'em with Anthracite grey and hope it looks better.

I taped the inside of the rims to cover the calipers and discs. I sprayed right over the lugs. I was able to do 5 coats with 2 cans. There are a bunch of good youtube videos on the process.

 

Since then I've had 2 tire rotations and there was barely any wear on the lug nuts. It still looks great.

 

Just be sure to either cover holes for the lugs or use an exacto knife, cut around the surface where the lug nuts will touch the rims, and peel the plastic dip from the tapered surface

 

tightening the wheel lugs will peel the dip if there is any on the contacting surface between lug nut and rim -

I taped the inside of the rims to cover the calipers and discs. I sprayed right over the lugs. I was able to do 5 coats with 2 cans. There are a bunch of good youtube videos on the process.

 

Since then I've had 2 tire rotations and there was barely any wear on the lug nuts. It still looks great.

 

I did it with tires off -- Taped the tire around the rims on the good side -- I also put 3 coats on the inside of the rim where it was visible from the outside

 

You have to run a razor around the rim too before peeling the tape off -- better to cut the plastic dip than risk peeling it off with the tape

Wheel restore using PlastiDip:

http://imgur.com/a/8RsXn

https://youtu.be/AFYX_5cS1go

Why not do a more durable paint? You can use automotive color from rustoleum and do a nice acrylic clear over. Most wheels today are painted similar. You won't ever have to worry about it coming of unless you curb your wheels.

these guys did some work for me, good job at a fair price.

 

http://www.peerlesscoatings.com/

Do not powdercoat wheels. The oven curing process changes the physics of the metal and they become brittle and can crack. Its happened to me on Enkei RPF1s for my Evo.