Painting aluminum wheels.

billybob990

billybob990

New member
I'm helping a buddy paint his wheels and we are doing a gloss black center with a red bead and wanted to know if I need to primer them or scratch them up with some fine grit sand paper. Any help?

I'd rather be fishing...
 
I would use a light sand paper such as 320 grit to lightly scuff the wheels and to remove the protective sealing from the aluminum wheels. Clean with soap and water the use a quality primer using a light coats. First coat should be a dusting. Second a little heavier and the third should be a complet cover. Once the primer has dried you can lightly sand to smooth out. Clean off dust from sanding. Follow the same proceedures when applying the top coat. Light dusting, then a little heavier and the final coat complete coverage.

R/
Will
 
billybob990 said:
Thanks bud

I'd rather be fishing...
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No worries. Just do not go too crazy sanding. I would hand sand with just enough pressure to scuff and not gouge them. It takes a light touch. Swirl marks are hard to remove once they are in there.
I would also recommend a gray primer. If you have the ability I would recommend an HVLP spray gun in a booth for the optimum paint job. If not rattle can away my brother.

R/
Will
 
billybob990 said:
I'm helping a buddy paint his wheels and we are doing a gloss black center with a red bead and wanted to know if I need to primer them or scratch them up with some fine grit sand paper. Any help?

I'd rather be fishing...
Click to expand...

I just did my wheels with bed liner a few weeks ago and I would imagine the prep would be the same. After cleaning the wheels thoroughly, I used some 400 grit sand paper just to take the sheen off thats all. I initially tried a wire brush but it left too many scratches/deep grooves. After the sand paper I used some paint thinner, let that dry really well (make sure you get all of the excess out of the holes) and then primed with etching primer from rustoleum. It comes out gray and worked like a champ. I put a few coats on and let it dry for about 2 hours before putting the actual paint on. Hope that helps!

Matt
 
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