Painting/Plastidipping my stock Chrome wheels.. (?)

[T4RWILL]

Maybe not stock.. But I have some Chrome alloy wheels and I was wondering if there would be any problems Painting or plastidipping my wheels because of the crome.. Any suggestions? If it would just peel off right away then I'm planning on saving up for some Procomp Flat blacks.. But might as well try to save some cash if I can. Thanks

 

[PitbullRescuer]

Just like painting anything else, it comes down to prep, prep and more prep. You can paint chrome wheels, you just have to sand the sh*t out of them to remove as much chrome as possible. Post a picture of your wheels and we could tell you how feasible it is.

With most wheels,mid suggest buying a wire brush attachment for you drill and use that to get throufpgh most of it. Various sand papers or scotch brite pads should handle the ares the brush can't get. Once they're scuffed really well, clean them throughly and then hit them with a few coats of self etching primer. Once that's dry, you can paint and then clear them. Take your time and they should come out nice.

Also, if you have any curb rash, now is the time to address it. A light but steady hand with a file followed by some sanding should clean that up pretty well.

 

[T4RWILL]

Just like painting anything else, it comes down to prep, prep and more prep. You can paint chrome wheels, you just have to sand the sh*t out of them to remove as much chrome as possible. Post a picture of your wheels and we could tell you how feasible it is.

With most wheels,mid suggest buying a wire brush attachment for you drill and use that to get throufpgh most of it...

Also, if you have any curb rash, now is the time to address it. A light but steady hand with a file followed by some sanding should clean that up pretty well.

Aight thanks man, ill post up some pics tomorrow when I get home from school

 

[1985taylor1925]

I recently spoke to a guy who has been painting with HVLP guns as a side business for the past ten years. I asked him about painting chrome and he said he simply wouldnt do it anymore without media blasing the chrome first, which basically removes it in full. He wasnt trying to get any money out of me. He was just being completly honest, and told me that he's painted chrome in the past and it always has issues a year or two later.

So I would say if you really want to get them painted, just have them blasted first. Or go with your plan b and save up for those pro comps.

 

[PitbullRescuer]

Media blasting would be ideal, but in reality all media blasting is is sanding without the elbow grease. No doubt it does a better job but you can accomplish what you're after buy wire wheeling and sanding them. (not knocking you Taylor, just trying to give OP options)

 

[T4RWILL]

Might sound like a n00b.. but thats cuz I am.. What exactly is Media Blasting? Same as sand blasting or different? Different material? what?

 

[1985taylor1925]

Media blasting would be ideal, but in reality all media blasting is is sanding without the elbow grease. No doubt it does a better job but you can accomplish what you're after buy wire wheeling and sanding them. (not knocking you Taylor, just trying to give OP options)

What this guy told me is that the media will take the entire layer of chrome off, as its a relatively thin layer. Its not impossible to do that by hand, but would be very difficult and time consuming.

Might sound like a n00b.. but thats cuz I am.. What exactly is Media Blasting? Same as sand blasting or different? Different material? what?

Yep basically the same thing but just less abrasive I believe. The media are tiny plastic beads, about the same size as sand.

 

[T4RWILL]

If i were to sand blast them would it be harmful? I have a sand blaster in my auto tech shop at school. Although I'm not taking the class I could prob get one of my friends to do it for me..

 

[1985taylor1925]

If i were to sand blast them would it be harmful? I have a sand blaster in my auto tech shop at school. Although I'm not taking the class I could prob get one of my friends to do it for me..

I think that would work fine. The air flow on those is adjustable so you can make it more or less abrasive. If your friend know how to use it then he should be able to adjust it correctly

 

[Jeddy]

After you chose a way to prep it, keep in mind plasti dip isn't the most durable stuff. Blacked my stock 5 star sports a while ago and every time you go wheeling they get scratched up pretty good. I would recommend having the shop blast and powder coat them.

 

[T4RWILL]

Aight thanks guys, sounds like powder coating.. or some Pro Comp's depending on which costs more...

 

[Stick Figure]

I had a buddy sand blast a set of 18x9/18x10's back in the day for my Supra. He took them on the air force base and used one of their BIG sand blasters. It still took him forever to do the wheels. Honestly if the chrome is in good shape I would try to sell/trade them to someone for a non-chrome wheel that would be easier to paint.