Wheel finish flaking off

[NorthShore4Runner]

An unfortunate side effect of living through the salty winters of New England... The salt has been eating away at my stock SR5 rims and the finish is bubbling and flaking off exposing the bare aluminum. I'd like to repaint them, has this happened to anyone else? What's the best way of removing the old finish?

 

[snowboardwcu]

pretty sure this is a typical thing with stock 4thgen rims. mine are in great shape with only minor signs of corrosion. the vehicle has dealt with PA winters its whole life....

guy i bought the truck from had a 4runner as well and had his turned down and re-painted. ran him $300 and they looked fantastic.

 

[dta1984]

My wheels still look really good, but my spare is a different story lol. Just had it down, and it is flaking and peeling real bad.

 

[4by4th]

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?t=94902

 

[LOBO79]

I am in the process of repainting my Limited wheels for the same reason. Just find some Aircraft stripper and spray them down, then get all the rough corrodded spots with a sanding pad, then just get some wheel paint and paint them whatever color you want. I painted mine with VHT Graphite wheel paint

 

[fdbyrne]

Wow. Those look good. Good job.

 

[some dude]

This is one of the reasons I'm going to plasti dip mine.

 

[Theo85]

I'm in the same boat, just picked up a set of tundra wheels for cheap and I'm dremeling the corrosion off and will be finishing them in glossy white krylon paint.

 

[strathcona]

This is one of the reasons I'm going to plasti dip mine.

I dipped mine and use them for my winter tires. They have held up for 3 winters, this will be their fourth.

I used scotch bight pads and some de-greaser to clean them and then did 5 coats if dip per wheel.

 

[BB_2005]

I've had good luck recoating aluminum wheels with Duplicolor's wheel coating products. Got a can for my rims. Just need to get to the wheels before winter.

 

[4by4th]

Picked up some Rustoleum Aluminum paint from Lowe's and it seems to be a perfect match for the stock coating that's flaking off. Didn't do anything beyond scraping the loose stuff off and brushing it on.
http://www.truevalue.com/assets/product_images/styles/xlarge/118519.jpg

 

[mizak82]

Plastidip is so easy to work with. I sanded the rough spots and cleaned the wheels real good before spraying. So much easier to clean up. If you like the color and want it more permanent just spray a clear coat over it. Or you can just touch them up from time to time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[4by4th]

Had Discount Tire replace all of my 2004's tpms sensors because the dash light was blinking. Took 3 trips there before there were no leaks on the stems. Last time they couldn't get one of the tires to seal against the rim and there was a small leak, they said due to corrosion. Thinking back we've had that slow leak for a long time. They recommended this place
http://www.awrswheelrepair.com/houston/
which is luckily close to home. Dropping the 4R off now to have all 5 wheels refinished. Will post results when finished, supposed to be done tomorrow.

 

[OliviasDad]

My SR5 stock rims were a mess when I bought mine a few months back... flaking, corrosion, scatches etc. I cleaned them thoroughly, then sanded them down like a madman. Applied multiple coats of primer, then more sanding, then numerous top coats of graphite silver. May end up replacing the down the road, but they turned out better than I'd hoped.

 

[waypoint]

Same problem on my '07 Limited, as did my previous '03 Tundra and Tacoma. Toyota wheels do not like Winter road chemicals. I found I could slow the problem quite a bit by wiping them with aerosol silicon spray, e.g. the Liquid Wrench stuff. Seemed to adhere well and persist thru a few rain/snow events before it needed reapplying...I also spray a light shot around the tire/rim bead to prevent corrosion and leakage with good effect. Don't get it on the tread surface.

Test any silicon spray for reactivity by squirting a bit into a styrofoam cup. If it dissolves the styrofoam you don't want it on your rubber. Liquid Wrench brand passes this test.

 

[Beaumont67]

plasti dip
- not sure if it adheres on the chemical-corrosion process, on alloy rims / without coming back...typically spray bomb paint, lacks any degree of hardness.

Once that aluminum is damage has started (corrosion) it's difficult to stop; I've seen lots of wheels with spider-web corrosion, all underneath the clear.

The only way I know to get them looking really good again is to strip the clear coat completely and re-do.

Chemical stripping plus abrasive sanding, is needed / or cabinet blast rims, using glass bead media...sandblasting is usually to coarse.

Many primers will not stick to aluminum alloy, but Epoxy with harder added will.
- and seal oxygen out of former wheel corrosion pits, stopping it in its tracks from spreading

 

[camp332]

Gave my SR5 wheels a bath in B-17 paint stripper. Careful with that stuff! It's no joke. Pressure washed the wheels. Sanded the hell out of them, then powdercoated mirror black. Thanks to the help of my cousin who has a powdercoat business.

 

[Ruthven13]

I have a similar problem with mine on my '03. What bothers me the most is a slightly different issue. A couple of my rims, including he spare, have a large amount of brown "rust" on them. I have no idea how to get it of and have tried several things. A brass wire brush would work but I don't want to scrape the paint off of them. I tries a small spot and that seemed to work but again the paint issue. Any ideas? Maybe some kind of cleaner that will soften it enough to use a nylon brush?

 

[4by4th]

My wheels turned out as good as or maybe better than new. Before and after pictures:

The before photo already had the Rustoleum painted on the corroded areas that I posted previously.
Use the link in my 8/15 post or check here for a location near you
http://www.awrswheelrepair.com/locator
Dropped the 4R off at 4:00 Tuesday and it was finished and ready to be picked up at 10:00 Wednesday morning, yes they work all night.

 

[n2advnture]

My wheels turned out as good as or maybe better than new. Before and after pictures:

The before photo already had the Rustoleum painted on the corroded areas that I posted previously.
Use the link in my 8/15 post or check here for a location near you
Alloy Wheel Repair Specialists, LLC | Alloy Wheel Repair, Powder Coating, OEM Replacements
Dropped the 4R off at 4:00 Tuesday and it was finished and ready to be picked up at 10:00 Wednesday morning, yes they work all night.

My wife's Infiniti wheels looks horrible. What did that cost? (TIA)