Painting over powder coated aluminum wheels?

Westtown Willy

Westtown Willy

TJ dummy
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May 10, 2018
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I’ve decided it’s high time I address the wheels. The powder coating has chipped away from around all the lug nuts & rocks have taken off more around the edges of the rims. I also don’t like the hi-gloss finish. I want to paint them & need to know the best method that doesn’t involve getting them sandblasted first? I don’t want to spend a ton of money on this project because in all likelihood they’ll still get some beatings going forward & I want to be able to touch it up as needed. Is there a way to do this myself with decent results? What type of tool should I use to scuff it up well enough, preferably something I can attach to my drill, I've read that primer/paint won't stick to powder coating unless it's sanded, but you can see all the tight spaces & rivet looking things on these wheels that I won't be able to get to with sandpaper. Also, what type of primer & paint is best to go over it when it’s prepped?

Couple pictures of the driver's side wheels

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I always scuff up the surface with a scotch brite pad then clean with denatured alcohol before applying a primer. That’s how I’ve done spots on ATV frames, wheels, bumpers etc with good results. Some might recommend something like 180 or 220 grit, but I find it’s a little too coarse and you’ll end up seeing the sanding lines through the paint.
 
I did this task on an 02 TJ I had, same reason. I scuffed up the surface and applied an etching primer made for use with aluminum. Then I bought the factory color in spray cans to paint them. Did 1 coat of the etching primer, 2 to 3 coats of color and then topped with clear coat. It worked good. I sold that Jeep a few years ago but the paint held up well.
 
Duplicolor makes spray paint specifically for spraying wheels. 1 type of product can even be peeled off again if you should decide to change colors. I have not personally used this stuff but a neighbor has and he thought highly of it.👍
 
Goatman said:
Duplicolor makes spray paint specifically for spraying wheels. 1 type of product can even be peeled off again if you should decide to change colors. I have not personally used this stuff but a neighbor has and he thought highly of it.👍
Click to expand...
Plasti dip is the stuff that peels off. I think a couple of other companies sell a similar product. I did my wheels with it almost 3 years ago.

I like the maintenance aspect of it... If it gets damaged, spray a spot. If it's too bad, peel it off and respray the whole thing.

Downsides are, the rubbery consistency holds dirt a lot harder than paint or powder, so they don't really just spray off, you have to wipe to get them clean. And if you get too close with the nozzle at the manual car wash it will tear it open. The glossifier product that creates a glossy finish might help with the dirt coming off, but they also say it makes it harder to peel so you lose some of its advantage over paint.

Mine are ready for a respray, but I think I'm gonna go with paint this time.
 
I like those steel wheels. When I get new wheels they'll be steel, just think they look better, simpler. I won't do that until I'm done taking it off road though, I'll just continue to beat these up. There are some large chunks of aluminum missing already, covers up ok with paint but if you look close in person you can see the gouges.

I ended up going with @Jerry Bransford 's scuff & shoot with black satin Rustoleum method, mostly because it was the easiest way plus I've already used that same paint for the bumpers so I'm trying to stay uniform with the color.

I put a bunch of pictures on my build thread:

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/westtown-willys-2004-jeep-wrangler-x.10777/page-2
 
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