Anyone have a set of chrome wheels that they've painted?

or any wheels that have a combination of chrome and paint (whether you bought them like that or not)

PICS please

i may have to paint some wheels pretty soon, so pics and any info on the difficulty involved would be great.

thanks,
will

 

I would have them powdercoated, if not they will chip in no time.

 

We have painted as well as powder coated many sets of wheels and it really boils down to discovering what is right for you and your specific wheels.

Most of the wheels that are powder coated are done in basic colors such as black, white, etc and are done so with simple design characteristics. Powder coating just lays on quite thick compared to liquid and thus sometimes if you desire great detailed masking, powder coating becomes a very arduous process with the line separation between powder and metal to be too thick and not as seamless as liquid. For example, if you wanted to do just the center of the wheel and leave the lip chrome or silver, that would be easy granted there aren't any ridiculous rivets in the wheels and if there are that they be removed if it is a 2-3 piece wheel to the desire of rivet color. But if there was a certain pattern of masking that you wanted, like leaving part of the spokes chrome, then the edge of the powder coat sometimes is too thick for a clean enough break. In addition, powder coating can not be applied to any plastics such as center caps or anything that could melt in 400 plus degrees when it is baked.

Paint on the other hand, though not as durable and easily applied as powder coat, but is very workable. Designs and masking are a great option that becomes much more readily available with paint. Granted that the process may be longer and more expensive, with paint you can color match exactly, shoot in any way shape or form.

The actual process of painting chrome wheels as you are talking about is rather extensive, but it is all in the preparation. Sand blasting works great for commencement of the process, and then the right etching primers and prep chems need to be applied and cured before base primer goes on, then the paint which generally can be done as a one stage paint or two stage depending on how extensive the masking and detail is. Most normal paint shops are not very experienced in such type of paint work and that is why it often chips or flakes after some time or exposure to high velocity breaking up the paint composition. It is essential that it be done correctly in order for it to be durable as well as to look great!


PM me if you want some pics

 

 

My friends and I once picked up a chrome wheel on the side of the road. We did the same sort of thing and taped off some of the spokes. We bought some of that translucent candy color paint by krylon and it looked really slick. I am not sure how durable it would have been, it scratched off pretty easy.

 

those wheels look really good after painting... what process did you do to give them that finish? what color/type of paint?

basically, how'd you do that? haha

 

basically, i used some chrome paint from orchard supply or any other hardware store....just got some plain ol' flat black, and i taped them all up with the blue painters pin striping tape, then my dad did the post it notes around the lip while i was at school which saved a lot of time rather than taping over and over again on the lip! it would take atleast 2-3 hours of dedicated taping, cause the pinstriping tape has to be right on, it flexes and you can do things with it that you cant do with conventional masking tape. Then after you get the outline done with the pinstriping tape, you tape everything else you dont want black with masking tape. then spray a couple coats of the black spray paint you bought thats made for chrome surfaces and let it dry, i also painted the back of the rim too so there wouldnt be any reflection. Then after the paint is dry, remove the masking tape, then start removing the pinstripe tape, but remember to try and remove the tape at a 45 degree angle so the black paint doesnt come off along with the tape....of course your going to have a few mistakes and mess ups from taking the tape off, they arent all going to be perfect edges etc.... so then you get some cutips and paint remover, dip them in it and take off all the little mess ups etc. pretty simple