Paint Aluminum Wheels?

[MoonDoggie]

Have a stock 92 Ranger Extended Cab with stock aluminum wheels that look like crap. They have light pits, some black spots, etc. Tried 2 or 3 wheel cleaners but not much better. Otherwise they are in good shape. Has anyone or does anyone know how to paint alunimum wheels? I suspect they 'had' a clearcoat on them. Not sure now. Bought this truck last year very stock with a good body and 4 banger with everything working (A/C, heater, radio, etc.). Trying to make it look better. Would stripping the wheels and painting work? Prefer an aluminum color. Truck is Ford white.

 

[Loanranger]

You could go about this a couple different ways.

The first would be my personal choice, sand the wheels down, starting with 320 grit on the rough spots, followed by 500 grit, 1000.... working your way up to 1500 or 2000 grit, depending on the final polish you use. You can get a number of different polishes, check Lowes, they have polishing wheels you can put on a 4.5 inch angle grinder, and the polishing compound to go with it. This is going to be a tedious and messy job, but the end result should look like a million bucks if you take your time.
At this point you have a couple other options. You can either clean the wheels with some wax and grease remover and clearcoat them, or just keep up on polishing them every couple weeks. If you keep up on polishing them, it should just take a little time with some wheel cleaner and a rag to keep them looking good. If you clearcoat them, you can just wash them and be done.

If you want to paint them, aluminum will be just like painting steel rims, proper prep is the key. Start by sanding out pits with 320 grit, some may take a little more agressive sandpaper, aluminum is soft, so it shouldn't take much to sand out the imperfections. Final sand them with 500 grit, and clean them with some wax and grease remover. You will want to use an adhesion promoter, Bulldog is a good brand, and you can get it at walmart in a purple can with a bulldog on the front. Spray a light coat of this on and let it dry aproximately 15 minutes, then spray your paint on, and let dry.

 

[Earl43P]

^^^^^^^What he said, pasted below.

"If you want to paint them, aluminum will be just like painting steel rims, proper prep is the key. Start by sanding out pits with 320 grit, some may take a little more agressive sandpaper, aluminum is soft, so it shouldn't take much to sand out the imperfections. Final sand them with 500 grit, and clean them with some wax and grease remover. You will want to use an adhesion promoter, Bulldog is a good brand, and you can get it at walmart in a purple can with a bulldog on the front. Spray a light coat of this on and let it dry aproximately 15 minutes, then spray your paint on, and let dry."



All I did was (remove the tires and wheel weights) sand the corrosion smooth, feathering into the "good" paint. Lightly sand the good paint, for adhesion, then de-grease - I used carb/choke cleaner. Then I shot them with Duplicolor Wheel paint, followed by a coat of Duplicolor Wheel clear.

They came out really nice, with minimal work.

 

[Hazmat Ranger]

Another option is powder coating - although it can be pricey unless you know someone in the biz. Powder coating is the best option in my opinion. Durable and an awesome finish.

 

[MoonDoggie]

Thanks, guys

Just what I was looking for. Most people just buy new ones but at over $100 apiece and me being retired, just can't justify that. I don't mind the hard work and elbow grease and may try the polishing first since it is a precursor to painting anyway and these two methods can save me a lot of dough. Special thanks to Loanranger for the detail I need to do the job right. This won't be a fast job since I will be doing it between my other "retirement projects" and the Ranger is not my primary vehicle. I normally drive my 2006 Frontier King Cab 2.5 4-banger but I know the Ranger can get better gas milage since the best I get out of the Frontier is 21-22 mpg, town & highway. Someday I will post some pics if I ever can compare with some of the Rangers I've seen on this forum.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Just what I was looking for. Most people just buy new ones but at over $100 apiece and me being retired, just can't justify that.

$75 for the set of four rims at a swap meet. I polished them (they have no clearcoat) and replaced the four cruddy looking center caps for about $15 a pop (ouch). Just gotta keep a watch out for bargains.

They are a little more maintenance than clear coated alloys, but I figure if Ford couldn't get it right, I doubt I will either. If I was you I would just strip what clear is left and keep them polished, and see how that works.

The big thing is to get the weights mounted in the backside of the rim, they cause most of the grief with alloys. I know the balance won't be exactly perfect, but it goes down the road like a cadillac like it is even with mud tires.