Painting steel wheels?

[1984 CJ7]

Anyone paint there wheels? I am not plaing on wheeling my Jeep, just normal road driving and i am not really wanting to buy a $400 set of black steel wheels. So, since my factory ones are pretty beat up, the clear coat on them is dull and pealing, I thought about painting them black.

Will this hold up? what is the best prep work and paint to use?

Thanks!

OR, would it just look getto if I tried this?

 

[Incommando]

I just lightly scuff them with a fine sanding block first then just spray them off and let them dry before painting them.

I have had great success using the paint intended to touch up bumper covers from Dupli-color and the like. It runs about $6 a can and a can will do 4 regular wheels. It goes on and dries smoothly and seems to be durable around the lug nut hole where often paint flakes and peels off. Works well on both steel wheels and alloy wheels. It is not exactly paint and maybe that is why it works well?
Dupli-Color® Flexible Bumper Coating | Product Details | Pep Boys

The grey-ish silver option works really well, too.

 

[1984 CJ7]

Perfect! Thanks, for the heads up!! So, you did this and it is still going strong. I figured since i do not wheel it, then i should be ok. Can you do this by just masking off the tire or do you need to remove the tire?

 

[Incommando]

Perfect! Thanks, for the heads up!! So, you did this and it is still going strong. I figured since i do not wheel it, then i should be ok. Can you do this by just masking off the tire or do you need to remove the tire?

I have done both. With careful masking the tire is fine but you will have to remove/replace any visible wheel weights and the valve stem area can be a bit more tricky. The best set I ever did was a set a sprayed with no tires or valve stems. Steelies are generally easier tha alloys as the alloys often have recessed holes for the valve stem and lug nuts. The steelie have everything more or less flush with the rim. But if you spray around these areas in a couple of lighter coats you can avoid getting runs from the unusual shape letting the paint build up too much in one area before you get the whole area covered.

I just sold a KJ with a set of factory alloys on it that I painted 3 years ago and they still looked good.

 

[1984 CJ7]

If I take the weights off, will I be able to get them back on and in the right place as to not have to rebalance?

 

[007]

If I take the weights off, will I be able to get them back on and in the right place as to not have to rebalance?

Perhaps, but you can have the tire shop re-balance with weights all on the inside so you don't muck up your new paint.

 

[PetesPonies]

Sure you can. Just make a mark on the tire to show where the weight goes. Since you are dealing with spray cans, if you use a primer, use an etch primer. It is the ONLY primer anyone should be using from a spray can. It is the best for going over bare steel.