- Thread starter
- #21
So, my test wheels are some 14” Toyota alloys that I bead blasted with glass beads with a friends cabinet. It works pretty well but it does take some time. Kind of fun though.
Blasting rims at home
- Thread starter thetoyotaman
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- Thread starter
- #22
Finished blasting them this week. Planning on painting them today with the Rustoleum self etching primer, paint, and clear coat since I don’t know exactly what they are made of and read some can crack if overheated. I wanted to find graphite color but searched all over town and had no luck so I’m going to paint the silver because I have to get it done. Note to self though for the 80 will need to order paint ahead of time.
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- #23
A little self etching primer...
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- #24
Final paint. Everything seemed to go well until the clear coat where I had a few runs. Wondering about some wet sanding to those areas down the road, but overall very pleased with the quality of the results for some snow rims. I’ll be able to get a better picture after they fully cure.
Those look great, @thetoyotaman; nice work. I've sandblasted and painted 8 rims in a cabinet. If the cabinet on the small size, my only tip to pass along is to take out the screen/perforated "floor" within the blast cabinet. If this is possible, it gives much more working room and your wrists will thank you.
Looks good! I would wait for a few weeks before tackling the runs in the clear. I have made the mistake of being too antsy enough times to have learned that it's slightly more work to wet sand the cured the paint, but you don't run the risk of having the paper grab the paint and start to tear it or hold all the dirt you are making and making a smeary mess that will have to be done over.
I would probably just roll with them unless it's really obvious.
Why did you clear coat them? Didn't the wheel paint say that it wasn't necessary?
I would probably just roll with them unless it's really obvious.
Why did you clear coat them? Didn't the wheel paint say that it wasn't necessary?
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- #27
Mainly for some extra protection but the paint didn’t look completed before either.
I see. The graphite color looked fine but I also didn't want them to be super shiny.
Your's look great though!
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- #29
Thanks. To me this color looked half done before the clear coat. It goes on heavier than the color.
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- #30
Just an update on the paint. It appears to me that it may be a week to fully cure with curing temperatures in the 60s. Definitely glad I haven’t taken them to the tire shop yet. That being said, the back side where I didn’t coat with clear seems very hardened and high quality wheel paint. The clear isn’t as shiny now that it’s dryer and I probably wouldn’t purchase it again. But this is why I wanted a learning curve on the these practice wheels and wanted to report back here.
My local powder coater charges $30 per wheel to blast and coat whatever color you want
Did a great job on the rusty junkyard wheels for my Road Runner
That is a steal of a price, I think up here there would be an extra zero behind that price. It would almost be cheaper to ship them there and back.
Roadrunner looks good BTW!
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- #32
Waited until today to mount the tires to let the paint harden. A little chipped off in the center from the balancer but otherwise went well.
The test wheels look great. Let us know how the real deal turns out.
gofast
SILVER Star
I had an interesting scenario when I did the wife's steel wheels for her winters. I waited for the paint to harden - or thought I did. I waited about 10 days - it just worked out that way as it took me that long to get the rims to the shop. And I also did a clear overcoat. Had the new rubber mounted and balanced and had no chips so was pretty happy.
Mounted the wheels and when I went to change them over in the spring each wheel had bonded with the hub. The paint on the back side of the rim where it sat on the hub became like glue. I literally had to kick the tire with a great deal force to have it break free of the hub. It might be a good idea to uninstall and reinstall them while the paint is still "curing" and break the bond if its going to happen to you - it might be soft now. I used a base etching primer, duplicolor wheel paint and duplicolor acrylic clear.
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- #35
Interesting. I’ll be up for 1st rotation in 4-6 weeks that the tire shop will do.
Les Schwab will sand blast and powdercoat wheels. Typically for around 30 bucks a wheel. They offer 6 or 7 different colors fyi.
Good to know. We don't have that company up in Canada as far as I know, but I might look into that.
Someone in the club had a set of old 15x10 white spoke wheels to get rid of, and I had traded an old compound bow to a friend for a set of weld on beadlocks the other year, so I picked up the wheels and will get to welding them sometime (after 3 or 4 other things)
I'm pretty sure either of these places would regret the $30 a piece advertised price if I brought them in, with the extra work to blast behind the bead and all. I should do this! haha.
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- #38
I have been contemplating colors for the 80 series rims and ran across this thread that shows one option I like:
Old wheels, New tires
Old wheels, New tires
Those are mine. I've had them on for about 14 months now and they've held up great. The powder coat is a Prismatic Powders color called Galaxy Grey III. I think you're planning on painting, so I can't help you with the color, but I think that most shades of grey will look good.
The lug nuts, on the other hand, were a bit of a disaster. The black oxide materials were pretty expensive and though the finish looked good initially, it wasn't durable at all. They rust over after a few months, then I clean them up and they just rust again. I'll probably just break down and buy another set.
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- #40
I’m contemplating powder coating again as it’s an easier job to complete over the winter. But the center caps still have to be rattle can painted.
