I've painted several alloys and they all held well up. I think it's best to glass blast them first and use epoxy primer under the paint, the epoxy will give you a good hold for the paint. But if the rim has been painted before and the paint is ok than I recommend using P320-P500 and then use non sanding primer from Glasurit (or someone else). You can put the paint straight on the non sanding.
x2, don't mess with liquid primer for an alum wheel, then rattle can or gun paint it. waste of time IMO. you can get some very durable powders these days and even upgrade to a clearcoat powder if you want showroom quality. cost is usually $20~$35/wheel depending on where you go.
Take them to a plating shop and have them Chem filmed or anodized. The deox and etch tank will take care of the rest, Cost about 65.00 for a lot fee. Then you can paint or powder coat as required. I have painted rims before but you need to use a high solids urethane like Jet-Glo. The rattle can stuff isn't worth the money. Powder coating is great but when you bang them up you can't touch them up to look right.
i had all the same big ideas too.... i went to the tire shop to get the tires off and found out the PO had ordered up some bent rims for me. no point in spending time and money on bent rims. worth checking out first. i ended up just painting for now, until i can afford new tires and rims at the same time. blasting and powder coating was going to be more than new black rims. go figure.
If you are going to paint the rims yourself you are going to want to locate some Zinc Chromate Primer. At work we get rattle cans of the stuff. This is what we use when we are repaint aircraft repairs. This etches the aluminum and provides excellent adhesion of the paint.
1st thouroughly clean the rims, soap n water to rmove big grease and dirt.
2nd Go over the clean rims with acetone and wipe the wheel thouroughly.
Allow the acetone to completely dry and evaporate. Overnight if possible, because some might still be trapped in the nooks and crannies.
3rd Apply the Zinc Chromate primer according to the mfg's specs.
4th Paint.
It might seem like alot of work but it is possible for this to be DIY.
Good Luck.
Andy
Plane -
Didn't think the Zinc Chromate priimer etched the aluminum: think I've seen muratic acid to do that.
In any case it's an involved process not worth the time, expense, & effort. Cost me about $25 per wheel to get BBS "lace" alloys sandblasted & powder painted (from Roger @ Taint Paint in COSP).
