Rim question

[Searcher67]

Call me crazy, but I LIKE the rims that came with my KJ. they are the 6 spoke aluminum. What I don't like is the fact that they are silver (aluminum).

My question is:

Can I sand blast them and paint them black?

I have a blast cabinet and spray guns to do the job. I have never painted aluminum rims before though.

Thanks

 

[The Fixer]

Sand might be too coarse and ruin the aluminum underneath. You could try something finer than sand (dunno, never messed with that stuff), but the easy way would be to use a paint/clearcoat stripping agent. Just remove the clear, then prime and paint as usual. Try to use a high-temp paint and clear, because the wheels get hot under heavy braking.

 

[Powerslave]

I have seen people paint their rims, but it doesn't last long. It then starts to look very bad when it starts pealing and cracking. You would need to specially prepare to paint them properly so they don't get to looking crappy later. Painting aluminum is harder prep than painting the steel ones.

When aluminum is exposed to air, a surface oxide forms that protects the metal in many environments. Unfortunately, the natural oxide is not uniform, and localized corrosion can occur. Also, the oxide is not stable at low or high pH. Solubility at elevated pH creates problems under paint.

Pretreatment: One way to improve the corrosion resistance of painted aluminum is to chemically treat the surface to make it more passive. Pretreatments or conversion coatings react with the surface, converting the oxide into a relatively inert film that provides good paint adhesion and improved corrosion resistance. This film can be amorphous or crystalline, depending on the pretreatment.

http://www.ronjoseph.com/painting-aluminum.htm

 

[Ry' N Jen]

I would recommend a different media to blast with. Something like crushed walnut shell would certainly work and not damage the alloy underneath. Once fully stripped, I would use a silicone wax and polish remover for example.(I personally would only remove the factory silver finish on the face of the wheel and not the inside lip where the tire mounts {That way the tire and rim will bead properly} or the back of the wheels.{To save on paint/powder coating costs.}) Then once dry, spray the wheels with an aluminum primer, once dry, paint with a compatible paint.
The other thing you could do is have the wheels powder coated; that would be the most durable finish for wheels.