I have been thinking of painting or powder coating by factory 17 inch wheels black. Will the paint hold up? Would it be better to powder coat? Does anybody regret doing this? Also, anyone willing to post some pics???

Thanks everyone,
Matt

 

I have seen some guys that have painted their rims. They look like painted rims. I personally don't like the look. You would be better off with steelies.

 

Try Plasti-Dip (or whatever the spelling). It'll come out glossy black with a rubber feel to it. I've had many friends (not Jeepers) do it to their aluminum rims,and it holds rather nicely.
VW community had been doing it for years...

 

 

If you will go to Show and Tell thread you will see post for black rims, there are alot of pictures.

 

I'm planning to paint mine within the next week or so. I'm just still trying to decide what pattern I'm going to do (how much of the wheel... leave the lip silver, etc etc).

I painted my original factory Mustang wheels with good results. They didn't look like a home job IMO. This was done with a few cans of Duplicolor spray paint. My new center caps hadn't come in yet, but you get the idea of what a home job can look like anyway. The key is proper prep. The paint held up fine, no issues.

 

I painted mine about a year ago using spray on bedliner. I sanded, then used self etching primer on the rims first. Then painted them and they have held up very well.

However, I would not do it again unless I immediately went over and got the wheels and tires balanced. It may not seem like much, but it will certainly throw off the balance, especially with MT tires. at 50mph I have a reall nice shake in the wheels now and it's really too late to do anything about it until I get new tires.