Painting H2 Wheels black?

J

JTProuhet

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I just got some H2 wheels, they are the grey ones. Well after further cleaning them, I noticed that one of them has some spots where the clear coat got cracked and corroded underneath.. So i took a little air sander with a scotch brite pad for it and kindve sanded away the clear coat and got rid of the corrosion.. So now, I have decided to paint them black. But i am not sure how to do it.. They all have clear coat on them. And i have seen alot of H2 wheels painted black and was curious how you guys are doing it. If you are stripping the clear coat off or if you are just sanding them down and then spraying them with some self etching primer and then painting them, or if you are just scuffing them up and spraying them? I have heard most of the guys that have painted them are using Duplicolor or Dupoint wheel paint.. Is this correct? Any help is greatly appreciated
 
I think i am going to just try some 800 or 1000 grit sand paper, when them down with soap and water and then spray some primer down and then just paint them... Think it would work?
 
I have yet to see paint hold up very well to a wheel mounting machine. Powdercoat IMO is the only way it's going to hold up for years of use/abuse.
 
I dont want to powder coat them... 1) dont really want to spend the money 2) i dont like the looks of them powder coated and 3) i have heard bad things about powdercoating aluminum.. Someone said that the heat from powdercoating them makes the aluminum brittle...

I wouldnt mind having to repaint them ever so ofter, i just dont want the stuff to flake off after a month..
 
I would sandblast them... I had a set of H2 wheels and was planning on doing the same thing, but I was going to sandblast them and powdercoat them.
 
I thought about that too... But i figured that it would mess up the wheel.. Maybe not?
 
Alright, so i just went ahead and just did it.. Here is how i did it.. I guess kindve a little write up

This is what one of the wheels looked like except all over the wheel and this is what caused me to decided to paint the whole wheel.

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First I washed the wheels with soap and water and brush..

Then I blew them all off with the air hose to dry them..

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Then I went to town scrubbing them down with scotchbrite and 800 grit sand paper.. Every corner and every crevis..

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This is what it looked like when I was done.. No shineyness left.

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I then wiped them down with a lint free cloth and some rubbing alcohol to get everything off of them.

Then I used Duplicolor Self-Etching Primer and sprayed them with a couple coats.

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I let them sit over night to dry in the heated shop since it was getting down in the 40s at night here

Then I sanded down the few spots that needed attention and then wiped them down again and used Duplicolor Wheel coating in Flat black. I did a light coat, let them sit for about 7-8 minutes and then shot another light coat, let them sit for about another 7-8 minutes and then sprayed a pretty heavy coat.

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Now just time to let them cure good.. Now just have to decide if i am going to used chrome center caps, paint the center caps black, or go no center caps and use chrome lug nuts... Hopefully the paint holds up ok mounting the tires...
 
looks good man. make sure you clear coat them. thats the biggest mistake people make when they paint them i cleared mine 3 times thats keeps them from flaking and also gives them a good shine and will keep brake dust from eating the paint.....:rockwoot:
 
Here they are mounted finally!

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Stock wheels from rear of truck:
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H2 wheels from rear of truck:
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Sorry the pictures were taken with my iphone... i will get some better pictures with my digi camera
 
How did the paint hold up mounting the tires? my H2's are peeling bad, and I am looking for options, cause they look bad!, got them new, ran them through one Pennsylvania winter, and they started bubbling, and peeling all over the place..... I'm open to suggestions also... Thanks,, and they look good bud!!
 
Last edited:
jesse said:
How did the paint hold up mounting the tires? my H2's are peeling bad, and I am looking for options, cause they look bad!, got them new, ran them through one Pennsylvania winter, and they started bubbling, and peeling all over the place..... I'm open to suggestions also... Thanks,, and they look good bud!!
Click to expand...

Held up just fine to mounting.. but i didnt use any tools either.. I just put some tire mounting lube on the whole bead and just stepped on it and it popped right on... I had the tire on withing about 2 mintues..
 
I can take some close ups of the wheels if you want.. I was really impressed on how they look.. It took a long time to prep them and paint them.. I think i spent about close to 10 hours total from start to finish on them... Thats also not including drying time on the primer and paint.. I let the primer sit for a day and then let the paint dry for 5 days..
 
I had my semi's powdercoated and I havent had any problems with it for almost 2 years now
 
I hve been thinking about painting my stupid looking plastic covered chromie looking wheels. Did you shoot them with some clear?
 
You don't need to paint the simulators, just take em off and respray the stock wheels if need be
 
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