How To Refurbish Your Wheels At Home With Rattle CansMy alloy wheels were in need of a refurbishment. The polished rims are dull, the powedercoat is flaking off. This is how I refurbish wheels.
This guide is how I refurbished my alloy wheels, from flaking powder coat to shiny black gloss paint. I am not a professional painter/sprayer, so my advice should be treated as entertainment only.
If you decide to follow these steps, you do so at your own risk. Please let me know if you have any questions, corrections or comments below.
Removing old Powder Coat
The first step was removing the old white powder coat/paint residue. It wasn't a difficult job as it was mainly flaking off anyway.
The paint was removed using Nitromors gel. Pour it on and make sure every bit of paint gets covered. It's hard on the vertical surfaces but not impossible.
I left the Nitromors to work overnight and during the day. The paint was blistered and flaked off when I checked in on it after work the following day. I had to scrape it off with an old credit card.
The vertical bits were more tricky; I used a Dremel tool to remove the paint.
I also used the Dremel to clean the nuts and polish the rim.
I then washed the wheels and wiped them with alcohol to remove all the surface grease and residue from the Nitromors and any dust from the Dremel.
Masking and Painting
The next step was to mask off all the areas I didn't want the paint to get on. This was tricky due to the rim's roundness and nuts around the edge. I tore off tiny bits of masking tape and individually wrapped each nut, followed by the tyre itself.
Just before applying the first coat of primer, I wiped the wheel down again with a panel wipe. Any fingerprints or grease will spoil the paint.
I left about 24 hours between coats. I applied two coats of primer and three coats of paint. I used Hammerite black gloss spray cans.
Final Result
Once the paint had dried, I peeled off the masking tape. The first piece came off okay, but the second took some paint. Not too much, and I was able to touch it up. I ran a knife around the rim to separate the paint from the paint on the tape. This proved effective in preventing the tape from pulling the paint off. Once all the tape was removed, I could see the finished result. Much better than before!
