Do I Need To Sand Steelies Before Painting?

[BaseManSquatch]

I bought five 16" steelies for my Ford Bronco and would like to paint them black.

According to Chris Fix, a famous youtuber, he recommends sanding the steel wheels first before painting them in this video:

How to Paint the Wheels on your Car - YouTube

However, the steelies I bought are take off wheels that someone used for only 50 miles before upgrading their wheels, they weren`t painted.

I am attaching some photos of the wheels so you can see what shape they are in.

Do I really need to sand them first before applying primer and matte black paint? Or can I skip sanding them?


Bonus question:

Can I use Rust-Oleum 249088 Painter`s Touch 2X Ultra Cover as primer
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and can I use Rust-Oleum Black BlackRust-Oleum Automotive 251574 11-Ounce Trim and Bumper Spray, Matte to paint them?
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About how many cans of each product to cover five 16" rims?

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[swami37]

Need to sand them yes
remove the luster only. Don’t need to go deep

 

[djp]

just scuff away the luster

https://a.co/d/2mZNQjl

 

[nwGTS]

50 miles can put a lot of road oil onto wheels. Or at least enough to not allow a primer, etcher or paint to stick. So yes, you'll first need to wash them clean with a light solvent like Simple Green and then either blast or sand/scuff them. Then have at it with an etch primer and your paint. They'll look great for a long time.

Having said all this, if black is your color choice you can likely get these powder coated for a couple hundred bucks and save yourself the trouble. PC will also last longer than painting.

 

[FleshTuxedo]

50 miles can put a lot of road oil onto wheels. Or at least enough to not allow a primer, etcher or paint to stick. So yes, you'll first need to wash them clean with a light solvent like Simple Green and then either blast or sand/scum them. Then have at it with an etch primer and your paint. They'll look great for a long time.

Having said all this, if black is your color choice you can likely get these powder coated for a couple hundred bucks and save yourself the trouble. PC will also last longer than painting.

This

 

[UM_Ftown]

Take the wheel weights off and valve stems too. When it’s rebalanced you’ll have a little silver spot if you don’t.

And fyi I’ve never sanded have had good luck. Since you already have the tires off I’d suggest looking for a local powder coater, likely run $400-$600 to do that to all 5 wheels.

 

[Fly by Nite]

just scuff away the luster

https://a.co/d/2mZNQjl

That's the easiest way (Scotch Brite pads) to scuff the surface. They're easier to use than plain sandpaper and conform to irregular surfaces well. Another option is fine steel wool, like 0000.
The goal is to scuff the surface to remove gloss. Those 'scratches' will give the paint something to grip on to. If you don't sand/scuff at all, the paint will eventually flake off.

A wipedown with wax and grease remover is done before scuffing to remove surface contaminates, and after scuffing to remove particles. A strong detergent will work but not as well as W&G remover.

You could get away with not using primer. The scuffed factory paint is a good base.
I wouldn't use matte black, any road grease will make shiny spots. Gloss black will hold up better.

 

[BaseManSquatch]

Thanks everyone for the advice.

I`m also thinking about getting them powdercoated. I called a couple of shops nearby and they both are charging $125 per wheel.

I`m worried that if I do paint them and use a touchless car wash, sooner or later the high pressure nozzles will damage the paint. Some of those nozzles shoot out water at a very high pressure.

If I do get them powdercoated should I go with matte, gloss or semi-gloss? The wheels are going on a white 4 door Ford Bronco. What do you guys think? Would using a touchless car wash damage the powdercoating?

 

[Tricky Dick]

Thanks everyone for the advice.

I`m also thinking about getting them powdercoated. I called a couple of shops nearby and they both are charging $125 per wheel.

I`m worried that if I do paint them and use a touchless car wash, sooner or later the high pressure nozzles will damage the paint. Some of those nozzles shoot out water at a very high pressure.

If I do get them powdercoated should I go with matte, gloss or semi-gloss? The wheels are going on a white 4 door Ford Bronco. What do you guys think? Would using a touchless car wash damage the powdercoating?

Good paint will hold up to the wash, the PC even better. My local PC place charges $300-350 for a set of 4 wheels depending on what special they're running, so shop around.

 

[RaceRedOBX]

In my opinion I would just scuff them up with a brillo pad to remove the luster and give the paint something to hold on to. I wouldn't waste my time powder coating steel wheels. I have painted multiple sets of wheels over the years "Atv's, Tacoma, etc". I used duplicolor wheel paint kits and they held up really well and touch up was a breeze if they got a scuff or chip.

 

[Pancho Kornwallace]

I have a Base Bronco with the 16" Silver Steel Wheels. The price of steel wheel "take offs" are ridiculously low in my local FB Marketplace. I am pretty sure I can get them for about $20/ ($100 total) with some light negotiation.

However, the market is also flooded with BLACK 17" take off wheels (from the Black Diamond Trim). I am considering just buying a set that is listed there for about $30/ ($150 for 5 including TPMS, again some light negotiation to get to that price) and just holding on to them until I can afford/need bigger tires. That way I can swap out my silver "orginal" steelies for the black ones perhaps 2x per year (winter season and summer/mud tire season)

Getting a set of black "take offs" may be cheaper than trying to make silver ones black.

The third option is to get wheels AND tires takeoffs. There are tons of Outer Banks take offs out there. Pretty sure I can the price down to about $350 for a set of 5 Wheels, TPMS and Tires.

 

[Black_Stallion13]

PC is the best option, but as others said seems silly to pay for when u can get a whole set of black diamond wheels/tires for almost same price on Facebook marketplace. If you paint, you should also be using filler primer between sanding and paint to fill the scratches you create when scuffing and such. Follow this video exactly and you will get great results:

If you don't want to hassle with all the prep and paint, you can clean them real good and use plastidip. If you actually follow all the plastidip instructions (unlike 90% of people) AND use their glossifier at the end the wheels will turn out great and will hold up just about as good as paint will. I've painted and plastidipped multiple sets of steel wheels in the past and had great results with both. I'd do gunmetal vs. black though just my .02. here's the plastidip video I usually reference:

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