Author Topic: Looking for advice on painting / staining aluminum wheels  (Read 8726 times)

Offline Bangkok Mick

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Looking for advice on painting / staining aluminum wheels
« on: January 18, 2014, 06:19:27 AM »
 Having found some aluminum wheel rims I am looking to make them look more authentic like steel rims as I cannot find steel of this diameter.

Can anyone suggest a good way to stain, darken or paint them so they do not look so much like aluminum.

Cheers Mick



Offline Arbalist

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Re: Looking for advice on painting / staining aluminum wheels
« Reply #1 on: January 18, 2014, 06:44:17 AM »
Probably the most durable would be to have them anodised. Colour of your choice but black would look nice?

Offline Stilldrillin

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Re: Looking for advice on painting / staining aluminum wheels
« Reply #2 on: January 18, 2014, 08:51:00 AM »
Mick.
I'm thinking chemical gun blue, might be worth a try.......  :thumbup:

David D
David.

Still drilling holes... Sometimes, in the right place!

Still modifying bits of metal... Occasionally, making an improvement!

Offline Lew_Merrick_PE

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Re: Looking for advice on painting / staining aluminum wheels
« Reply #3 on: January 18, 2014, 12:06:59 PM »
Mick -- If you have somebody in your area that makes aluminum aircraft parts, they will almost certainly have a set-up to apply "chromate" finish to aluminum.  This is be baby puke green color, relatively thick (.010 inch or so) coating that aircraft manufacturers depend on to slow down corrosion and act as a foundation for paint.  Any good real enamel paint will stick quite nicely to a chromate undercoat.

Offline Jonny

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Re: Looking for advice on painting / staining aluminum wheels
« Reply #4 on: January 18, 2014, 04:02:53 PM »
That's for steels David, it will eat aluminiums.
Not very good any way.



Offline Arbalist

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Re: Looking for advice on painting / staining aluminum wheels
« Reply #5 on: January 18, 2014, 04:43:25 PM »
I've not found wipe on chemical blacking for aluminium works very well.

Offline Doc

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Re: Looking for advice on painting / staining aluminum wheels
« Reply #6 on: January 18, 2014, 09:01:07 PM »
I purchased the powder coat system Harbor Freight sells and I am very happy with it. Powder coating parts the paint is way more durable then just painting them. I would like to get a set up for anodize but just don't have the room to do that properly so I have been powder coating instead.
  And by the way nice looking project you have going there!

Offline TLGriff

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Re: Looking for advice on painting / staining aluminum wheels
« Reply #7 on: January 18, 2014, 10:29:09 PM »
Anodizing will quickly fade on wheels because it has poor UV resistance and it is also a very thin coating (less than .001"). Paints don't adhere well to aluminum at all and have poor chip resistance. Powder coating on the other hand is often used for chassis applications because of its impact resistance and would be the best choice for wheels, although they would still need to be sand blasted first for the best adhesion.

Tom

Offline Doc

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Re: Looking for advice on painting / staining aluminum wheels
« Reply #8 on: January 18, 2014, 11:57:25 PM »
Sand blasting or grit blasting is the only way to go if you powder coat and if you paint you either want to acid etch or grit blast or the paint will not adhere to the aluminum very well at all. I grit blast all the parts I powder coat. If you powder coat you will need an oven to cure parts also.
   I use a toaster oven I found one at Walmart that was a good size for doing all my small model parts and it was cheep.

Offline Bangkok Mick

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Re: Looking for advice on painting / staining aluminum wheels
« Reply #9 on: January 19, 2014, 09:12:47 PM »
Mick.
I'm thinking chemical gun blue, might be worth a try.......  :thumbup:

David D

Thanks for all the feed back, Would iodizing not just change the colour and highlight that it is made from aluminum. The effect I am really looking for is to have them looking like steel as would be used on a real steam tractor.

Would chemical bluing do this?

Cheers Mick

Offline Stilldrillin

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Re: Looking for advice on painting / staining aluminum wheels
« Reply #10 on: January 20, 2014, 02:00:43 AM »
Mick.
I'm thinking chemical gun blue, might be worth a try.......  :thumbup:

David D

Thanks for all the feed back, Would iodizing not just change the colour and highlight that it is made from aluminum. The effect I am really looking for is to have them looking like steel as would be used on a real steam tractor.

Would chemical bluing do this?

Cheers Mick

Seems not, Mick! According to them as knows.........  :(

I have only ever used it, to touch up, steel gun components.

David D
David.

Still drilling holes... Sometimes, in the right place!

Still modifying bits of metal... Occasionally, making an improvement!

Offline TLGriff

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Re: Looking for advice on painting / staining aluminum wheels
« Reply #11 on: January 20, 2014, 08:18:57 AM »
Mick,

I totally missed the part about the wheels going on a model engine (not on a car).  :doh:

Sand blast them and paint them the color of your choice. Don't know if you can get it there, but Eastwood sells a paint called Brake Gray for brake cylinders that has powdered metal in it and looks a lot like steel.

Tom

Offline Bangkok Mick

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Re: Looking for advice on painting / staining aluminum wheels
« Reply #12 on: January 20, 2014, 08:50:59 AM »
Mick,

I totally missed the part about the wheels going on a model engine (not on a car).  :doh:

Sand blast them and paint them the color of your choice. Don't know if you can get it there, but Eastwood sells a paint called Brake Gray for brake cylinders that has powdered metal in it and looks a lot like steel.

Tom

This might be a way to go,

Cheers Tom