Painted OEM Wheels

I am thinking of painting my OEM Wheels. I really like the dark bronze color and don't hate the OEM wheel design.

Here is a photoshop of what I am going for. I couldn't get the color exactly as I wanted it.


Here is the color I am going for.


Thoughts? Does anyone know someone who has done this? Pictures?

 

Looking at my photoshop color next to my inspiration is painful....

 

I was going to powder coat my 3rd gen TRD OR wheels. It was going to run $600. I found the SEMA wheels for $700 and went that direction instead. You can get them in bronze if that’s your thing. Thought that was a better solution than paint, plastidip or decals.

 

Most people scare easily at this project but it’s super easy.

spend plenty of time during prep and go slow.
If you don’t like how it turns out, do it again.

FYI - I tried the bronze plastidip and it came out of the nozzle all funky and generally did not work as well as the black dip. Didn’t even finish one wheel.

 

OP, yes the prep is the hardest, longest time and most critical of steps.

I started with this.....


Chem strippers didn't touch the 15 yo paint. Used wire wheels on a 4 1/2" grinder and a drill to remove the corrosion and OEM paint. The wheels did not have rubber or TPMS or weights.....just aluminum wheel. I spent 5-6 hours on each wheel just stripping.

The "paint" was a 2K urethane system from Sherwin-Williams Automotive Supply. 2 coats each, black primer, color, satin clear. Specifically, the Sunfire product line.

 

Those look great! Nice job on them!

 

Thanks....

Had a young person ask me where I got my wheels while filling at the Casey's gas station.

I told him, "They're OEM. Came with the truck." He gave me a funny look and walked over to his 3rd Gen.

 

Nice! Did you just pop the Toyota badge off the center caps?

 

Painted my 2nd gen wheels,



I'm tempted to do my 3rd gen wheels next.

 

Yes, the emblem was held on by 3 snap tabs. No need to mask them. Made cleaning them very easy.

 

That looks great!

 

Rattle canned some 4Runner wheels. Wire wheeling took the most effort. Spray primer then semigloss black wheel paint.

 

I would highly recommend getting them professionally re-manufactured and powder coated, not painted. Powder coating is a very durable finish, and there are literally hundreds of colors and textures to choose from. The OEM wheels have a powder coat finish that is very tough and time consuming to remove. I have a set of FJ wheels on my 2008 Sport and had the redone a few summers ago, but with black powder coat and not the OEM silver, and I'm very happy with how they turned out. The whole process took 2 days. I just dropped my truck off at the shop and they did everything. They dismount the tires, chemically strip the OEM finish, do minor repairs to the wheels, powder coat, recut the machined face of the wheels, remount the tires, balance them, and remount. Cost me roughly $625 for all 4. AWRS did mine. It's a franchise business and there are locations all over the US.