Sand Blasting & Powder Coating

Hey All,

As you can see from the pic - my rims are crappy. I would like to get them sand blasted (remove rust, etc.) and powder coated.

1) I live on Long Island. Central Nassau so if anyone has a recommendation on a place to do this - please let me know. I don't know of any places around me that do this.

2) Since I am doing this I am also open to ideas on paint, etc. I am not going to change the rims - stock is fine. Just rather jazz them up. Open to ideas for the center caps as well.

I am also going to change the lug nuts - they're too short in length and are rusty as well.

Tires are new less than 5k so they're staying. I will replace the TPMS as they're original and will get the tires re-balanced/TPMS re-programmed after the rims are finished

As always - thanking you in advance!!

 

I know you said that you aren’t going to change your rims but if you go the powder coat route you could be spending more to do that than just picking up a set of wheels off Craigslist. Least expensive option is to remove the old paint , sand the wheels and then respray them. If you paint or powder coat you have a ton of options on what color to choose. It’s your ride do what makes you happy!

 

Thanks for the info.

Removing the old paint would be hard as there are so many nooks and crannies to get into. Hence the sandblasting. Makes sense?

 

As for other options I am always open to see what others have done (i.e. post pics) and then if I see something I like I can take it from there.....

 

Or spray on paint remover, any auto parts store should sell it.

 

Is Sandblasting for 4 rims that expensive?

 

Blasting plus powder coat around here is between $50 and $75 per wheel. Similar price to what I've seen steel wheels for on CL.

 

That's not too bad. I was think $100 per wheel.

Plus I'm thinking about changing the color. Buying a new stock steel I am stuck with the same silver color.

I am looking for ideas that others here on TW have done. My truck is Metallic Gray. Thinking of going maybe a shade or 2 darker with blackout center caps and black lug nuts...

Thoughts?

 

A powder coated finish is durable for looks and wear. But an issue when used on steel, is once it starts rusting, the process breaks its bond to the metal. Then finish will flake and peal off. Where those seams are (where hub is welded to rim) will be the starting point. The PC will not get in there.

I painted my wheels for winter use. When I mount them, I shoot those seams with WD-40, as well as the back side. Let it seep in and wipe off excess, then again after a few miles. On my second year and no rust yet.

 

That's what is currently happening now to my rims now. See pic in post #1. If I can get another 10 years out of this process, I am good. By that time the Tacoma will be 20 years old and I was thinking of giving it to my son as he will be 17 and driving. This way I can get a new Taco, Gen 4? E-Taco? Who knows....LOL

Love the pic - the 3 tone stands out nicely. So let me get this straight. You did all the work? De-rusted them yourself or sandblasted? Painted it and lubed them?

 

I had two sets of the 17inch sport wheels powder coated and they charged $100 a wheel. So for $400 it's not a bad deal imo. Especially due to the faulty coating they come with from Toyota is junk.

 

As mentioned before get a set of wheels off Craigslist. Much cheaper than powder coat.
https://portland.craigslist.org/clk/wto/d/rainier-2016-toyota-tacoma-stock-wheels/7460256304.html

 

Mine were about same condition as yours, not real bad. I sanded off as much of rusted areas as I could and scuffed the rest of original paint. Self etching primer on bare metal areas, then primed whole thing in standard primer. Two coats of paint, two coats of clear. That's it. All in a couple evenings.

The paint was a Krylon brand from Wal-Mart. One can did all 4 wheels. But a strange thing happened. I did one wheel first as a test to see if I liked the color. It passed my scrutiny, so I did the other three. Those three were a different shade than the first. Same can, same technique, kept can shook while using, same number of coats....but they came out different. Best I can describe it is that there is a bit more metal flake in the first one. All sitting next to each other on the floor even the wife noticed it!

What did I do....said screw it and mounted tires! You got to look real hard in the daylight to spot it.