Painting Stock Wheels

I just got my 2022 Tacoma and while I do think my stock wheels look pretty good for factory wheels, I am having some blacked out wheel envy. But after spending big money to buy my truck, I am not sure I want to drop big money on aftermarket wheels.

What bothers me about my stock wheels is the polished aluminum outline of the wheel "spokes" - it looks too shiny and somewhat chrome-y to me.

I am wondering if there is a way to paint that polished aluminum part of the wheel with maybe a gunmetal color, a flat black to offset the gloss black on the rest of the wheel, or just paint it gloss black match the rest of the wheel - just something to take some of the shine away and give the overall wheel a darker look.

Maybe if I do this and get some aggressive tires, this can get me in a spot where I am happy and don't have to completely go through the process of selling my wheels and buying new ones.

I have never painted wheels and am not sure if there is some sort of clearcoat protective finish on the polished aluminum part of the wheel. I guess plasti-dip could be an option as well.

Anyone have thoughts/experience with this idea?

 

I’m sure someone makes a sticker for this. I hyper dipped mine to see if I like the color. It was easy and I didn’t take them off the truck to do so. Cheap too. If you do paint them, you’ll have to scuff them up a bit

 

You are 100% correct.

I saw a 2021 Trail Edition which came with OR wheels without the machined faces. They looked great.

I think there was someone that painted their 2020+ Sport wheels and they looked pretty good also. It is a lot nicer than the 2016 to 2019 Sport wheels to start with.


I came close to painting mine, but the time and effort to do it put me off. Getting the surfaces prepped for paint is a big chore. The better option would be PlastiDip (Derp). Easy to prep and apply. The only thing is that mounting new tires are going to tear it up a bit.

 

You have the same wheels as me? Do you have any pics of them after the hyper dipping?

 

XP package = Black wheels.
I would never paint wheels. But that is my opinion…I could be wrong.

 

I do not have the same wheels, but here is a picture.
I used 3 cans on 5 wheels. 9-10 coats of dip. Prep was super easy. I did it in one evening after the kids went to bed.

 

If you search Etsy, you'll find black "stickers" that cover up the machine face finish. You could also paint them, my recommendation: Bronze. That color looks great on everything. Plus, you'd be the only one with that color/style wheel.

 

I looked at getting the spot wheels for that exact reason, then I got a sweet deal on my current wheels

 

(2) $6 cans of Plasti Dip, and it lasts. I'm on year 5, and still looking good, including harsh (cold as fuck) winters and blistering (hot as fuck) summers...

 

+1 it’s not worth the hassle. You’d have to paint the entire wheel or it would be a serious pain to mask and won’t look good after (ask me how I know…not on the Taco but a previous vehicle).

Congrats on the new ride! Save up and get yourself some wheels you really like when you can afford them!

 

Hilarious. Although, I am in Florida and we have 2 seasons - hot as F and a little less hot as F. So I am not sure who has it worse.

 

You live in Ottawa. Until you subject your wheels to the hot-as-balls 110+ degrees we have here in Texas, don't say your summers are "hot as fuck". You know nothing of the pain that we Southerners endure.

P.S. Nice wheels!

 

I have the same wheels on my truck. I had considered painting them also, but they've grown on me, so I will leave them as is. Probably will try and pick up some 17" steelies in the future, and paint those to match truck for winter use.

 

We get 100+ humidity here, and we get minus 40 in the winter. Put that in your pipe and smoke it..

 

I actually like those factory wheels quite a bit, but I also vote for the vinyl stickers you can use to cover the machined parts. You can find them on eBay and Etsy. Dont paint them. Those wheels can fetch a decent amount as take-offs if you just want to get new ones.

Just one example: https://www.ebay.com/itm/384779471578

 

Ok, I found the stickers and that is an easy and cheap option to make sure I like the blacked out wheels. That is what I love about a Tacoma - there is an aftermarket option for anything you can think of.

So maybe I start with that and then determine if I want to go plastidip or full on wheel replacement. And I love the bronze wheel look, just not sure it would look good on my silver truck - it might look like too much clashing metals IMO.

 

Save yourself the time and just go aftermarket now. Its gonna happen anyway.

Flat faced, narrow OEM wheels will never satisfy that urge to mod.

 

I do love, love, love the Black Rhino Chamber wheels.

 

Wow. Never imagined a Fj off-road wheels would look great on a tacoma. Any pics from a distance ? Would like to see the stance and wheel poke. Tnx .

 

those are fire!