[Advice?] I see my rims and I want them painted black

[DrShabink]

I have the stock 2010 JK Sport 16" rims in the lame-o silver finish and I've been thinking more and more that I really want black rims as my first step in making this Jeep my own.
The trouble is that money is tight, so I'm looking for an inexpensive solution.

Can anyone tell me if it's possible to paint the existing rims (I don't have a spary gun though)?
Is worth painting it?
or should I just invest in some black rims that might be more ready for tougher trails in the future?

[tubby]

This really should be in Tech Talk but I'll play.
Keep your existing aluminum rims if this is going to see more street.A black el-cheapo steel rim for mostly offroad use.
You don't need a spray gun as a few cans of spray paint should suffice. I've done it before with aluminum rims and the results were pretty good, but it takes a lot of prep work to get the best results. I took the rims off the vehicle, washed them with soap and water ;with some wax and grese remover as a final clean. I had to remove the clearcoat from the rims with a drill and a few Scothbrite drill pads(you could use 400-600 grit sandpaper and do it by hand) Cleaned again with soap and water. I then masked off the rims with tape(you could use playing cards between rim and tire)

I then laid a few coats of self-etching primer(for aluminum) and then a few coats of satin black from Duplicolor. After drying I laid a few coats of clear.

Under $40 to transform shiny aluminum rims to matte black rims.

HTH

[Bone206]

I did the same kind of thing and I think they look bad-arse. I took my stock jk 18" sahara rims, took off all of the original factory coating with a 3M scouring pad on a drill then a dremel for the fine details. After I did this, I cleaned the wheels with solvent twice, masked them, and then sprayed them with about 6-7 light coats of self acid etching auto primer (I picked up some black stuff from NAPA's paint branch in the NE just off Barlow). After I let that dry, I did about 6 light coats of Rustoleum Hammered Metal Black paint. The colour is more of a dark dark dark dark titanium rather than jet black. The cool thing about the hammered metal finish is that with its microtexture in the paint, when you scratch the wheels up you can just re-touch it up and the texturization hides the scratch. With a Matte or gloss finish the scratch would still be visible. The paint REALLY stays on well. I use a 3000 psi pressure washer on them about once per week (takes about 1500 psi to cut skin) and there have been no issues. All in all it cost about $50 and took a solid weekend's work. I'm glad I did it though. The key is in the prep for sure. If you do a bad prep or just spray it on overtop of the factory coating, it will just peel off and look like Poo.

[hps4evr]

i thought jk 16 inch rims were steel wheels, which are pretty bland in looks. if so then follow what others guides or remove tires from rims, sand down existing paint, clean very well, 2 coates of dupli-color primer, 2 coates dupli color paint, 2 coates clear. worked very well for my alloy rims. should work better for steel rims. very cheap to do on your own, good starter project.

[DrShabink]

Awesome! Thank you! I'll give painting it a shot

Yeah, I should probably posted in tech talk but my brain wasn't working that night 

[tubby]

No worries guy. Just say your were drunk at the keyboard. That's my excuse.

PM me if you need some pointers or help.

[jpthing]

You guys make me glad I got the dark grey wheels on my JK...I always thought they looked way better than the silver