Well for those of you that read the other thread I just picked up my first 4Runner, a 1997. To my surprise when I went to get it the guy gave me the stock 16" Toyota wheels too! I wanted to remove the Hella's that were on it so the salt and brine on the roads didnt chew them up this winter. So I did a quick refurbish of these wheels by doing the following. First I sprayed aircraft stripper on them to remove all the clear coat, then I sanded with 220 and 400 grits with a Porter Cable orbital sander. I also sanded the center caps with the 400 and removed all the OE finish so I had them nice and clean. I then tack ragged everything and wiped them down with paint prep. When I had all 4 clean I took one and set it in front of the turbo heater to warm them up real good. I also had the heater in my garage cranked so it was nice and warm in there. After all wheels and centercaps were nice and warm I applied two coats of an etching primer that I bought at Autozone. It said it was good for aluminum and plastic. After 2 coats I gave a quick scuff sand with the 400 and then a quick tack rag. Then back in front of the heater to warm them up again. After a few minutes I sprayed the centercaps with a Chrome paint I bought at Autozone. I put 3 thinner coats on them and they were smooth, I was really impressed with how this paint wet out and flowed together. This is the best Ive seen out of a rattle can. I then moved to the other side of the garage and started on the wheels. I put 3 fairly thin coats on of gloss black caliper paint also from Autozone. I waited about 5 minutes in between each coat and I was really impressed with how this paint wet in too. The finish is nice and smooth, this is where I kinda patted myself on the back for taking the time to do the prep work correctly LOL.....
Then I put 2 big construction lights over the wheels and let the light beat down on them to hopefully aid in curing the paint. Today I took each wheel and set it on a towel about 5 feet in front of the torpedo heater again and got them nice and warm to aid in curing. I then set them aside for the rest of the day. Well I just got back from having the Winterforce tires installed and so far, so good. The guys at the tire shop loved them and now so do I. Depending on how this finish holds up I will probably have them powdercoated next summer. I am curious to see how the rattle can Autozone finish does this winter. I know that I hurried this project and that the wheels should probably have cured for a week or so but I wanted to get the good wheels off ASAP. Now on to some updated head and tailights as well as clear markers, I had know idea owning a 4Runner was so expensive!!
Before:

After:

 

awesome work man...and yeah, moddng your truck can dig into your wallet a little biit...

 

You missed a spot.

 

where?? its probably just the lite and the flash. I hope!! LOL....

 

Nice! I just painted my wheels a couple weeks ago as well.
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/p...runner-130680/

It sounds like you did a much better job with the prep work. I hope this stuff holds up well, if not, I too may be making a trip to the powder coat shop.

 

you guys are making me wish there was a cool way to black out sport rims

 

I was just busting your balls about the center caps. Nice work painting the rims though. Do you have any other pictures of your other wheels? They looked good in your other post.

 

OK, so after looking at Goin's LC wheels maybe I should have painted the centercaps black and the toyota logo on them white to match the truck??? hmmmm.....

 

Looks badass, you should paint the centercap though, I think it'd look better.

 

i like it like that with the chrome caps

 

IMO the centers need paint

 

Yeah completely blacked out would look mean!

 

Nice work..... great idea to save some cash....

 

any info on how that paint is holding up...i cant seem to find any Dupli-Color BLACK rim paint...all ican find is gunmetal gray and stupid bright colors...what other kind of paint works good...i would think HIGH-TEMP engine paint would do good...since its supposed to be good up to 500* or so...it should withstand some mud and water...

 

BUMP*...need some info SOON

 

Hi, sorry for the delay, I was out of town for work. The caliper paint is holding up well. The rims have seen alot of salt, cinders and road crud over the past couple months and so far, so good. No bubbling, peeling or loss of adhesion yet! Im keeping my fingers crossed. I bought the black caliper paint at Autozone. Good luck if you decide to paint yours!
Scott

 

keep in mind that just because "high heat" paint works on high heat locations, it is not necessarily better for everything. It is designed to work on hot locations, and may in fact depend on the heat to "cure" or bond it. Though this may work just fine, do not be confused by the labelling/advertising/and specified purpose of these OR ANY materials. There are specific criteria and standards as to which each and every product (paint/components/everything) are designed.

It baffles me sometimes how much things are changed, and understanding the design implications that are affected. (IE: suspension, where I have completely thrown years of hard, long hours of engineering labor out the window also)

<engineer's rant off> =)

edit: rant doesn't really apply to original post =) looks sweet, and is a really good method to curing/applying

 

Well, almost another month has passed and these wheels look as good as the day I painted them. They have been covered in salt for the past 3 weeks and a couple days ago when it was 63 here I finally washed them and so far so good :-)

 

i just did my fronts sunday evening...looks GREAT...we'll see how it holds up here in a couple months...i can always touch them up if something happens...3coats..black caliper paint...would have done the rears...but didnt have time...and its been nothing but cold temps and rain since...damn weatehr

 

I used duplicolor high heat engine paint on mine, and it has held up well! I just leave mud on there to long and it is starting to chip off. I bet if you took care of them it would last a long time!