Matt,

If they're painted and not PC-ed you can strip them with 'aircraft remover' it works really well, but you have to time it right. If you leave it on too long it hardens up again and you have to do it all over. It may take several applications.

Once you get it stripped down all the way, I would try an etching primer, then a 'high-build' primer. The high build primer is sandable and really does work great for smoothing out the little hairline stuff you can see otherwise.

I've done this with a set of phone dials I'm trying to refurb. I wanted to do them in black with silver rim, but I can't get the final paint right, so I may be stripping again. I'm sure it's not because of the process, it's the operator.

I will say that it has been chipping and scratching really easily, so I need to go back to the drawing board to see what I'm doing wrong.

 

These are going to be track wheels so they don't need to be perfect. They will get dinged up with regular wheel changes and tire swaps. Now I just need to decide what type of lazy I am.... do I want flat black so to hide the brake dust I'm not going to clean off or gloss black so the dust washes off with little effort.

 

would PC'd wheel finish be more durable over regular paint? Im not so worried about covering up cracks as i am about having something that can last(finish wise). I spray painted a set of wheels black and the paint is flaking off just from moving them around the house, havent even mounted tires yet!

 

Yes, PC is far more durable. Good paint shouldn't chip easily if properly applied.

PC requires heating to 400-450*F. I have read concerns about this warping or even cracking cast wheels if done too quickly.

 

These are factory GTS wheels (IMO higher quality than most aftermarket wheels) that were stripped and powdercoated. These were on a street car, less than 100,000 miles.

I cannot say the cracks are from the powder coating process, but for three factory wheels to crack like this is a bit strange:

http://www.erik27.com/79928/wheels/

 

I like black wheels ... do it Matt

 

If I have the time, they will be gloss black and wrapped in Grand Am Cup tires in a few weeks.

 

I think wheels make ALL the difference Dude

 

And may I recommend PS2's ... never mind I assume we're talking race tyres.

 

I have PS2s on the back of my street wheels. These wheels are getting much stickier tires... 275/35-18 Hoosier Grand Am Cup race tires (I don't know whether they are DOT legal or slicks) from last year.

 

Matt,

The main chipping issue I have had was around the lug nuts, mainly when I used the stock lugs (this is on my Miata) which allowed the socket to drag against the paint and resulted in little silver rings around the lugs where it scraped away the black paint. Once I got those aftermarket lugs that kept it from happening, that paint issue went away. Occasionally, I'd bang a lug/wrench/whatever against something while installing/removing the wheels and that would chip as well. Chips on the face of the wheel were very rare, but they did occasionally happen. I think I got two or three of them since I've painted them back in the summer of '04. All in all, it's easy to touch up with a paintbrush, and since your lug holes are recessed (unlike the BBS wheels I'm talking about) any paint chips around the lug nuts will be pretty much impossible to see, so long as you don't smack something into the face of the wheels while installing them.

Take a look at the BBS's sitting right outside your back door to get a feel for how they've held up. Also, keep in mind that both my 944's track wheels are also rattle-can painted, as are my Miata's winter wheels, and have so far done just fine.

I think you'll be fine painting them yourself, especially since they are only track wheels and the cosmetics aren't that critical. You'll get some chips every now and then, but whatever, they're track wheels and you can easily touch them up.

BB.