Rattle Can on Aluminum?

[rodeofan5656]

im wantin to paint the rims on my '86 200x black, but ive never painted aluminum. i know with steel, you sometimes gotta scuff it up with sand paper (after you get all the rust/dirt off), to get the paint to stick good. do you have to do the same on aluminum? will the good rattle can paint even stick to aluminum? or does aluminum have to be powder coated? any advice is greatly appreciated!

[matt22895]

142217I did it just paint very lightly and lots of coats. I used steel wool for prep also.

[andersonee4]

you need to prep the surface to get off grease, and scuff it with a brillow pad or sandpaper to give the paint something to adhere to.

[dksix]

Use some adhesion promoter like Bull Dog http://www.wmbarr.com/product.aspx?catid=1&prodid=56 . You can pick it up most auto paint stores, it helps a lot with paint sticking to aluminum. My local paint store can also mix paint then put it in an aerosol can. It's about 3 times the price of good spray paint but I think it's 10 times better paint. Just something you might want to check into. As with every type of finish, it's on as good as the prep work.

[Angore]

I have had great luck with this > http://valsparglobal.com/val/resident/valspar_truck.jsp , preparation ts the key to any successful paint job.I'm certainly no "pro" but here's what works for me , sandblast the piece to be painted , wash thoroughly with soap & water , blow dry with compressed air , after the compressed air I usually let the pieces dry overnight as compressed air contains H20 . As stated above : many light coats are far better than a couple of heavy ones.
Post some pics of your finished work , please .

[Nubbinz]

Helped paint my friends rims with a can. We sanded with #200 sand paper, used Go-Jo (Pretty much heavy duty hand soap) to get off grease, rinsed with water, then went over it with a paper towel soaked with rubbing alcohol. Then we put 3 coats on each side. We didn't put on any clear coat or protective layer and it was just regular black paint for metal. After 2 years of lots of mud and water, and drifting around in gravel, the rims all still look good.

[rodeofan5656]

so its like steel, but needs alittle more prep? clean it up, sand it/scuff it, clean again, then spray?

[andersonee4]

Yes pretty much. You dont need to sand the hell out of it, just enough to dull the surface, and then if you clean it with chemicals after that, it is to get rid of dust from sanding. It will work out good for ya.

[dksix]

Aluminum is what I've always heard called self healing. The black stuff that comes up on aluminum is aluminum oxide, that's the stuff that interferes with paint sticking. Somewhat like like rust on steel but air will cause aluminum to oxide, that's why so many aluminum parts are anodized. That's why I like the adhesion promoter so much on aluminum, it sticks to anything and then it gives the paint something stable to stick to. I'm not a metallurgist, and what I'm saying is just my understanding of what I've had happen, so I may be completely wrong. I used to make parts for AR15's and short of anodizing or powder coating, this is the best process I've found to put a durable finish on aluminum.

[rodeofan5656]

i delt with alotta oxidation when i welded my broken carrier together. alotta guys said i couldnt do it. heres the thread on .ORG if you wanna take a look-
http://www.3wheeler.org/vb/showthread.php?46835-For-all-you-Nay-Sayers!!
its not pretty, but it works.

so the only stuff i know about aluminum is that its soft, how to weld it, and you have to clean it REALLY good to get the oxidation off, before doin anythin to it.. i just didnt know about paintin it. thanks guys!