Etching primer on chromed aluminum (wheels)

Doober

Moderator
Jun 2, 2003
14,704
1
38
Catalina, AZ
www.cardomain.com
I have a set of chromed aluminum Camaro/Corvette wheels I'd like to paint. Originally we were thinking of trying to strip the chrome at home & polish on our own, but that was extremely time consuming and I just put the wheels in a corner & moved on to something else. Can I get a paintable surface using self etching primer? I've done a little reading here & there and a few people have mentioned it's doable. I'm not looking for a show quality finish, but the chrome is flaking in a few spots on the wheels and I'd like to knock that down smooth and paint them for the Malibu. Does anyone have any suggestions/pointers?
 

melloelky

Top Fueler
Jul 1, 2009
3,654
31
48
mass
the ideal way to get anything to stick to chrome is mechanical adhestion.their are adhesion promoters on the market that say "spray me on and paint will stick to me".i've never used a promoter on chrome but i have with plastics.anytime i paint chrome i sandblast it.it's all about knocking down the shine and making a scratch to get the primer to stick.if i had wheels that were chrome/peeling i'd sandblast them and feather out the edges of the coating w/sand paper.a self etch or an epoxy primer is best for metal.you could put down a coat of self etch followed by a few coats of another primer in which to sand.the self etch is very thin and you only need one coat it doesn't have any build.its only there to stop corrosion and provide adhesion for topcoat,or in your case another primer and or sealer.that's where the other primer comes in.a few coats of another primer would allow you to sand off any edges for an even surface to spray.
 

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