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benitom

Painting Chrome Wheels advice

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I have some Tamiya 54854 Two-Piece 5-Spoke wheels that I want to paint the chrome black. I came across some random online forums that have many suggestions. i.e. put them in the dishwasher and it will remove the chrome, sand them, brillo pad, clean and paint directly over the chrome, etc...

I was wondering if anyone has successfully painted chrome rims on a rc car they run. I expect scratches and dings but I want to avoid chipping/peeling if possible. 

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Spray paint directly over the chrome. I've done it with no adverse effects. Turned out pretty nice actually.

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2 hours ago, DeadMeat666 said:

Spray paint directly over the chrome. I've done it with no adverse effects. Turned out pretty nice actually.

Did you sand / flat back first?

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I've tried both ways, spraying directly over chrome and removing the chrome before painting. Had better results with the wheels that had the chrome removed, the wheels that were painted over the chrome definitely chipped and scratched more easily. This was mainly off-road use so that probably didn't help (and/or DeadMeat may have better paint!).

Now I always remove the chrome (using oven cleaner), then prime, paint and hope :)

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Are you painting ALL of the chrome, or just the area behind the spokes?

Being that they are 2-piece wheels, I'm guessing that you are just doing the part behind the spokes to give the appearance of depth...

 

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For my project instead of buying a new set of black wheels I am going to paint what I have. I'm going to paint the chrome matte black and leave the plastic stock black. If I don't like it I will paint over the matte and use standard or gloss black. 

I picked up a Porsche Carrera RSR body and I'm going to attempt to follow the same paint scheme as Magnus Walkers 78 911 SC https://stanceworks.com/2014/05/magnus-walker-78schr/

 

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Since the barrel of the wheel is being painted, it is advisable to "haze" the chrome with fine steel wool in order to promote adhesion.

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The first set came out ok - looks like I missed some spots but it's the glare from the pic. This is three coats. 

IMG_20200820_092529.jpg

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