painting rims

Trey

Trey

$50 Cruiser
Does anyone have experience painting these rims? Front is a stock Schwinn, blue aluminum. The rear is aftermarket, possibly part of a kit? I got the bike used, so I don't know. I don't plan to paint the spokes.
The best I can tell, sand lightly with 120ish grit, etching primer, paint, clearcoat. Any advice is welcome.
 

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120 may be a little too coarse,220 may be a little better.tto coarse and you will see sanding marks.
you need to prime the aluminum with zinc chromate primer or
the paint will fall off.
a light dusting first,to give next coat something to stick to.several light coats better than one heavy one.
never painted tims,curious to see how this works out for you.
not concerned about brakes wearing paint off?
masking spokes will be a pain,take your time and remove tape before paint gets too hard.
some masking tape doesent like to be left on for too long,adhesive leaves ugly residue.
 
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220 grit, will do. Prep will certainly be a pain, actually thinking I could use a stout front rim anyway, so match the back and ride. But I want them black- can't decide. Budget matters. No front brakes, and none in my plan. I'm freakin CRAZY man! lol No, actuallly the opposite, it's probable that this bike will average 10mph. The band brake stops me very well, even with snow getting it wet. Time will tell. To be clear, you recommend zink chromate, not etching primer for these rims? Thanks!
 
Would anyone suggest getting a bigger/ better front rim? It's stock Schwinn Del Mar now. Budget is key. I intend to keep this one maintained, but I do live in Montana- rocks rocks rocks.
 
HD front wheel. Stay on point with local bike shops doing repairs, Ive seen a 'dead' front ebike hub motor spoked to a rim with 11G spokes sell for $5. This option would add a few lbs to the over all weight of the bike but you would have a near bullet proof front wheel none the less and you would also need to use v-brake to stop the it.
 
All i did was take a small craft brush and used black "Testors" paint made for model cars and stuff like that and just brushed it on. Took about 20 minutes being real careful and it's held up for a couple years now. You won't get a glossy finish or that shiny look to it but it worked out pretty good.
 
One trick for masking the spokes is to use soda straws. Paper or plastic will work but look for the smallest diameter you can find. Slice them them snap them around the spokes, tape the tops so they don't slip away from the rim and spray away. When the paint is dry just pull the straws off.

Tom
 
All good ideas. Straws and Testors- thats a combo! Went for the first time to a bike shop, looking for a spring loaded thumb shifter. When I mentioned my bike had an engine the guy didn't seem too interested. Gave me some good advice, and even refered me to a local bike co-op sort of place.
 
Years ago I tore down the wheels on a Schwinn Typhoon to paint the rims. It took me 2yrs to lace them back together. I swore I'd never do that again.

But......This was in 1965 and there was no internet or Youtube to show you how to do things. It was all reading a book from the library and crude drawings. :D
 
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