Fixing up my rims, how to repair some corrosion?

[Alpine Warthog]

Got some JK pintler wheels on and they are starting to bubble and show some corrosion. What's the best way to take care of this? Don't really want to let them go through another winter's worth of salt and ice

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[Sandevino]

You’ve got a few options.

The best option in my opinion is to get them sanded down, remove any rust and have the powder coat refinished.

A cheaper option is to sand, prime and paint. The finish won’t be the same as when they were new but it will stop the rust from spreading.

 

[Alpine Warthog]

These are cast aluminum, does that change anything?

 

[hakoda]

AEV says right on their website not to powder coat those wheels

POWDER COATING WARNING: As a general safety precaution, AEV does not recommend powder coating aluminum wheels. The heat range and duration of the powder coating process may overlap the heat treating and aging of cast or forged aluminum wheels. For this reason, powder coated wheels will not be covered under AEV’s lifetime structural warranty. All repairs and/or color changes should utilize automotive type liquid paint.

 

[Hootbro]

These are cast aluminum, does that change anything?

Aluminum oxidizing corrosion has to almost be treated the same as steel rust. Have to get to fresh base metal, polish and then usually treat with a Alodine or Chem Film coating before any poweder coat or paint finish.

It is a pain. There is wheel restoration shops in most metro areas that deal with this and for relatively decent pricing.

Me personally, I would cut my losses and look for new wheels.

 

[Sandevino]

AEV says right on their website not to powder coat those wheels

Ahh…. Didn’t look there.

 

[Reddog]

Got some JK pintler wheels on and they are starting to bubble and show some corrosion. What's the best way to take care of this? Don't really want to let them go through another winter's worth of salt and ice

I had Pintlers on my JK for five years. My son has it now and the wheel finish has not failed at all. AEV says these wheels should not be powder coated so they paint them instead. It's a good finish but no protective film is perfect long term. If you are concerned about the corrosion, I would call AEV and discuss with them. With paint technology today, I will bet that a good paint shop can match the black or onyx paint color and refinish and repaint the wheel(s) and you would never notice the difference. Good luck to you.

 

[Riccochet]

There's no fixing that where it will look good. The aluminum is oxidizing in to powder under the paint. If you remove the paint you're going to see deep pitting. Removing enough material to get down to clean aluminum will look like crap.

I would live with it until the paint starts falling off.

 

[Alpine Warthog]

There's no fixing that where it will look good. The aluminum is oxidizing in to powder under the paint. If you remove the paint you're going to see deep pitting. Removing enough material to get down to clean aluminum will look like crap.

I would live with it until the paint starts falling off.

Since it's started to corrode, trying to seal it up won't do any good? I've been kinda playing with the idea of having all 4 painted. Maybe it would be cheaper to just buy a new rim.
@Reddog AEV said people just have them painted locally....

 

[Lunentucker]

Find a clean used set or sand them down and rhino spray them.

 

[Alpine Warthog]

Find a clean used set or sand them down and rhino spray them.

There's a set down near pittsburgh in Silver that I might pick up if they are still around next weekend. pics look like they are in better shape maybe just scrape em down and gat a matching rattle can......

Then I'd have matching spares for a trailer too! I'm gonna be in so much trouble

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