Tires and Rims

[HangOutdoors]

I am getting ready to upgrade the tires on my trailer to either the Carlisle Radials or the Endurance. Since I plan on doing multiple trips to Lake Michigan shortly to get in on the Salmon fishing. Anyhow. I want to keep the stock steel rims I have and was considering just painting them black. Never did this before on rims. In my mind I was going to get the tires changed then tape them off. Light sand the rim and then use some spray paint to color them black or whatever color I decide on. Probably Rustoleum or something along those lines.

Any suggestions? Would it be bad to paint them?

 

[dgfreeze]

Have you considered plasti dip? While I haven't done it myself, I know some guys who have. It's easy to remove, and if you decide on a different color, just remove it and try something else. Once you're certain of the color you want, you can make the decision of whether or not it's worth getting them painted/powder coated. Just a thought...

My boat trailer has the old chrome steel wheels, and I've thought about plasti dipping them black just to see what it looks like. lol

 

[HangOutdoors]

@dgfreeze Great Idea.

I wanted to just do something to the rims to make them a bit more pleasing to the eye, but not add too much more money. The rubber I am replacing for safety and better trailering. Was just thinking about doing something low budget.

 

[dgfreeze]

Lol, plasti dip is low budget, no doubt. Just know it’s not really considered a long term solution, but it is easy to touch up after a year or two, as I understand.

 

[Crob83]

I've had Plasti dip on my truck rims for over 2 years, thru Indiana winters and car washes, etc. The shit is durable as all get out. Just remember to clean them with simple green, as most other cleaners will eat right thru it

 

[Crob83]

Hell my guide poles are Plasti dipped black as well, the red faded so much it looked pink. And the stuff is very versatile for sure

 

[HangOutdoors]

Was kind of thinking to just do the paint.

 

[Crob83]

Was kind of thinking to just do the paint.

I'm sure that would work too...lol

 

[mraz72]

@HangOutdoors, I just started the process of painting my wheels and I just asked a few questions on another thread.

I think the wheels are galvanized steel, so I looked up painting those. I then bought 1 can of primer and matt black, let's see what the spare looks like. I'll probably go to a shop and ask them to get the tire off, throw out the tire (0 miles on a 2015 bias ply spare) and give me the wheel. I'll them experiment.

 

[fatboyroy]

I purchase set of 4 endurance with galvanized rim in ebay for $400ish including tax, I tried to get you link but its no longer available

 

[HangOutdoors]

@fatboyroy that would have worked out perfectly.

 

[drewkaree]

Have you considered plasti dip? While I haven't done it myself, I know some guys who have. It's easy to remove, and if you decide on a different color, just remove it and try something else. Once you're certain of the color you want, you can make the decision of whether or not it's worth getting them painted/powder coated. Just a thought...

My boat trailer has the old chrome steel wheels, and I've thought about plasti dipping them black just to see what it looks like. lol

@HangOutdoors go buy yourself a can of PlastiDip (Rustoleum makes one of these as well). They have a blue that would match your tower color if you wanted something different, or just go black. They also sell a gloss overcoat (called, oddly, Glossifier!) if you want something a touch shinier. Test it out on something, or test it out on the spare, or whatever. Worst case scenario, you're out 10-15 bucks and you go with paint instead. BEST part about this test is that if you decide against it at a later time, you can easily remove the PlastiDip, and it's WAAAAAAAYYYYYYY easier to touch up than spray paint will be - simply wash it down to get the "funk" off, and hit it with a few light coats. The PlastiDip will fuse to the stuff already on the wheel. It'll be more durable than anyone who HASN'T DONE THIS thinks, and if you ever want to do something different, it's a lot easier to "unprep".

I'm looking forward to seeing the sandblasting unit, spray booth, spray gun and compressor, and side garage you get to house all of this

 

[HangOutdoors]

I didn't know it was something I could do myself. Don't know much about it. Thought I had to take it to a shop or something. Will Look into it.

 

[anmut]

You can have your rims powder coated for not a lot of money. You have to remove the rubber from them though.

 

[Ronnie]

I painted my galvanized rims a few years ago with rustoleum, no primer, and the paint held up great for many years. My only regret is painting the lug nuts, actually the exposed threads on the bolts, as well. It made removing the tires when flat very difficult.

Eventually I purchased some cheap wheel covers from pep boys. If you go this route you will probably have to drill the centers out to make room
For the bearing buddies.

a year or two ago I upgraded the rims and tires (to good year endurance) and have only one regret about doing so. The total cost was around $2k but it includes 5 tires (with spare) and rims, balancing, extended warranty, etc. if you want to get the maximum load bearing from the tires, 2,200 Lbs each on the 14” size I think you will need to upgrade the rims which are rated at 1,900 lbs. each and you have to go with metal not rubber stems (stems are Under $5 each).

My only regret is not upgrading to 15” tires and rims. The incremental cost of doing so is low but I just didn’t know if they would fit on my old MFI trailer.

Please share pics of whatever solution you

 

[mraz72]

Well, I just painted one of my wheels with rustoleum primer and if I rub it with my finger it comes right off. I only painted it a few hours ago so I am going to let it dry overnight and see what I see.

 

[ross l]

I just bought Trailer King RST from Belle Tire and am happy with them. Pretty sure you have Belle Tire everywhere there in MC. Brought the boat to them and they installed. Drove to upstate NY and back a couple weeks ago and it seemed the radials were much faster and efficient than the bias plys. I had them balanced even though they said it's not needed for trailers.

Trailer Tires - Boat & Camper Trailer Tires | Belle Tire

Belle Tire has the best selection of trailer tires at affordable prices. You can shop trailer tires for your boat, RV, camper or horse trailer.

www.belletire.com

I've seen pictures of people using playing cards to mask off rims. Here's a link on that and plasti dip...

Dip Your Rims While Still on Vehicle.

Dip Your Rims While Still on Vehicle. : Factory before and Plasti Dipped after

www.instructables.com

 

[dgfreeze]

I didn't know it was something I could do myself. Don't know much about it. Thought I had to take it to a shop or something. Will Look into it.

Ah, sorry, I should've mentioned it's just aerosol cans... super easy, don't even have to take the tires off, just mask them off. Can be done with rims still on the trailer and everything. Probably not the best, but doable...lol

 

[Crob83]

Ah, sorry, I should've mentioned it's just aerosol cans... super easy, don't even have to take the tires off, just mask them off. Can be done with rims still on the trailer and everything. Probably not the best, but doable...lol

Yep I took a deck of old shitty playing cards and jammed them between the rim and tire. Just pull them out when finished.