Painting wheels: Help?

I swear I saw a GRM article about this, but I'm not turning anything up.

Anyhow, I have some bare aluminum wheels which were powder blasted after I had some work done on them. I want to paint them.

I'm confident I could get them looking good from 5' away, but I want to do this at a factory finish level. What should I use and how should I do this?

My best wheel painting was done with the wurth paints.  Used 2-3 cans and kept them in hot water, cycling between cans every minute.  Not sure if this helps but results were good.  Also used an old hub with wheel bearing in it clamped in a workmate.  That way I could hold the spray can and slowly spin the wheel.  

I've always had good luck with whatever wheel paint I could get at the local parts house. 

Warming the cans is a good idea.

Like every other painting job, prep is crucial.

I always do a very light coat, wait a little then do 2 thick coats.

Follow the instructions on the can. 

If you mess up, get a run or something like that, don't worry it's all fixable. I've caused bigger problems panicking trying to fix something with wet paint, instead of waiting for it to dry then fixing it

Start with some phosphate stuff like Aero.  It etches the aluminum for a far better bond.  For best results start with some C-IC 33,  (aluminum brightener) and then a treatment with Alodine MC-R 1201 or similar.

Then a self-etching primer, then whatever top coat you want.

Or... scrub it, brakekleen it, and hit it with a rattle can like I did.

Appliance epoxy does an amazing job on wheels, as long as you like white or other common appliance colors.

I would have them powder coated...

"How Much Does it Cost to Powder Coat Rims? The exact price of the service often fluctuates depending on the demand and cost of supplies. On average, powder coating rims will cost between $400 to $1200 for a set of four wheels.Apr 6, 2022"

I would think that the 1200 would be some really fancy two tone with clear coat

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

Appliance epoxy does an amazing job on wheels, as long as you like white or other common appliance colors.

That's been my experience. These wheels were white when I picked them up from the junkyard five or six years earlier. They never chipped or scratched. I painted the rear sway bar and it didn't chip either, even under the car.
 

I didn't want a gloss finish on the wheels so I went over them with some fine steel wool after painting them.

 I painted an air cleaner lid after priming it and the top coat didn't harden completely. Don't use primer.