Painted Stock Wheels - Post Pictures

You would probably get better results if you take them off. We had rims without tires for my son's ST. If you take the tires off, make sure the installer is very careful when you put them back on. You might still end up with some bits on the edge to touch up, though.

Mine aren't stock explorer wheels, but they are stock cobra r wheels! I used duplicolor hyper silver wheel paint.

I used 3 coats of Krylon fusion on mine. Looks much better than plasti dip in my opinion.

Anyone have any recommendations on what to use on the stock alloy wheels to strip the clearcoat and some minor flaking? It looks like it could just be clearcoat starting to flake off from white rust bubbling up from under the clearcoat. Short of a sandblasting process or some other bath dip process.. Something more along the lines of spraying and elbow grease?
Thanks in advance.

Everything Turdle say's is true. This is a very labor intensive job if done correctly. NEVER again for me.

Also, this is not going to be an easy task. You're looking at a 2-3 day job.

Now you can see why at this point most people elect to just get a new set of wheels. Especially when you consider the stockers will be worth about 50.00 as scrap aluminum.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3426848&postcount=10[/B]

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swshawaii said:

Everything Turdle say's is true. This is a very labor intensive job if done correctly. NEVER again for me.

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$50 per or for 5? I have full size spare. Would love to powder coat them but thats getting into new wheel territory as I've discussed with Turdle already. Thinking plasti dip or a good painting, but mine definitely need some cleaning first.
Also thank you for the link.

DaaQ said:

Anyone have any recommendations on what to use on the stock alloy wheels to strip the clearcoat and some minor flaking? It looks like it could just be clearcoat starting to flake off from white rust bubbling up from under the clearcoat. Short of a sandblasting process or some other bath dip process.. Something more along the lines of spraying and elbow grease?
Thanks in advance.

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When I did mine I used a cup type wire wheel on a grinder. It took the clear coat off the front surfaces quite rapidly. I sprayed them with etching primer before painting them. These were wheels I got from U-pull off a 94 Mounty.

Primered:



Painted:



On the truck:

[MENTION=238840]mcclureautomotiv[/MENTION] What size tires did you go with for your stang rims? Is it stock ride height?

YTF0rd said:

[MENTION=238840]mcclureautomotiv[/MENTION] What size tires did you go with for your stang rims? Is it stock ride height?

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It's lowered 2" and I put p275/55r17 tires. They are the closest diameter to factory.

mcclureautomotiv said:

It's lowered 2" and I put p275/55r17 tires. They are the closest diameter to factory.

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Last questions- Any info or tips/experiences with lowering it?

Was it a kit or did you do a DIY?

YTF0rd said:

Last questions- Any info or tips/experiences with lowering it?

Was it a kit or did you do a DIY?

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I just lowered the torsion bars then measured the drop, I got 2", then put 2" blocks in the rear.

mcclureautomotiv said:

I just lowered the torsion bars then measured the drop, I got 2", then put 2" blocks in the rear.

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Awesome thank you.

I am going to have to read up on the torsion twist thing because my front end already sets up higher than my rear.

YTF0rd said:

Awesome thank you.

I am going to have to read up on the torsion twist thing because my front end already sets up higher than my rear.

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That's common in explorers. I also had to cut my front bumpstops in half when I lowered it. I put 4 door spring packs in mine, because the some of the sports had a monoleaf setup. I also went with kyb shocks all the way around. It handles really well for an suv! Make sure to get an alignment after adjusting the ride height.

mcclureautomotiv said:

Mine aren't stock explorer wheels, but they are stock cobra r wheels! I used duplicolor hyper silver wheel paint.

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I'm guessing those were from a 94-04 model (or same offset from those years)? I've got a set of 17x9 Black w/machined lip bullitts I might try on my wife's 03 if the offset works...

heffe2001 said:

I'm guessing those were from a 94-04 model (or same offset from those years)? I've got a set of 17x9 Black w/machined lip bullitts I might try on my wife's 03 if the offset works...

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I really don't know. I bought them from a guy with a 69 mach 1.

mcclureautomotiv said:

I really don't know. I bought them from a guy with a 69 mach 1.

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If they are stock Cobra-R's, then most likely they are a around a +28 offset, they were designed for a mid 90's model Cobra SN-95. My bullitts most likely are the same..

1996EB said:

You would probably get better results if you take them off. We had rims without tires for my son's ST. If you take the tires off, make sure the installer is very careful when you put them back on. You might still end up with some bits on the edge to touch up, though.

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What center cap are you using on them once they were painted? I may end up just painting my wife's wheels like this, but the center cap you've got on there is what sets it off..

heffe2001 said:

What center cap are you using on them once they were painted? I may end up just painting my wife's wheels like this, but the center cap you've got on there is what sets it off..

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Thanks! We've had a number of questions about this since doing it. Believe it or not, these are 01-03 Windstar Sport center caps. They had two versions- grey or black centers. I got mine from my local scrapyard. I see a lot of Windstars being scrapped these days, so you should be able to find some. They actually fit the ST rims very well, as long as you are using the regular lug nuts. If you use locking lug nuts, get the shortest ones you can find, or they will interfere with the center cap...that kind of goes for most caps and locking nuts anyway. We've recently seen an ST in our area that has painted his rims black and blacked out the center of his existing caps- it gives a similar effect, but we do like the caps that we chose. Also, my son had the factory 255-70-16 size tires on it, but we went with 265-75-16 when we did the rims. Here are a couple more pics...

1996EB said:

Thanks! We've had a number of questions about this since doing it. Believe it or not, these are 01-03 Windstar Sport center caps. They had two versions- grey or black centers. I got mine from my local scrapyard. I see a lot of Windstars being scrapped these days, so you should be able to find some. They actually fit the ST rims very well, as long as you are using the regular lug nuts. If you use locking lug nuts, get the shortest ones you can find, or they will interfere with the center cap...that kind of goes for most caps and locking nuts anyway. We've recently seen an ST in our area that has painted his rims black and blacked out the center of his existing caps- it gives a similar effect, but we do like the caps that we chose. Also, my son had the factory 255-70-16 size tires on it, but we went with 265-75-16 when we did the rims. Here are a couple more pics...

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I saw a set of those caps on ebay, and thought, na that can't be it, lol.

heffe2001 said:

If they are stock Cobra-R's, then most likely they are a around a +28 offset, they were designed for a mid 90's model Cobra SN-95. My bullitts most likely are the same..

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I had to buy a new wheel, because an old lady ran me off the road into a curb! The offset is +24