Painted Rims

[Bennett6]

I recently bought a 2005 Limited. A previous owner painted the wheels black. The paint seems to have dulled, peeled and doesn't look very good. I was surprised to find that they were plastic covers glued on to aluminum rims. I kept picking at it and eventually just pried off the plastic.

I've researched online that this was actually the factory rims. I have no idea why someone would have painted them the way the did. I don't want to buy new wheels but was hoping to just get some cheap wheel covers online to snap on for now. Is it possible to do this?

 

[Flexpedition]

Unfortunately there are no Ford or aftermarket replacement clad covers. The epoxy bonding the clad to the wheel is intended to last the lifetime of the vehicle, so I'm not sure what you could use to effectively re-attach it.

On the remaining wheels, try using a gas powered pressure washer to blast off the plastidip. If you don't own one, Home Depot and other tool rental places have 2500-3000 PSI machines for a fair price for a few hours of use. I don't think a car wash would have enough pressure.

 

[Bennett6]

Thanks. That's what I had gathered. I tried the pressure washer method initially and that's when I found the chrome was coming off as well. Maybe it's why the were painted to begin with.

I found some F150 tires and rims for $200. Do you see any issue if I buy those and just swap them out? They are almost the same size 255 vs 265.

 

[powerboatr]

new wheels for under 400
i would go with it
or peel off the other plastic crap and polish the crap out of the wheels, LOTS O hard elbow grease.

that plasti dip is ugly, you may try acetone rag and wipe it off, then flush wheel with water. acetone is a mild solvent in that regard but it will soften the plastic.
less is more and do it in a shady spot to slow the evaporation rate.