Paint lug nuts?

[Bob Harriman]

Can my natural color alloy lug nuts be painted black without everything just scratching off easily. I know it depends on how they are removed and put back on but is it worth it or a waste of time?

[S2GART]

Sure they can be painted. I have freshened up my lug nuts simply by spraying them with semi-gloss black. Be sure to let them dry real well before putting them back on. Any scratches can be touched up by hand.

[Joe Bob]

I use Trim Black by SEM.

[RWebb]

sure; but the black paint will just scratch off easily when you R&R them

I've been thinking of going from black to silver for just that reason...

[Arne2]

Yes, you can paint them; yes, they will get scratched up shortly; yes, you can paint them again.

Tip - if you do paint them, don't get paint on the ball seat area where they contact the wheel. Paint can get soft if the wheels get hot, leading to loose lug nuts, which is never a good thing.

[joefrantz]

I've tried painting with both Wurth and SEM satin black. They look ok for a while, but eventually they chip along the sharp edges.
A soft socket helps, but not much.
You can also use a thin layer of plastic (like a grocery bag),between the socket and nut, to provide some protection. Still gonna chip, but it does help a bit.
My latest ploy is painting with krylon fusion paint for plastic. A very thin coat, no primer. Best durability so far. Starting to see bare edges after about 6-8 removal/install cycles.
The best thing is you can strip and repaint them in about an hour.

[cnielsen]

Batch anodizing is cheap. My local shop said they could do a small bucket full of lug nuts for $100 or so. I'm going to machine the ends off a bunch of mine for longer studs and have them anodized. I will report back with the results

[Bob Harriman]

Will powder coating work as good or better than anodizing?

[cnielsen]

No, don't powder coat them

[RichardNew]

I painted mine with rattle can paint. I then use a black Magic Marker to touch them up.

Richard Newton
Car Tech Stuff

[JJ 911SC]

Put some Saran wrap on them before putting the socket on them.

[McLaren-TAG]

Or make your car look like it's got hair on its chest and get it some steel lug nuts.

[yelcab1]

Forget painting the lug nuts and just drive the piss out of your car.

[Craig T]

Originally Posted by McLaren-TAG

Or make your car look like it's got hair on its chest and get it some steel lug nuts.

+1 Go steel. I have a whole box of allow lug nuts that need painting if anybody wants them.

Semi-gloss painted lug nuts??? We don't need no stinking glossy lug nuts.

[Bob Harriman]

got some open ended

[Joe Bob]

Eliminate the problem, polish them with rag wheel and rouge on a bench grinder.

[rsnodgrass]

How did re-anodizing the lug nuts black go?

[GLASEM]

Does anyone make a black plastic cap that will work?
On my 924.......a black cap over the lug nut was standard

[gregwils]

Originally Posted by JJ 911SC

Put some Saran wrap on them before putting the socket on them.

+1 If you do choose to paint, the challenge is keeping paint on them. I actually use a plastic grocery store bag. Double it up and slide the socket over it. The bag gets destroyed and you need to keep moving it around, but it will HELP preserve the paint. Eventually, the paint will come off, and they will need repainted, but your paint will last a lot longer.

[Norm Faustino]

Plasti dip can be thinned with naphta and sprayed with even the crappiest testor's airbrush in between cycles and looks awesome. You can also use the aerosol can but you wont have as much control where it goes.(more masking)