Hey guys,

Sorry for the stupid/naive question. I'm really trying to think of a way of putting this without sounding incredibly ricer, but in essence; I want to re-paint my pulleys.

I've spent a lot of time and money to try to make my engine bay as clean and nice looking as possible. I've went with a black and purple motif that I really like. Unfortunately, the Greddy pulleys I'm going to be installing are anodized blue and it really looks out of place.

I don't know if "re-anodizing" is a thing, or if it's even possible, but there definitely wouldn't be anyone around here that could do it.

As for painting, I'm concerned that the belt and heat will cause the paint to flake off and have the pulleys look worse than before.

Has anyone tried this? Any results?

The best thing I can come up with is to scuff up the pulleys as much as possible, use a base coat and very thin coats of high heat paint and maybe a clear-coat afterwards. I will avoid painting the belt "track".

 

i paint the stock pulleys with generic cheap paint and it works fine but i have never tried it on the anodized aluminum pulleys, so i'm not sure if there would be any paint bonding issues or not with the anodized aluminum. you can always take them down to a machine shop and have them clean the anodized surface to give a brushed aluminum surface, i dislike how they anodized parts, knowing that it wouldn't last long in the environment given.

 

You could try powder coating.

 

Thanks Karack, it's good to hear it worked out for you. I'll probably end up going that route, but we'll see. I won't be installing them for at least a month, so if I start painting now, it will have plenty of time to cure.

I had forgotten about that. Unfortunately I live in a small, somewhat isolated community. To be honest, I know very little about powder coating, I'll have to look into it. Is it something I might be able to do myself?

 

It is possible to do yourself, but you would have to get the spray gun and compressor if you don't have one.
Basic break down here ---------> http://www.wikihow.com/Powdercoat

 

Powdercoating will be more durable, but I don't think you can do it on anything that can't take at least 400 deg. F. Tensioner pulley w/bearings are out, as is the stock PS pulley as it's plastic.
There's no reason why you couldn't sand and re-paint the anodized pulleys, but I would mask any surface that will come in contact with the belts.

 

If your worried about any clash at all, I would get different pulleys. When you either paint, or powder coat, the surface that contacts the belts will wear off quickly & the blue will show. This is one reason I didn't go with the Greddy pulleys. That blue clashes with my black & polished engine bay.

I bought the set from Rotary Extreme & couldn't be happier. SUPER good quality, and Ben has some great customer service!!

http://www.rotaryextreme.com/fdindex.html

I know most wouldn't care, but I too am spending lots of time & money on making my engine bay very clean while doing my GT35R build. It's the little things that make a difference.

 

supernow sells anodized purple pulleys and there not that expensive.

 

From someone who just did this.. Don't paint em. I sanded, primered, and painted mine and within a few hours of run time the primer was showing through (just as I thought it would). Really the best solution if you want to keep those pulleys is find a company that you can ship the parts to and have them anodized the color you want. Already being one color will not matter at all, they will be stripped, prepped, and re-anodized. Anodizing is a simple process, but kinda tricky to do at home..

Powder coating is definitely something you can do yourself and it should last a good while even on the belt contact areas but as mentioned, you will have to buy a gun, powder, air compressor, and a small oven (don't use the one you cook with) like a toaster oven. All this then you have to do it yourself and hope it comes out the way you want. It would be cheaper just to mail out those parts and have them anodized.

 

Companies anodize pulleys for a reason. ANY coating will wear off.

If you want a different color, buy different pulleys. Simple.

 

Oooooooohhhhhhhh

 

the pulleys don't reach anywhere near the 400*F melting point of the powder coating.

 

Yeah, I know.
But when you have them powdercoated it's going to get that hot. That was the temp referenced to me as a cut-off. I was told if I didn't press the bearing out first, it would likely destroy it...or at least shorten it's life. And the plastic PS pulley might/probably would warp.

 

My greddy pullies have been painted for years. Still look good.

 

correct, at that temps the bearings would seize ask me how i know.. powdercoating is probably the best overall solution.... reanodizing is kinda a hassle imo... much easier to source a powder coater..

 

Get them re-anodized
Or speak to Kev @ Billetbitz in the UK, he can supply you with some badass pulleys:

 

^Nice tuck. Very clean.