Black Rim Painting

[statue]

Hey guys,

Thinking about painting the wheels myself. I've never done it before but I looked up some guides and vids on youtube thinking that I could do it.

Heres what I got so far, and correct me if theres any mistakes:

Requirements

1 or 2 Car Jacks

Painters Tape

Lots of Newspapers or those Card thingos

3 or 4 Sand Paper 150-320 grit (any recommendations?, different sources giving different numbers)

2 cans of Primer

2 to 4 cans of Engine/Wheel Paint (any recommendations?, I can only find Duplicolor Metalcast and 3m Engine Enamel Black Gloss or Black Matt, any of these good?)

2 cans of (Resistant?) Clear Coat

Process

1. Remove Wheel properly

2. Clean thoroughly well and Dry

3. Sand wheels and wipe off

4. Tape and cover Tyre

4. Spray with Primer and wait to dry

5. Sand Again ? ? ?

6. Spray with Wheel/Engine Paint and wait to dry

7. Repeat 6 three or four times. (Any recommendations? How many times?)

8. Spray with Clear Coat. (Do I repeat this step too? )

9. Wait 24 Hours before driving.

___________________________

I don't wanna spend a lot of money because I'm poor !

Is it cheaper to get a professional to powder coat it or something?

Before I do anything I got a question, will it look better if the wheels were painted black?

[jez NF]

first up......I think they will look real nice in black

im not very good at painting myself....but for the record....I have painted my dash...my boot....my engine bay....n one thing I can say is sanding is CRUCIAL..n makes ALL the difference !!

[75coupe]

powdercoat will last longer, is heaps more durable and will probably cost about $200 if you find the right person... but the tyres do have to come off for it to happen...

[DaveO74]

+1 Powdercoating FTW

[Hanaldo]

For the sandpaper, forget the 150 grit and replace it with 400. 150 is too course, I would only use it to remove a lot of material. When painting, all you are doing is roughing up the surface to give the paint something to grip on to. If the wheels are in relatively poor condition then start with some 240 just to get the imperfections out. You want to spray the 400 to get the best finish, so if the wheels are in good condition then just rough up the surface with the 400 until it loses it's 'shine' and takes on a matte appearance. Make sure you do a really good job of that. Then it's ready to spray.

As for the paint, make sure it is metal paint. Primer is probably unnecessary unless you sand all the way through to metal, you don't need to prime the old paint. Up to you though. But here's the thing: DO NOT LET THE PAINT DRY BETWEEN COATS. The reason for this is there are essentially two forms of paint bonding, physical and chemical. Physical is what you just achieved with the sanding. It is not as good as a chemical bond. If you let the paint dry, you will need to sand it again to make sure it bonds.

What you want to do is let the paint dry to the stage where it becomes sticky to touch but is not completely wet still. So spray the first coat, and then use the overspray on the newspaper to gauge how dry it is. Will probably take about 5 minutes to get to this stage. Then spray the next coat. I would do 5 base coats, and then move onto clear coat. Again, don't wait for the base coat to dry before spraying the clear. Do the same as above. I would do 3-4 coats of clear.

Good luck Eh

[SargeRX8]

Dont paint them. I used VHT wheel paint which was meant to be chip resistant. It looked awesome for the first while then they started chipping. Its been a while and they haven't faded at all just the chipping is shit. Almost anything will chip the paint and cause damage to it. I prepped them up pretty well. Gonna sandblast them then have them powder coated.

[Hanaldo]

Yeh aerosol paint will never be strong. If they are your daily wheels, I'd recommend powdercoating. If you are planning on getting new ones, don't bother.

[Daleo]

Yep, another vote for powdercoat.

For around $50 a wheel; you can't go wrong, heaps tougher than paint.

[statue]

Damn. Powder coat is so expensive ! $50 per wheel, plus, nearest powder coating place is another $50 petrol money !

Im cheap.. I'll go with spray paint.. $50 for 4 wheels

Matte Black or Black Gloss ?

[ssxRicho]

Go matte buddy.

Also a single can of autobarn wheel paint does 2x wheels.

Clean it up with acetone and spray away. I didn't mask mine either.

Pull the wheels off.

Newspaper on the ground.

Acetone the wheels very very well.

Wipe down again with clean rag.

Make sure can has been shaken very well.

First coat, very light. you should still see some of the original colour.

Do the same for the next wheel.

By the time you have done that, move back to the to other wheel and give it another spray.

Move back the to the second wheel, spray.

Wait 5-10mins.

Spray again, move to second wheel.

Wait 5-10mins.

You will get 4-6 coats out of the can.

The wheels will remain 'glossy' until they dry. Do not use the wheels for 24 hours.

Use a consistent sweeping motion, you should be fine.

Don't do it if it is cold outside.

2x $17.50 spray cans

1x $10 acetone

1x $10 Roll of rag

[statue]

Thanks guys.

Finished painting the first wheel.. so far so good..

Unfortunately for me, I only have 1 jack.. and the spare tyre is deflated.

So 1 wheel at a time for me.

After the last coat, how long should I wait to put it back on the car to dry, so I can do the next wheel?

Of course I won't drive it. But I want to get it all wheels done asap before I have to drive again.

Or is it not a good idea?

Need advice fast !

Thanks

[ssxRicho]

Minimum a couple of hours in the sun / heat.

You risk paint crumbling off when you tighten up the nuts. The nuts will grab on the paint and not just take off the paint under the nut, but also around it.

[jamie curran]

Post up a pic of ur progress mate

[statue]

1st wheel holding the car now.

I asked my bro if I could borrow his spare tyre and it didn't fit !

So I just got his jack instead.. borrowed my mums jack too so that I could do the next 3!

The last 3 wheels are done and now waiting to dry!

Am I doing it right? Looks good to me.

Just waiting for it to dry for the matte black look I guess?

[sonnyQ]

why dont you just use wooden blocks or something similar to prop the car up?

Thinking about doing this myself but seems like a fair bit of dicking around.

[statue]

It took me a long time and lots of pain. Maybe not a long time, but constant PAIN!!!-ting. My hands are hurting bad. I'm so unfit !

It's been almost a day and the first wheel doesn't look matte black. I'm getting worried.

Is it normal?

[sonnyQ]

It should have lost its sheen overnight....assuming you bought matte paint

[rad100]

should lost its sheen 10 mins after spraying.

this is mine satin!

[ssxRicho]

Depends on the temperature where you are spraying.

They look good though!

[sonnyQ]

yeah that's what i'm saying, should have well and truly lost all sheen overnight

Satin looks pretty sweet