Repainting Wheels
 

I found a video while doing a project to my car that shows VERY well how to repaint wheels and it very helpful for comments. take a look!


i will be editing this post in a week or so as I repaint a set of wheels. Ill post a good walk-through of my painting also.




I posted this walkthrough to help people who are going to be repainting the their rims with a rattlecan (spray paint). Im going to be using High Gloss Engine Enamel to paint the wheels for the heat and durability issues that will let hit hold up a little better than your typical spray paint.


Step One:
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...g/IMG_0170.jpg

Get a mask and put it on with some old clothes. There is going to be a lot of fine particles roaming around in the air while you sand. I didnt wear one at first... after 15 minutes I started coughing up some black/grey stuff.... i put this over my mouth. Anything is better than putting this in your lungs. trust me... i know. haha


Step Two:
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...g/IMG_0172.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...g/IMG_0177.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...g/IMG_0185.jpg

Get ahold of a few tools.

You'll need:
Water and a rag - I used it to help wash away the places ive already sanded, plus I could drink out of the bottle. It takes a while, your probably going to start getting dehydrated.
Sand Paper - I used automotive 120 grit sandpaper. Very coarse, but not bad enough where it would destroy the rims. Anything too fine and youll be scrubbing all night.
Hammer and flat head screwdriver - to get the balancing weights off the rims (a needle nose pliers can work too!)

Step Three:
Put up a rim and start sanding! Heres what mine looked like before I started sanding....
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...g/IMG_0174.jpg



Step Four:
Your going to come to the weights. Just put the flathead under, give it some good taps and pry the weight up. its soft metal, you might scratch your rim up a little, just dont hit DOWN too hard on the rim to dig into it and make it unfixable. you can also use a needle nose pliers to get ahold of it and bend it up.
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...g/IMG_0181.jpg


Step Five:
when finished with the front.... flip it over! your only half way done on your first rim...
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...g/IMG_0183.jpg



heres what they look like sanded!
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...g/IMG_0186.jpg



Quick note... dont feel you need to get 100% of all the paint off... if it will stick on the rim it will keep sticking to the rim. the point is to get all the extra off and anything that might loosen up later on. its easier to get paint to stick to paint, than paint to metal.

Step Six: Tape off the tire stem and Prime the wheel. Wipe it down with some water first to make sure nothing is going to get between the primer and metal, then use a primer thats safe to use on aluminum and other metal products. it doesnt need to be "wheel" primer, just one safe on the rims. Its better to do 2 light coats than one heavy coat. if it runs, sand the area, re-wipe it down and put another layer of primer. if it looks like crap now, paint wont help. ;)

Step 7: I did a lip around mine, so I did the base color now (red) that the lip will be. Spray again, in 2 light coats where the bottom layer colors need to be. i used Engine enamel since I want my wheels to be gloss black. If you can, use a paint that is HIGH durability and is resistant to cracking, chips and paint. Ive heard appliance paint works well too.

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...g/IMG_3066.jpg

after spraying one wheel (red)
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...g/IMG_3062.jpg

Step Eight: then, do the taping over the area you want the base color. again, if you want a solid wheel color, dont worry about this step. I used 3m detailers tape to mark the area. GO SLOW and make sure it looks smooth.
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...g/IMG_3061.jpg


Step Nine: then, spray the rest of the wheel with the color of choice. I used again, gloss black to bring out the colors on my car. this is very important *when you spray the paint, how it looks after you spray it is how it will look when it dries. make sure its EVEN and does not start to drip. GO SLOW! GO SLOW! GO SLOW!* it makes the rims come out looking more even. I used 5 cans of black enamel for 4 rims.

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...g/IMG_3065.jpg


You could then apply a clear coat, although I have not yet. Im going to have that professionally sprayed, since I want that to be 100% correct with no problems. Itll keep the paint and the weather on good behavior!


Heres what the tape on the valve will look like when your painting: (you dont want that on the rubber...)
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...g/IMG_3076.jpg


and... the final product!

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l1...g/IMG_3070.jpg

now do it 3 more times.... :)

Thanks for the write up! I hope its stickied in the how-to. Ill Try it once I have rims worth repainting haha.

*edited main post to include all pictures*

finished this.. any chance to get it stickied?

Stickied.

Results look good. The clear coat will only add to the great look!

do me a favor adn change the weight removal to either going to a tire shop or using a pair of pliers, your way will cause a lot of scratches on rims that are un-needed

i love the outer red stripe, looks great, good job

dam dat looks nice!