Wheel Painting D I Y Tutorial

[MyStag260]

Hey Guys,

Yeah i know there has been heaps of DYI tutes on painting rims but i thought i might just do one anyway. If it helps good if not... meh

So anyway painting the rims is a pretty easy job really but it just takes time, especially as i was doing my Autech 260RS BBS rims that have crap loads of spokes. Doing a set like 5 spokers would be much easier but the bigger the surface the easier it is to see blemishes and imperfections, so there is challenges with either project.

First of all you have to sort out your equipment first; here is what i used

Other Stuff

• About 2 or so cans of degreaser (i just used el'cheapo supercheap junk)

• Some soapy water, sponge (have no idea where u could get these complicated tools )

• A really light grit sandpaper like 40, 80 about 4 or so sheets of each( hardware store, u know em)

• Masking Tape x 2 big rolls about 40mm wide (don’t get it too wide)

• Old news paper

Paint

The paint is pretty much going to make or break your project (apart from u doin a crap job) so it is worth you spending some money on good quality stuff otherwise it may look okay for a month but then it will chip, peel etc etc. So if you had ideas of this project costing you $20 think again. Essentially what you will need is Primer, Paint and Clear coat.

Where to buy your paint, well you have a few options there is paint suppliers like paint spot etc, they can give you any colour you want chosen from swatches. They will charge around $20 odd bucks for a can and as you are going to need at least 6 cans, could be a bit expensive for some. Including me, I looked at the usual brands you find in Autobarn and fund that the K&H brand to be of good quality and was recommended by a few people after doing some google searching. They do make a wheel paint but it only comes in a chrome colour, champagne and black, which was crap but I ended up using one of there 300 degree engine enamels in the Grey. All of these ones cost around $15 and there is a multitude of colours to choose from.

2 cans of primer, 2 cans of paint, 2 cans of clear. This may differ for you depending on what kind of condition your wheels are in, if they are in a bad condition you may want to put a few more coats of primer. Also the more shinny you want your wheels the more coats of clear you have to put on. I think all up I spent around $70-$80 for everything so not bad for a totally new set of rims essentially.

Right so onto the steps of doing it.

STEP 1 - Cleaning

The wheels need to come off your car to do this project and it ended up taking me about 2 weeks to finish doing it off and on so if you don’t have another set of rims to use you might want to start the project really early in the morning on a Saturday and you should have it done by Sunday arvo. (I’m just slack)

Take the wheels off and give them an absolute smattering of degreaser (removal of the tyres is not required) if you rims are greasy the paint will simply not stick. Secondly give them a kick arse scrubbing with a sponge and even steal wool or something that will really give them a good clean, don’t use something that will make deep scratches like a wire brush though.

STEP 2 - Sandpapering

Your rims will have there own coat of clear coat on them, and you need to get that removed as your new paint needs to stick to something not so shiny/smooth so get out your sandpaper and give the whole rim inside and out a light sand papering. You don’t need to be too heavy handed here you will know when you are as you will see a dark colour where there used to be silver, this means you have sand papered off the clear coat and the bottom paint coat  don’t worry if you did this a little.

STEP 3 – Masking

Okay this is a pretty time consuming process so prepare to be bored. First of all make sure that you have given the rims a really good wipe down with a damp cloth to remove any of the sandpaper dust. Then get to work with small strips of tape in around the rim where it meets the tyre. Make sure you get the tap right down in between then stick it down to the tyre. Do this for the inside and outside of each rim. It probably took me about 10 minutes to do each side so times that by 8. Once that is done you need to stick down news paper to cover the tyre, I went a little crazy and totally encased the tyre which you probably don’t need to do but it made things easier to move them around/turn them over. Also don’t forget to tape up your tyre valves…

STEP 4 – Primer

Time to finally paint, this part is pretty self explanatory. I don’t have any proven mythical method for painting but the advice I would give is more is less, doing 4 light coats is 10x better than doing 2 heavy coats. If you get paint runs don’t wipe it off just leave it as it can be sanded down later. Doing the primer is a good practice for your real paint as you can’t afford to get runs in that. Also painting the rims when they are flat, not standing up makes it harder for the paint to run. Start with the can further away then move closer, don’t start close or you may end up with a puddle.

Once you have done your primer coats get the lightest sand paper you have and give the prime a real light sand, and I mean real light sand just to get rid of any lumps or runs of paint.

STEP 5 – Paint

Essentially this is the exact same step as the primer, take your time, leave at least and hour between coats. I found that with both the primer and paint I did about 3ish coats of each.

STEP 6 – Clear Coat

Again the same as above but with the clear coat you really want to make sure you are doing it lightly because its really very difficult to see how much is going on, so use your experience from doing the paint and primer get the can distance right and go for it. I ended up doing about 5 light coats of clear.

STEP 7 – Finishing off

All that’s left now is to let it dry really well for at least a few hours (preferably overnight) then remove all your masking and fit them back up to the car 

Jobs done

TIPS

• Spray cans will last longer on a shelf by clearing the nozzle of the can, hold it upside depress the button until there is just air spraying out. Now the nozzle isn’t blocked and will spray perfect every time.

• Spray where bugs and dust etc aren’t going to get on your work

• Spray painting is not the best stuff to breath in, have a door open somewhere or do it in a reasonably well ventilated area and take breaks from spraying every so often. Use a spray mask if you so feel the need.

*I don’t take any responsibility for your health or the quality of the job you do so don’t blame me if you make mistakes etc this is just a guide and should be used so, i am not a professional and don't claim to be*

[Tangles]

good work.

maybe I should try white mags

[Xmetal]

Thinking I might have to do this to the CR KAI's...

[MyStag260]

Yeah makes a big difference to the look. I really couldn't stand mine silver so i was feelin bad about takin off the GTR rims n puttin these back on but now they're grey i don't mind em at all

Cheers

[infiltrator]

if you want, and can be buggered, you can get 1500 grit wet and dry and give them a final light sanding, this will bring out the gloss even more

[Lil_Bobby_260]

How good would the photo shoot be.... your white car with the dark rims, and my black one with the silver rims.... gawsh the POSSIBILITIES, GENTLEMEN!!! Mentlegen...

[MyStag260]

How good would the photo shoot be.... your white car with the dark rims, and my black one with the silver rims.... gawsh the POSSIBILITIES, GENTLEMEN!!! Mentlegen...

hahaha yeah would be alright ey! bit of distance to cover for a photoshoot though. If there was like a massive muster organised on some middle ground i'd be keen on going but would need to be a big event Xmetal would get some good snaps for sure

[Skyhigh33]

Good read, I have already painted 3 of my stock 33 rims... Got one more to do tomorrow.

Have painted them black. Going for the White car/black wheels theme.

Cant wait to see what it will look like on car

[R338OY]

This should be moved to the DIY section. It's a good tute and it might get lost here!

Anyway, i heard a little rumor that you can put playing cards around the rim instead of tape. They slot in between the rim and rubber.

Haven't tried it, but sounds quick.

Top job mate

Edited July 3, 2008 by R338OY

[MyStag260]

This should be moved to the DIY section. It's a good tute and it might get lost here!

Anyway, i heard a little rumor that you can put playing cards around the rim instead of tape. They slot in between the rim and rubber.

Haven't tried it, but sounds quick.

Top job mate

yeah not a bad idea that one! didn't even think of that... nice1

I think they topic has been added to the DIY section thanks nick

[Xmetal]

hahaha yeah would be alright ey! bit of distance to cover for a photoshoot though. If there was like a massive muster organised on some middle ground i'd be keen on going but would need to be a big event Xmetal would get some good snaps for sure

Just meet half way....In Newcastle!

[GoldZilla]

This should be moved to the DIY section. It's a good tute and it might get lost here!

Anyway, i heard a little rumor that you can put playing cards around the rim instead of tape. They slot in between the rim and rubber.

Haven't tried it, but sounds quick.

Top job mate

yeah not a bad idea that one! didn't even think of that... nice1

I think they topic has been added to the DIY section thanks nick

Yep, already done - but it's only in the Stagea DIY section. I'll have to see if I have the authority (but I doubt it) to add it into the general DIY section.

Just meet half way....In Newcastle!

Yeah, I'm up for that. Saves me going to either Queensland or Victoria. It'd be hard to choose otherwise, because I also have relo's in both states who I want to see...

[MyStag260]

This sounds like planning... who ever said anything about planning hahaha

[Lil_Bobby_260]

id road trip it to new castle haha