painting stock rims?
08-17-2006, 12:31 PM
#1
painting stock rims?
can any one suggest a process in painting stock rims black? How many coats of primer ,what grit snadpaper to scuff up the rims and last but not least a paint good for this sort of thing. I know others have tried it, HELP!Thanks
08-17-2006, 06:42 PM
#2
VIP Member
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: North Dallas
Posts: 68
Car Info: 08 STi SSM
I just did my prodrives (The cost of powder coating was a little high so I thought i'd try the $30 plan) and they look great imo. Just go to autozone, walmart, lowes or somewhere, get a 3M sandpaper block (red) clean the rims well with acetone or something, scuff with sandpaper, clean everything again then use some paint (I used duplicolor wheel paint and didn't use primer) and start at it. I did about 3 coats of color and two of clear.
You have to make sure the prep work is good and take your time with the painting to get a smooth finish. All up it took me about 4 hours.
I had my tires removed and took all the weights off first.
You have to make sure the prep work is good and take your time with the painting to get a smooth finish. All up it took me about 4 hours.
I had my tires removed and took all the weights off first.
Last edited by qjumpr; 08-17-2006 at 06:45 PM.
08-18-2006, 06:33 PM
#5
VIP Member
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: North Dallas
Posts: 68
Car Info: 08 STi SSM
I got it from Autozone, as for the heat..it's suppost to be heat proof (it was engine block paint) i guess i'll see. If it turns out to be crap I'll get them powder coated, but it should be ok. If you just want black go to Lowes and buy paint for your grill, that is heat proof to like 1200 degrees
08-19-2006, 12:31 AM
#6
Registered User
iTrader: (19)
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Bay Area
Posts: 1,112
Car Info: Sti hatch
i didnt use primer on mine, i only did a light scuff and i put a deck of cards between my tire and rim on each one so i wouldnt paint my tires semi-gloss black. theyve been good for about 8 months now. no chips or flakes and i take her off road occasionally too. i used engine block paint though. imo it can withstand just a little more heat.......................
.......................
08-19-2006, 02:16 PM
#8
I painted them Bronze --
My technique for DIY painted wheels
Dismount the wheels from the car (you can keep the tires on).
You need to sand the clearcoat off first. I used 800 grit wetsand, then finished it with 1000 grit wetsand. This was overkill...too fine. It took like 1 - 1.5 hours per wheel to sand the clearcoat off. If I were to do it over again, I would use 400 or 600 grit or a red scuff pad, then finish/polish with 800 wetsand
Once all the clear is off and its pretty smooth, wash the wheels with a sponge and hose, then dry them off. For the paint to stick well, you need to get them REALLY clean, so to get rid off any grease/fingerprints use 100% acetone (nail polish remover) to clean the surface. You can find it at RiteAId / Longs for a few bucks.
When they are all dry you can start to paint. I used index cards to block the tire from being painted. Just wedge a bunch of index cards in between the rim and tire. That will block off the tire from overspray, unless you get really crazy with the paint.
I painted them in a garage, with little ventalation, it sucked! Make sure you have good ventalation or a mask for all the fumes. I used Etching primer, Bronze Wheel Paint and Clearcoat (all Duplicolor) I did 2 light coats of etching primer, then waited 30 Min before applying the bronze. I think I did like 5 light coats of bronze (waiting 10-15 minutes between coats), applying in a SLOW horizontal sweeping motion, slightly overlapping and about 5 - 7 inches away from the wheel.
When I felt like all the surface was properly covered in bronze, I waited 1 hour before applying the clearcoat. I did 2-3 coats of clear, but if I were to do it over again I would do 5 - 6 to make it a little shinier. Then wait 24 hours for them to dry.
If you have any painting skills, it should come out nice. Before I did this, I went to a paint store and asked for advice, as I had never painted anything. Im going to re-paint them again better....I didnt use enough clearcoat, so they get dirty with grime and brake dust VERY fast. More clearcoat will solve this issue.
Its been over a year and the only chips/dings have come from having it aligned.
My technique for DIY painted wheels
Dismount the wheels from the car (you can keep the tires on).
You need to sand the clearcoat off first. I used 800 grit wetsand, then finished it with 1000 grit wetsand. This was overkill...too fine. It took like 1 - 1.5 hours per wheel to sand the clearcoat off. If I were to do it over again, I would use 400 or 600 grit or a red scuff pad, then finish/polish with 800 wetsand
Once all the clear is off and its pretty smooth, wash the wheels with a sponge and hose, then dry them off. For the paint to stick well, you need to get them REALLY clean, so to get rid off any grease/fingerprints use 100% acetone (nail polish remover) to clean the surface. You can find it at RiteAId / Longs for a few bucks.
When they are all dry you can start to paint. I used index cards to block the tire from being painted. Just wedge a bunch of index cards in between the rim and tire. That will block off the tire from overspray, unless you get really crazy with the paint.
I painted them in a garage, with little ventalation, it sucked! Make sure you have good ventalation or a mask for all the fumes. I used Etching primer, Bronze Wheel Paint and Clearcoat (all Duplicolor) I did 2 light coats of etching primer, then waited 30 Min before applying the bronze. I think I did like 5 light coats of bronze (waiting 10-15 minutes between coats), applying in a SLOW horizontal sweeping motion, slightly overlapping and about 5 - 7 inches away from the wheel.
When I felt like all the surface was properly covered in bronze, I waited 1 hour before applying the clearcoat. I did 2-3 coats of clear, but if I were to do it over again I would do 5 - 6 to make it a little shinier. Then wait 24 hours for them to dry.
If you have any painting skills, it should come out nice. Before I did this, I went to a paint store and asked for advice, as I had never painted anything. Im going to re-paint them again better....I didnt use enough clearcoat, so they get dirty with grime and brake dust VERY fast. More clearcoat will solve this issue.
Its been over a year and the only chips/dings have come from having it aligned.
08-27-2006, 09:11 PM
#10
Registered User
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: sacramento, ca
Posts: 1,113
Car Info: 1995 Legacy L wgn & 1995 Legacy Brighton wgn
chiming in a bit late, but the duplicolor doesn't come in satin black as far as i know. never seen it in satin black anyway.
in my experience though, you don't need to buy that expensive paint. i've used the cheap $0.96/can wal mart spray paint on my rims many times, and it's always held up to normal road wear (tire machines are a different story!). primer isn't necessary on wheels that are already painted, just sand really good with 400 grit.
and just to give a bit of perspective, i drove from oklahoma to california in 27 hours with one of my friends, in my old civic sedan, which was loaded up with i don't even know how much crap (we couldn't see out the rear window). the rims ('97 civic HX rims if anyone's wondering) were painted flat black with the $0.96/can wal mart flat black spray, no clear coat or anything, just three good coats of black. made it through mountains, snow, desert heat (did i mention that we only stopped for food and gas, otherwise it was pretty much a straight run all the way through until we hit bakersfield?), etc.
the result? paint on the rims was just fine when it was all over.
also made it to the recent mt. hamilton meet in my legacy with the rims ('99 forester S rims) painted with the $0.96/can wal mart gloss gold paint. again, no clear, just three coats of gold. was 112 frickin' degrees up on the mountain, and the paint came through looking fabulous!
in my experience though, you don't need to buy that expensive paint. i've used the cheap $0.96/can wal mart spray paint on my rims many times, and it's always held up to normal road wear (tire machines are a different story!). primer isn't necessary on wheels that are already painted, just sand really good with 400 grit.
and just to give a bit of perspective, i drove from oklahoma to california in 27 hours with one of my friends, in my old civic sedan, which was loaded up with i don't even know how much crap (we couldn't see out the rear window). the rims ('97 civic HX rims if anyone's wondering) were painted flat black with the $0.96/can wal mart flat black spray, no clear coat or anything, just three good coats of black. made it through mountains, snow, desert heat (did i mention that we only stopped for food and gas, otherwise it was pretty much a straight run all the way through until we hit bakersfield?), etc.
the result? paint on the rims was just fine when it was all over.
also made it to the recent mt. hamilton meet in my legacy with the rims ('99 forester S rims) painted with the $0.96/can wal mart gloss gold paint. again, no clear, just three coats of gold. was 112 frickin' degrees up on the mountain, and the paint came through looking fabulous!
08-28-2006, 05:39 PM
#12
Originally Posted by scoobie8
Duplicolor does have satin black, its very hard to find but I did find 3 cans. I need to get more though, so the search continues.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
lok214
NorCal Classifieds
6
02-15-2007 10:43 PM
