Saturday, December 06, 2008 - 01:18 pm, by: Mario Jayawardena(Mario_jay)
hey guys, well i got my uni holidays these days and now that i got some free time i want to paint my wheels! i always thought black 5 spoke wheels with a chrome lip/dish would look tough! anyway i will upload a pic of my wheels to this post. i've done a bit of reading and basically the step seem to be
1. sand and clean 2. primer 3. base color 4. Clear coat
what im not too sure about is how much i should sand? do i sand it so that all the dirt and stuff is off and the finish is a bit rough? or do i have to fully sand it till there isn't a spec of the previous paint left?
from then on it seems manageable.. clean off all the residue, give it a layer of primer followed by a few layers of black and finally a layer or two of clear. any advice would be great guys! i really want to do this before christmas
Saturday, December 06, 2008 - 02:48 pm, by: Matt Petersen(Mattmannz)
You don't want a rough surface as the paint will show that up.
No need to sand all the old paint off either.
Make sure you mask up before painting and paint in a dust free area. You will probably also need to wet sand the clear coat to get a smooth finish.
I would pay and get the rims professionally painted unless you have done this before as you will get chips on the paint quickly unless it's done properly.
Saturday, December 06, 2008 - 03:15 pm, by: Luke Streat(Streatracer)
I wouldn't sand them dude. Maybe use an etching primer instead (pretty easy to find in supercheap repco etc) then black then clear. imho those wheels look awesome as they are! You sure you wanna paint them?
Saturday, December 06, 2008 - 07:10 pm, by: Bobby Green(Nash)
Get them powder coated its cheap and will last ages. I've painted a set of 14's on my starlet before and it took ages and the finish was only so so. Painting will flake after a while too.
Saturday, December 06, 2008 - 08:15 pm, by: Mario Jayawardena(Mario_jay)
nah they're not 3 piece, just a set of axis hiro's, and they do look pretty alright but i've always always wanted an all black car! hoping to get the car sprayed black soon so looking to have the wheels done before that.
yeh i dont want to screw up the wheels because they're already in pretty good nick.. paint isnt peeling or any thing.. i was actually thinking about powder coating, what kind of finish does powder coating give? i want them to be atleast a bit glossy. and does any one know a place that does powder coating in melbourne? around how much do they charge per wheel?
Ben Socratous Goo Roo SA I am the fibreglass/kevlar/carbonfibre king!
Sunday, December 07, 2008 - 06:03 am, by: Ben Socratous(Socrates)
Look in the phone book mate. There are a gazillion powder coaters in Adelaide, so one could assume that there would be more in Melbourne! Ring around and ask if they have experience with rims would be a good start.
Sunday, December 07, 2008 - 09:55 am, by: Matthew Sharpe(Madmatt)
Don't paint them yourself if you've never done it before, it will come out looking cheap and nasty. There is a "VIP" style Merc across the road from me that has a home job done on some otherwise very nice rims, and he's totally ruined them with runs and uneven finish - he needs to strip it all off and start again.
Personally I think what you have looks fine. Black rims on a black car just doesn't work for me aesthetically.
Sunday, December 07, 2008 - 10:24 am, by: Cameron Stanley(Camskea)
hey Mathew, how about a sly photo of the offending Merc to bring home the point. I'm considering painting my Blitz 18s too, may need to see how bad it can come out if i dont get it done properly....cheers
Sunday, December 07, 2008 - 10:55 am, by: Bobby Green(Nash)
This was my first attempt painting wheels. Cost about $50 in materials and 4 hours total. Had to strip the original •••••• paint off them and sand them down. I then put about 10 light coats of spray paint and 2 coats of clear. They haven't chipped yet and its been 6 months, but from all accounts they will eventually. If you sanded more and included primer then it would take even longer. Powder coating would give you a nice smooth finish and last much longer.
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