Painting rims

[profcucchi]

Just spot cleaned a part with the paint stripper and it came off in seconds.

I figure if I use a good brush, that sponge-thing for my drill and lots of elbow grease, I'll strip each tire in 30 minutes or so.

Once this is done, I still have to lightly sand the rim with a Dremel, then prime and paint. I'll use 3 hours total as my guide but it'll be closer to 5 given my procrastination.

[RRoller123]

Tires off the rims, yes?

[profcucchi]

Tires off the rims, yes?

Ideally, a tire shop would do all the grunt work for me.

Otherwise, its paint cards and tape and lots of newspaper for me.

[profcucchi]

Okay, so I almost quit and gave up. I didn't know that there was a top coat of really good gloss. It was a shame really when the paint stripper ate through it. I was looking through reviews of soda blasters and painters when I got my rotary tool out and scrubbed the rim.

95% of everything came off. I had plenty of HomeDepot paint chips (my thriftiness is astonishing) and surrounded the wheel and taped off a ring so the silver would still be present. Almost ditched that idea, too.

So far, I have three light coats of black primer and will wait a couple of days before doing a couple of coats of semi-gloss black and a new gloss protector.




Verdict?

New note:

Saturday 6pm: finished the other three tires and am tired. Got a lot of looks and requests for work! Not happening, though. Well... depends on how good the espresso is.

[giuliot60]

I love your thriftiness profcucchi with the paint chip cards. Very creative. The wheels look really nice. I like the exposed metal edge. Did you just clear coat the metal?

I repainted my wheels last year. I didn't strip them down. They weren't that bad. Just sanded everything down as much as possible or needed, then gave them 2-3 coats of primer, then 2-3 coats of paint (I actually did a two-tone metallic silver), and finished with 2-3 coats of clear. And before the clear coats, since I have Turbo wheels that sometimes have a black detail, I hand painted in the black squares at the end of the "spokes".

[profcucchi]

I love your thriftiness profcucchi with the paint chip cards. Very creative. The wheels look really nice. I like the exposed metal edge. Did you just clear coat the metal?

I repainted my wheels last year. I didn't strip them down. They weren't that bad. Just sanded everything down as much as possible or needed, then gave them 2-3 coats of primer, then 2-3 coats of paint (I actually did a two-tone metallic silver), and finished with 2-3 coats of clear. And before the clear coats, since I have Turbo wheels that sometimes have a black detail, I hand painted in the black squares at the end of the "spokes".

Very nice work. Hand painting is taxing, though.

I really like the finish that the black primer had. The clear coat leaves it glossier than I want. Next year, I'll do it again. I can't complain for $12 worth of spray paint. And lots of looks from the paint department - it took about 100 cards.

Time for full disclosure: I took the clear coat off one rim only. When I applied the black primer to the very clean, very dry other rims, it just bonded so nicely. I will soda-blast them eventually, but for now? It looks great.

[giuliot60]

If you like a flatter finish on your wheels you may want to try PlasticDip spray (less than $10 a can). It's all the rage now. And a lot of people are using it on their wheels. If you don't like it, it just peels off. Some people even do the whole body of the car.

Here's a short video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WS14Jnyf5Q

[Kev659]

I am getting mine powder coated this winter. Does anyone have a picture of the two tone rims? The inside near the lugs is black and the outside is a gray color. I need a quality picture to show the shop.

[giuliot60]

I am getting mine powder coated this winter. Does anyone have a picture of the two tone rims? The inside near the lugs is black and the outside is a gray color. I need a quality picture to show the shop.

What kind of wheels do you have?

[Kev659]

The wheel has a 4 leaf clover look to it.

[giuliot60]

This link may help you Kev.

http://www.histowheels.com/Cromodora/

[wplyler]

I painted the original wheels from my '79 (I know they're original, since I bought the car new). I used Eastwood wheel paints in the Argent and Satin Black. No chemical stripping, just sanding, wire brushing, and surface cleaner/wax remover. The wheels were clear coated with Eastwoods 2K gloss clear coat. They look great. If you use the 2K paints, make sure you use a respirator. The stuff is noxious.