Steps on painting wheels...

[CelicaST-162]

In my quest to give my Supra the JDM pimp look, I have decided to paint the stock sawblade wheels gunmetal. I can get them sandblasted or hand sand them. I might have to resort to hand sanding them so what kind or grit should I start off with and stop with. Do I need to wet sand? Now, If I sand blast them...sandblast (duh) then what are the steps after that?

Thanks

[CelicaST-162]

come on no one??

[Weapon_R]

Are they rusted? If so, use something around the 300 range. If not, use a 400 grit.

[illeagle]

I just use a red scotch pad, scuff themuntil there are no shiney area's. Clean them off GOOD... then mask and paint... BTW: i think you should use gloss black

[86max]

I cleaned mine......roughly sanded with 400grit....then 800. It's really hard to get all the crevices but I wouldn't worry too much about those....I guess sandblasting would work well. After sanding.....I primered them with really thin coats over a period of 2 days......about 3 coats.....then applied the crappy tire gunmetal paint, again in thin coats over a period of a day or two. Same thing with the clearcoat. Mine have lasted really well for over a year now....a few chips here and there, but I live on a gravel road so what an you expect. Touch up paint is always readily available too.

[CelicaST-162]

Originally posted by Weapon_R
Are they rusted? If so, use something around the 300 range. If not, use a 400 grit.

Nope, theyre not rusted at all. Just has that greyish black crud on and one wheel is missing a chunk out of ...but a replacement is on the way.

[Weapon_R]

Then scuff away with a 400 grit piece or a pad and you should be fine. It's pretty easy to paint wheels.

[GTS Jeff]

i used 380 which turned out well. no primer needed when you use the right paint (it self etches to aluminum). make sure u clean and dry the wheels very well before painting or the paint will bubble/flake. i used a bunch of clearcoat to give it some more protection.

i also just finished painting my winter wheels. first sandblast, second clean with paint thinner, then 3rd spray with hi-temp caliper enamel. im not too sure how the paint will hold on these guys cuz i dont plan on using them for quite a while, but we'll see.

[Ashkente]

Anyone who has sandblasted aluminum wheels, how did that go? I'm mostly worried about damaging them so, any tips? (Never sandblasted anything before either.. )

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by Ashkente
Anyone who has sandblasted aluminum wheels, how did that go? I'm mostly worried about damaging them so, any tips? (Never sandblasted anything before either.. )

same as sandblasting anything i suppose. the sand is powerful, but not "that" powerful. to give u an idea, i sandblasted a set of aluminum wheels as well as the plastic center caps for the wheels - and they both came out with a very similar finish. once painted over, they look identical.

[cp1]

DO NOT SANDBLAST ALUMINUM at all... it causes pitting in the metal... which looks like shit! if you do decide to blast them use nothing more abrasive than a glass bead... tho ive found that to be at times even a bit rough too! ive done so much polishing work and blasting to know what im talking about as well! i would simply use a medium to fine steel wool to "wipe" the wheels clean then depending on what you want to do with them, paint right over that... of course after you clean it with soap and water...

[HellfireR6]

if u just want to paint and not get em powder coated, just sand with wet 400 paper, let dry or use a blowdryer... than mask surrounding areas not to be painted..

u can buy wheel paint at Canadian tire or use any color spray paint and paint bout 2 to 3 coats... finish off with wheel clearcoat (also can be bought at CT), spray evenly bout 2 coats, the clear should be sprayed 1-2 hours after painting, if later it will wrinkle when dryed

let dry for a day, or for better results use a heat lamp for atleast 2 hours to cure the paint......

[GT2NV]

i spraypainted mine with lots of coats of gunmetal n clearcoat, they turned out awesome i think and i didnt sand them just scuffed up the surface and they havent chipped yet

[djfob]

^^how did you refinish the polished lip? or did you just leave it?

[GT2NV]

Originally posted by djfob
^^how did you refinish the polished lip? or did you just leave it?

i just masked off the polished part
BEFORE:

[GT2NV]

AFTER:

[Idratherbsidewayz]

You could go with the lazy mans way out and just buy the wheel paint, clean the wheels, and paint 2 layers. Worked fine for me...

[FinalAeon]

i didn't want to start a new thread... cause i think i apply in here... but anyways i have those crappy stock tires/rims (if u can even call them rims) on my 96 accord lx i just bought (u know, with black rims on the inside and a plastic wheel covers, yeah...) and i was wondering if it'd be a good idea to take off all the wheel covers and repaint the actual rims... if this is advised, what's the most quality process of doing this? since the car is a 96 and only has 36k miles on it, it does have rust spots on the atual rims in a couple places... i just need a simple (or complex) explanation of how this process works... i also need to know what to buy... since i havent ever painted wheels before... only the inside of my house :P and i'm sure wall primer is different then what i have to use on my rims lol...

[M_Power]

please, dont paint ur steelies

[GT2NV]

yeah man definatly dont paint the steelies, it will look brutal....