Wheel paint?

[TheChadVIII]

Anyone know where / how much it would be to get some simple 5 spoke aluminum rims painted bronze?

Looking for a rather cheapish/but still passable result since I don't really give a crap about the rims but would like a color change. (But better than I could do with a spray can because I tried and oh dear god never again.)

[Miatamoto]

Do it yourself with Duplicolor wheel paint. They have a very nice looking bronze.

[black roadster]

The big issue is prep. Make sure they are well degreased and clean.

[MadMonkey]

^^ Agreed. I've done several sets for myself and a few others and they've always turned out well, even using non-wheel-specific paint. But only because I spent a LOT of time cleaning, degreasing, and wiping down the wheels first. Any rattle can paint that will work on metal should be fine but the wheel paint looks very nice

[altiain]

+1 on do 'em yourself.

The key is prep. Make sure the wheels are thoroughly clean and degreased, and give 'em a light sanding as well. The trick to painting with rattle cans is to always keep the can moving, shake often, and don't try to douse the wheel with paint. Make plenty of passes to get paint saturation instead of holding the can in one spot.

[trickyrix]

Yeah... prep and DON'T soak it in paint on the first pass. Go for light coats, and if you miss a spot you can go over it again - much better than sanding down a bunch of drips! I dunno... you might try shooting a coat of clear on top of the whole works after you're done... for that extra sheen.

[TheChadVIII]

Ok... but last time I tried it was probably about 65-70 degrees and the paint just puddled up into what looked like veins on the metal. Should I wait till it warms up above that point or did I just have some funkay-ass paint? (I was testing out the painting process on the old center-caps which were HUGE.)

[MadMonkey]

Ok... but last time I tried it was probably about 65-70 degrees and the paint just puddled up into what looked like veins on the metal. Should I wait till it warms up above that point or did I just have some funkay-ass paint? (I was testing out the painting process on the old center-caps which were HUGE.)

Sounds like crappy paint. Like I said, the best I've used is wheel paint from Autzozone.

My process:

1. Remove wheels.

2. If the wheels have a crappy finish, either sand them down or use paint stripper, depending on how they were finished last.

3. Clean wheel OVER AND OVER, then degrease, then rinse well (over and over), then wipe down and let dry. Mask off areas not meant to be painted.

4. Begin painting with long, even strokes lightly misting paint over the entire wheel. The paint will dry fairly quickly. Repeat over and over until you have a nice, uniform coating. Then do it again. Never overspray an area. For some reason paint runs are very visible on wheels.

5. Once you're finished, if you desire to clear coat them, do so within about 30 minutes. The clear coat will probably scare you because it looks a little milky when first applied. It freaked me out and I thought I would have to refinish all of my wheels when I did my BBS's, so I ended up not putting enough on. They got ugly quick

Let them dry and you're done.

That's the quick-and-dirty way, anyway. Usually takes me a few hours. Seems to work well and I've done a lot of colors too... I did a friends BMW wheels and he had a LOT of people thinking they were brand new, and they still look perfect

Maybe I'm just good at it

[Miatamoto]

I dunno... you might try shooting a coat of clear on top of the whole works after you're done... for that extra sheen.

IMO, the bronze looks great without the clear. It makes a nice matte finish.

[icepenguin66]

Ya, I did the same on my old car's wheels. I recommend using the Duplicolor wheel paint clear coat and plenty of it. The Duplicolor wheel paint is a special formula to be extra durable to resist rock chips and such. Good luck and stay ventilated!