riceburners2001

i was thinking about maybe painting my stock wheels on my 01... i think ill proby paint them black.. but what are the steps i should take??? is their any way i can paint w/out taking tires off the wheels??? also after cleaning the wheels, do i have to sand it down or scuff them up???? any lastly... what kind of paint should i use?? sorry for so many questions ...any comments or recomandations will be great!! thanx!!

Emil St-Hilaire

You should clean them with "Precleano" sand them,with a 400 grit paper,and use a good epoxy based paint,gloss or mat,your choice.
You can keep the tires on,just tape them carefully.!!!
Like this:

riceburners2001

would paint have to be high temp paint?? did u put clear coat on urs???? great job on the painting tho.. looks good

spa-zz

I've used the Duplicolor wheel paint with very good results. It's all in the prep. The surface has to be clean and scuffed up to help the paint stick. I did use their clear coat as well and it resulted in a great finish.

When doing the clear especially, multiple light coats 5 minutes apart help prevent runs and makes it easier to get even coverage.

Cheers.

riceburners2001

thanx for the reply.. so where do i get "Duplicolor wheel paint"? would any automotive stores carry it???(like autozone) did u sand between clearcoats????

AsianQing

post up pics for before and after....I like to see the results.

riceburners2001

im planning on doing this next weekend... so ill take bunch of pics and post them.

spa-zz

Yes, auto parts stores have it.

You don't sand between the light clear coats. They are only 5-10 minutes apart so the paint is still tacky. Make sure you use LIGHT coats... resist the temptation to keep spraying until it looks shiny. When you first put the light coats on, it will not look that shiny. But after you add the 3rd or 4th light coat, you'll see it start to wet out and get glossy. Be patient.

I wouldn't recommend sanding the Duplicolor wheel paint until it's dried for a long time... (like a week) and if you do, make sure you do it wet, with very fine paper.

In my experience, sanding is not necessary (except for the wheel prep part, which is very important!)

brent_strong

90% of a good paintjob is in the prep! Painted wheels can look great, if you take your time.

riceburners2001

thanks for the great info.... just one more thing... when u sand the wheel... do u just try to scuff it up?? how long should sanding take?