About to lay some paint on my wheels

I'm about to paint my wheels black and wanted to know how to go about it, can i just wash the rims really well and prime with self etching primer, then paint, or do i have to do the all time consuming scuffing of the rim?

 

Just be sure to paint them black, so they will look the very same as every other black wheel on the market.

 

Gee real helpful

 

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/wheels-tires/248767-wheel-paint-project.html
There is a few good info in that thread^
My advice is if you clear coat, let the paint dry 24h, im not a very patient man and i waited about 4 hours when i did mine and screwed them up pretty bad...

 

I posted the following process a month or so ago when someone else asked the same basic question. This has served me well over the years so I hope it works for you. How well the wheels come out and how long the paint job lasts will depend on how well you prep the wheel before painting and how patient you are during the process. Consider removing the wheel and tire from the truck, cleaning and scuffing the rim mandatory. Now for my normal process....

I've always done wheels the same way.

Total time invested will be about 5 -6 hours depending on how fast you work spread out over 2 or 3 days.

First requirement is a nice warm sunny day. Mid to upper 80's and beating down sun. I typically do a complete set over a weekend.

Supplies.

4 cans of Duplicolor Metallic Gray Wheel paint. (1 per wheel) Don't worry if you bought too much. It's an awesome color that you'll use on everything else around the house.

2 Cans of Duplicolor Clear Wheel paint but the 500F Engine paint Clear works just as well. Buy more if you want really shiny.

3 Can of Duplicolor etching primer. Get the puke green one. (again this will get used in other daily life duties as metal always needs priming.).

1 gray scotch bright pad.

1 small bottle of Dawn dish soap.

1 sheet of 220 grit sand paper.

Access to a garden hose.

1 roll of blue painters tape.

1 large bottle of 91% alcohol.

Patients and more patients. Rushing and not letting things dry will screw up you entire project so paint and wait, paint and wait.

- Use the 220 grit sand paper on any chips or flaking paint to smooth it out.

- Use a Gray Scotch Brite Pad on the rest of the wheel to knock off the shine.
and give the new primer/paint something to stick to.

- Wash the wheels using the same gray scotch bright pad and hot water with
a fairly large amount of good dish soap in it. I like Dawn.

- Rinse ridiculously well with a garden hose both front and back and let dry in the
sun.

- Wipe the wheel down with a lint free towel soaked in 91% alcohol and again let
dry in the sun.

- Spot prime any areas that you sanded through to bare metal. My wheels looked
like they had a bunch of green spots on them after this process.

- Start on the back side of the wheel with and lay down two coats of etching primer
about 10 mins apart. I've had very good luck with the duplicolor stuff. Its the
green etching stuff. Let it dry in the sun for at least an hour.

- Flip the wheel over and do two coats of primer on the front of the wheel again
about 10 min apart and let it sit for a day to dry.

- Warm all of the paints you are going to use. I typically just sit all of the cans out
in the sun in the same spot and let them heat up while I get everything setup
and ready. Give them at least 30 mins in the sun.

This is where yours might be different than mine. I decided that I wanted the front of my wheels to be the gun metal gray and the backs to be black to give them some depth. If you are painting your wheels all one color then reverse the next two steps and paint the rear of the wheels first.

- If you are using metallic paint like the duplicolor gray wheel paint then you MUST
shake the crap out of the can for at least two minutes to get everything mixed
well. The paint must also be warm as the color will actually be darker if the paint is cold. Ask me how I know this.

- Paint the front of the wheels with three coats of Paint. The first should be a light
coat with just enough paint to see some color. I started around the holes in the
wheels then did the faces and the outer edge and lip. The next two coats should
be alittle heavier but no to the point of creating runs. 10 mins between coats is
good but remember to shake the crap out of the can before you start each coat.
Let the last coat dry in the hot sun for at least an hour. If you have the time and
the sun will be up for a while then 4-5 hrs is better.

- Shake the clear coat and spray on as many coats as you like. The more you add
the shinier it will be. I only did one coat as I liked the shine of just the paint but
wanted something to protect the paint with. So that said put on one light to
medium coat and let it dry over night. It worth mentioning that the clear coat
sometimes looks milky white when sprayed on. This is where the sun becomes
important but you can accomplish the same thing with a heat gun. The milky color
will go away as the paint cures and letting it sit in the sun and bake gives you a
crystal clear finish.

-Flip the wheel over and do the back side. Mask off all the holes in the wheels so the black doesn't get on your fresh gray on
the front of the wheel. Be sure that you paint all the way over the bead so the
paint gets into the area where the tire seats. Doing this will prevent the paint from
having a point to start peeling and flaking. I did two coats of the gloss black about
10 mins apart then let it sit for a couple of hours.

- Next I did two heavy coats of clear on the inside as I was looking more for paint
protection and easy clean up than cosmetics.

- Now comes the hard part. Let the wheels sit and cure for AT LEAST a week before
you even consider having tires mounted. The paint will seem dry but it's far from
cured and the force of rubbing a tire over it will peel it right off. After a week you
couldn't get that paint off with a hammer.

Following this method I've done wheels on my Tacoma in Gray (1 yr ago), 09 Forester in Gray (3 yrs ago), STI in White (3 yrs ago), WRX in bronze (4 or 5 yrs ago), 72 Vette Rallys in gray (8 yrs ago at least), old Avenger in gray (4 yrs ago) and so far none have failed or peeled. The WRX is rally raced weekends so it sees a lot of abuse. There's some chips but no peeling.

 

If your wheels are alloy then you should use zinc chromate as the base layer that touches the wheel. Then throw regular primer on top.

Here's my experience painting my alloy wheels

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1s...djik-mans-laugh-him-build-30.html#post8783755

The paint itself is bulletproof, however my spray technique was less than desirable on all the angles of the spokes, etc.

But keep in mind I wheel in the spring and summer so touch up every year is just assumed for me. No clear coat to make touch up easier.

 

Ok so they're now painted but a question. When I was painting the temp was between 45 and 50 degrees in the garage but I had a buddy heater down close to the wheels as I was prepping, priming, etc. Should the paint still hold good and cure or am I screwed?

 

Depends on how good the prep work was done. I've painted wheels in the summer and they didn't last that long because I didn't prep as well as I should have. The paint used and the amount of coats will also play a factor. Just keep them away from the elements for a few days and time will tell.

 

Was the paint at 45-50 degrees or warmed as well?

 

Yes the paint was warmed I believe

 

It's all in the prep. If you took the time to clean, scuff, prime and paint the wheels with good quality products then you should be ok. 45/50F is really too cold but.... If you simply cleaned and sprayed the paint then you might be screwed come spring time.

 

Hey OP don't mind the clown who posted the negative post. I did mine in the garage and it was cold outside and mine came out great, I did take a lot of time to clean them first and let them dry, three coats of primer on each wheel with 30 mins of dry time in between coats then I put 3 coats of black wheel paint, they came out great, I also left the wheelsbon the truck. Post some pics when you are finished.

 

20141230_085325.jpg
Here's the finished product

 

Looks great. Enjoy

 

What wheel paint did you use?

Should really let them cure for 5-7 days before handling them.