Spraying wheels another colour?

MikeHunt79 · 1 Sep 2007 at 18:20

As you can see, this wheel has seen better days.

Sooo.... I plan on satin black. Now, what prep work should I do?

I was gonna clean off the brake dust first, and maybe use a bit of wet and dry paper on the bits where it is not smooth... then spray the new paint over the old paint.

Is this ok, or will the paint flake off or something? What's the best way of doing this?

Vix · 1 Sep 2007 at 18:26

I've just refurbed my wheels Ford Ash Black (well the bf did most of the work actually)

I actually took them to a shotblaster first (£10 a wheel) to make sure I got all the rubbish off, but I could have spent ages sanding them down. When they came back they were very rough so I (actually me!) spent a lot of time with wet n dry (mostly dry) making sure they were smooth for the paint. Then they took about 3 coats of primer, lots of colour and then two coats of laquer. I think if you do the prep stuff well, then there is less chance of paint peeling, although don't go mad with the laquer as this is usually what peels, as people spray it on too thick!!

You WILL need more paint than you think though. I could have got my wheels powder coated (£40 per wheel) for about the same amount as we spent on paint.

whitecrook · 1 Sep 2007 at 18:58

My old EMPI 8'S were originally powder coated and in their lifetime had been painted all sorts of colours. I got them blasted at £10 a wheel, and then laqured them. Looked great. 90% of a good paint job is in the preparation, regardless of what you are painting.

Xez · 1 Sep 2007 at 19:59

You can just rub down the existing paint on it (so long as you dont go down to bare metal) and spray over it just dont use fine wet and dry as it needs something to keep into. Dont do thick coats it will only orange peal. Putting lacquer on too thick is also bad as it can crack(so i've heard)

wassap · 1 Sep 2007 at 21:12

First try a decent wheel cleaner on the wheels, you will be surprised how well they can come up wit somethign like wheel brightener from Meguiars,i bought the mercedes rims on my moms car looking like new with a bit of scrubbing.

Phil W · 1 Sep 2007 at 21:19

Satin black is really easy, lightly rub the wheels back and whack it on. If you want ot to last a bit longer, prime the wheels first, although i've done 2 set of alloy wheels in satin black now, and both stuck fine without lacquer.

Make sure you wipe the wheels down with turps or white spirit before painting, leaving it to dry off thoroughly.

MikeHunt79 · 3 Sep 2007 at 02:09

wohoo said:
First try a decent wheel cleaner on the wheels, you will be surprised how well they can come up wit somethign like wheel brightener from Meguiars,i bought the mercedes rims on my moms car looking like new with a bit of scrubbing.

These runs are a little scratched and kerbed - plus they are 15 years old! I also fancy something a little more stealthy hence black.

Phil W said:
Satin black is really easy, lightly rub the wheels back and whack it on. If you want ot to last a bit longer, prime the wheels first, although i've done 2 set of alloy wheels in satin black now, and both stuck fine without lacquer.

Make sure you wipe the wheels down with turps or white spirit before painting, leaving it to dry off thoroughly.

Cool. I don't actually have any laquer, but I think it should be fine without it. I'm off on holiday in a day or so, and as I have 5 wheels, i can practice on 1 while keeping my car on the road.

Thanks for the tips, hopefully it should go to plan!

Mark A · 3 Sep 2007 at 03:09

I'm planning on doing exactly the same thing when i get my VTR. I'm trying to get a red or black one and then spraying the stock silver alloys black. I was just going to use different grades of wet and dry to get a key and remove any ground in dirt. Then clean them fully with white spirit and finally use some 99% ISO-Propyl alcohol to make sure they're surgically clean ready for paint. A few light coats of etch primer de-nibbed in between coats. Then a few coats of black matt or satin and finally a couple of coats of matt or satin lacquer for protection.

It might be cheaper to get them professionally done but it wont have the same sense of achievement so i think I'll do it myself.

This is it in stock form

And this is my attempt at photo shopping them black, i think they look a lot better black :cool:

.

BigglesPiP · 3 Sep 2007 at 05:47

lol, just brake harder, you're half way there already.

Euro_Hunter · 3 Sep 2007 at 17:45

I would get them powder coated, as Vix said it will cost about the same as if you prep & spray them properly but power coat will look good for ages.

Mark A · 3 Sep 2007 at 18:48

How would you go about taking the tyres off to get them powder coated?.

Luke · 3 Sep 2007 at 20:01

Drive to a tyre fitter. Get them to take the tyres off and put them in the boot. Then.....ah.

Vix · 3 Sep 2007 at 20:51

Yeah, that's the tricky part. I had a friend who took them away and had the tyres taken off as he needed old tyres for his drift car

(Got £5 each for them too!!)

Gaygle · 3 Sep 2007 at 21:47

How much does powder coating cost? Local people to me wanted £80 per wheel. Surely there must be places cheaper than that.

Vix · 4 Sep 2007 at 22:07

I was quoted £40 at a local place to me.