Advice for rattle canning wheels....

[T?@\7]

Hey guys, im completely over the finish on my wheels right now. THey are aluminum, dull, pitted and the inner parts are painted red (no thank you.) I am going to rattle can prime/paint them and was looking for advice as far as preperation and technique (what grit of sand papers, who makes good primer and paint?). Thanks for any advice, Ive never painted wheels before.

Ray

 

[illzoni]

Clean them well and spray them with Plasti-Dip. Works great. A few threads here about others' success with it.

Have fun,
Jon

 

[Bad_Vision]

spend the money and have them beed blasted! any paint work is only as good as the PREP work.

 

[T?@\7]

Thanks guys, Ill look for the threads. Eventually i'll have them blasted and pc'ed, but for now on my paper thin budget im gonna try my best on a rattle can job and see how well it holds up, if it doesnt last forever no skin off my sack ya know....

 

[4x4climber]

You can ask all my friends... I am like a spraypaint master.. LoL i dunno... its just what i do haha

This is what I pick up at wally world when I spray paint. Steel wool (removes oxidation and heavy deposits really well.) 320 grit sand paper. I use the automotive paint primer for the wheels (self etching) i get tack cloth, and then some of the color place spray paint. There are better paints but if your prep work and primering is good you can use cheapo paint and it works perfect. Touch up n layers are uber cheap! lol. All this should be 15-20 bucks for all 4 wheels.

1.etch primer
2.paint
3.steel wool multi grit pack
4.320 grit sand paper
5.tack clotch
6. cleaner
7. rags
9. i use gloves (so i can take em off and put new ones on in between steps to keep wheels clean.

I start by washing the wheels with like purple power or simple green. good grease remover cleanerrs.. scrubbing with steel wool. lol ( i always use medium and fine grit). fyi...

Then dry them off and blow em out with air. Then i sand them down with the320 grit. Then blow em off with air. Then use the tack cloth to get the sanded crap off.

Next I spray a thinnish layer of the self etch primer on. THIN. If you have fisheyes pop up; clean the wheels again with cleaner steel wool and dry em em.

Once that thin layer goes on with no fisheyes your good. about 30 seconds to 1 minute after the thing layer i put a primer coverage coat to cover it all. Then let it dry for at least an hour in the sun to fully cure out. Then i take the finest steel wool and LIGHTLY "sand" the primer (just enough to etch micro lines in it for the paint to grab.

Then tack clotch it again.... and start hiting it with THIN layers of paint after. about 5 minutes in between. Usually after I spray all four i can start another coat. You dont want the paint WET when you do this layering, but also not fully dry. lol. Its pretty easy to tell when and not uber critical. Unless you want a wet look to them try to keep them from running paint is essentially the key.

Paint Paint away. Have fun! I have done MANY wheels and parts like this and they are always very durable. Never peel or flake/chip. And its cheap and easy.! good luck!

Let me know if you have any questions.:drummer::drummer::drummer::guitar2:

 

[T?@\7]

Cool, thats a nice straight forward walk through, thanks!
I am getting more and more excited to do it

 

[4x4climber]

Spray painting is fun and easy. and when i do flat or satin colors it makes me feel like a pro painter.. LoL

Oh, btw... in case you haven't used it before... tack cloth is meant to be lightly wiped across the surface to pick stuff up. you don't press at all.

 

[T?@\7]

I did my grill and corner light frames in satin black and it came out really good, definitely feels good to do some creating on your own ya know.

 

[T?@\7]

went to wally world and the zone (auto zone duh) today and picked up my goodies from that list above.
Had to grab a jack, jack stands, ratchet, extension and lugnut socket also.
Before and after pics COMING SOON.

 

[GTS Jeff]

If you want to do a ****piss job with minimal effort and you don't expect the paint to last, here's the fastest way:

1. Drive to the carwash and simplegreen the piss out of the wheels.
2. Drive back, dry the wheels with something, and use some tape to mask off the lugnuts and valve stem and whatever else. Don't do too good of a job.
3. Stick some cue cards between the rim and tire. Yes, the wheels are still on the car. Who cares.
4. Spray a light coat of primer.
5. Spray a thin coat of paint.
6. Spray a heavy coat of paint. If it runs, who cares.
7. Rip off the masking tape and cue cards and admire the mediocre job you just did.

I did this with a set of wheels and they look the same a year later...winter driven through a lot of crud too.

 

[T?@\7]

done

Did it this afternoon, went pretty well i think.
I used climbers instructions and the whole process took me about 4.5 hours, but I went slow and did what I think should be a pretty decent job.
The playing card/baseball card trick is INGENIOUS!!! Made the whole process much easier...
I finished at sunset, so I havent gotten the full monty yet, but they are definitely better than before!! no more faded pink, ill attach the pics that i snapped with my phone