BlairB
New member
MORE PICS OF FINAL PRODUCT ADDED TO PAGE 4! Instructions below
Well I decided that I wanted to go a different direction with my wheels so I started a little project. I found a set of FJ wheels locally, which I actually got for free, since they had some rock rash from off roading. Before doing the entire project I decided to mount and balance one wheel and tire, just to test fit b/c I was curious how much rubbing I would get with spidertrax and the increased offset. After test fitting I decided I also wanted to try the entire wheel painting process one time through, which this thread documents.
This thread help inspire and direct me with what to do about the wheels.
Step 1- Get some FJ wheels! (There are only 4 in the pic, but I have 5, one of which is already on the tire)
Step 2- Clean the wheels. For this I used soap and water, then wheel degreaser, then soap and water again to get any residue off. Also, on some of the wheels I had to take some very deep scratches out, which required various grit sandpapers. You can see some of the spokes in the previous picture have been sanded already.
Step 3- Rough up the entire finish of the wheel, so that the paint will stick better. For this I used 320 grit sandpaper.
Step 4- Clean the wheel again to get all the dust from sanding off.
Step 5- Mask of tire. Also, if you paint it off the tire, I would mask off the bead. Note: you can also see how the wheel looks when sanded some.
Step 6- Spray 2 coats of primer. I used Dupli-Color Black Primer. It will probably take around 3 cans. I waited 10-15 minutes between coats. I also sanded and primered the center cap. For the center caps you can pop the little Toyota logo off, I think I am going to keep mine silver, and think the contrast will look good.
Step 7- Spray your final coats of paint. I used Dupli-Color Satin Black Wheel Paint (HWP-104) and let the primer dry for around an hour prior to painting. I put on 4 coats, the first 2 relatively light, the second 2 more thick. I was sort of disappointed with how this paint sprayed when compared to the primer. It was really hard to get a nice even coat on. Also, the nozzle on the wheel paint sucks in comparison to the one on the primer. It will take 4 cans to do this, for me it may be more since the wind picked up and not as much paint ended up on the wheel as I had wanted. Here is a pic after I started taking some of the masking tape off.
EDIT: I ended up using Rustoleum Satin Black Paint, since the Dupli Color was impossible to get a nice even coat with
And here is the wheel placed in front of my truck, so you can get some idea about how different a look these will give my truck when compared to the stock sport wheels.
I would say currently the look of the wheel is a 7/10. They look good, but due to the troubles getting an even coat on I think they could look better. I might try another coat in better light with no wind, or using very very very fine bronze-wool.
Hope this helps some other people who are thinking of doing the same thing! Good alternative to powdercoating.
Let me know what you think!
Well I decided that I wanted to go a different direction with my wheels so I started a little project. I found a set of FJ wheels locally, which I actually got for free, since they had some rock rash from off roading. Before doing the entire project I decided to mount and balance one wheel and tire, just to test fit b/c I was curious how much rubbing I would get with spidertrax and the increased offset. After test fitting I decided I also wanted to try the entire wheel painting process one time through, which this thread documents.
This thread help inspire and direct me with what to do about the wheels.
Step 1- Get some FJ wheels! (There are only 4 in the pic, but I have 5, one of which is already on the tire)
Step 2- Clean the wheels. For this I used soap and water, then wheel degreaser, then soap and water again to get any residue off. Also, on some of the wheels I had to take some very deep scratches out, which required various grit sandpapers. You can see some of the spokes in the previous picture have been sanded already.
Step 3- Rough up the entire finish of the wheel, so that the paint will stick better. For this I used 320 grit sandpaper.
Step 4- Clean the wheel again to get all the dust from sanding off.
Step 5- Mask of tire. Also, if you paint it off the tire, I would mask off the bead. Note: you can also see how the wheel looks when sanded some.
Step 6- Spray 2 coats of primer. I used Dupli-Color Black Primer. It will probably take around 3 cans. I waited 10-15 minutes between coats. I also sanded and primered the center cap. For the center caps you can pop the little Toyota logo off, I think I am going to keep mine silver, and think the contrast will look good.
Step 7- Spray your final coats of paint. I used Dupli-Color Satin Black Wheel Paint (HWP-104) and let the primer dry for around an hour prior to painting. I put on 4 coats, the first 2 relatively light, the second 2 more thick. I was sort of disappointed with how this paint sprayed when compared to the primer. It was really hard to get a nice even coat on. Also, the nozzle on the wheel paint sucks in comparison to the one on the primer. It will take 4 cans to do this, for me it may be more since the wind picked up and not as much paint ended up on the wheel as I had wanted. Here is a pic after I started taking some of the masking tape off.
EDIT: I ended up using Rustoleum Satin Black Paint, since the Dupli Color was impossible to get a nice even coat with
And here is the wheel placed in front of my truck, so you can get some idea about how different a look these will give my truck when compared to the stock sport wheels.
I would say currently the look of the wheel is a 7/10. They look good, but due to the troubles getting an even coat on I think they could look better. I might try another coat in better light with no wind, or using very very very fine bronze-wool.
Hope this helps some other people who are thinking of doing the same thing! Good alternative to powdercoating.
Let me know what you think!
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