Wheel painting prep?

[496 BB]

I agree the prep is the worst part, but 2-3 hours per wheel?!? I did the entire job in three hours. I suppose the bed liner adheres a little bit differently than the actual wheel paint. I basically did the same prep on these as I did on my Xterra and they never gave me any trouble.

When your putting on 2 coats of self etching, 2 coats of primer, 4 coats of base, and 4-5 coats of clear you have loads of drying time.

Its raining now and this is a horrible pic but you can still see a huge difference. Ill get better ones this week when I get my bumpers back on from painting.

 

[496 BB]

OK as promised heres another decent shot of them...

 

[AZDropTop]

Great write up! Thanks for all the tips everyone! Really, really appreciated!:drummer:

 

[AZDropTop]

How many cans of top color did you all use?

 

[AZDropTop]

I'm using a low gloss black paint and for some reason it doesn't seem to be going on even? It could just be the lighting, but I cleaned, used etching primer, sandable primer and then top color and finally clear? I can't seem to figure what I did wrong? During the prep I used scotch pads, 100 grit and 400 grit sandpaper, wash and also used paint thinner to clean. Any ideas?

 

[marcel]

Hey Durrel... is your runner lifted? like the way it looks! please let me know. and i want to get tires just like those.. my rims are 15" thouggh. will 265/75/15 be just as big as yours?

 

[bak3rme]

so i started the project today. preping is such a pain. my forearms hurt so much and i've only scuffed 3 wheels! i donno how much i need to scuff so i went all out at it..even a pile of dust on the floor! (is this bad stuff for u? i had on one of those mask covers so i wouldnt inhale the dust). anyways when u are scuffing..are we just looking to get the shine off?

 

[blcktpgsr]

Yes those metal pilings are bad if inhaled, you may not experience any immediate effects now but in the long run it will take it's toll on you....Keep those dust masks on. Use goggles too if possible.

As far as scuffing and sanding goes....you're just looking to roughen up the surface enough for paint/primer to better adhere to..yes remove the shine out.

 

[bambones]

I know this is an older thread, but I just ran across it. I'm planning on painting my rims too, I would like to have a gunmetal finish. I know the base is black but how would I get the nice silvery black look to it?

 

[TheDurk]

I know this is an older thread, but I just ran across it. I'm planning on painting my rims too, I would like to have a gunmetal finish. I know the base is black but how would I get the nice silvery black look to it?

Clear coat is what I think you are asking for. I did Duplicolor Wheel Paint Graphite and Clear Coat and I am very happy--two years later.

You can see mine at post #6 of this thread.

 

[J_DWEEBS]

Rim Painter

Anyone ever use the RIMPAINTER.com they sell a complete set of what you need to do the job. Is masking off the tires as big of a pain as I imagine it to be?

 

[thor999]

I will be painting a new (used) set of of wheels without tires on, is there a drill attatchement I can use for prep?

 

[thor999]

One more question: I have a new set of 17's that I want to paint, yet to have the tires mounted. I have heard that the tire machine can cause damage to the wheels, should I have the tires mounted and then paint? Hope not for I am currently living in a third floor apt. w/ no garage...

 

[97_T4R]

My 97's Wheels

I used a wire brush and then sand paper to smooth everything out before I sprayed them with 3 coats of self etching primer, 3 coats of duplicolor's graphite wheel paint, and 3 coats of duplicolor's clear wheel paint. I also masked off the tires by using over sized note cards.

before

after

 

[97_T4R]

thor999

One more question: I have a new set of 17's that I want to paint, yet to have the tires mounted. I have heard that the tire machine can cause damage to the wheels, should I have the tires mounted and then paint? Hope not for I am currently living in a third floor apt. w/ no garage...

I would definitely wait to have your tires mounted. I've had a shop bang up my wheels during a mounting and balancing on a previous 4Runner.

 

[jacob7071]

One more question: I have a new set of 17's that I want to paint, yet to have the tires mounted. I have heard that the tire machine can cause damage to the wheels, should I have the tires mounted and then paint? Hope not for I am currently living in a third floor apt. w/ no garage...

You could put a few extra layers of clear coat around the edge. That should help protect it some. But certainly paint them first. That's much easier than trying to mask off the tires. You can always touch up if some gets chipped when the tires are mounted.

 

[TheDurk]

One more question: I have a new set of 17's that I want to paint, yet to have the tires mounted. I have heard that the tire machine can cause damage to the wheels, should I have the tires mounted and then paint? Hope not for I am currently living in a third floor apt. w/ no garage...

I painted mine with the tires off (I was buying new anyway and took advantage.) Yeah, they did some minor boo-boos to the paint on mount and balance (one or two on each wheel.)It was extremely easy to touch up. I just sprayed into a piece of aluminum foil, and then put that paint on a very small brush.

The one thing I learned is DON'T do any touching up until at least 10 days after the paint job. If you do it too soon, it makes a real mess.

 

[Supra725]

lucky for me though. I got an chance to buy an second set of wheels to paint mine..

after picking up the second set.. I almost brought another set of 5 stars for $100 the next day..

if you can, take your time with it..

 

[Supra725]

lucky for me though. I got an chance to buy an second set of wheels to paint mine..

after picking up the second set.. I almost brought another set of 5 stars for $100 the next day..

if you can, take your time with it..

 

[HHIslandT4]

Wheels painted

I need to do this and appreciate your posting alot! They look great and I think this stock wheels are what make the "look" !

Good job!:hatsoff: