Painting stock OEM Wheels?

[pbassist12]

Anyone do it and have any good tips? I plan on painting them soon before i take off my winter set

[ralli_kid]

Yeah I painted my Evo x wheels myself.

All you need is a scuff pad to clean them off, Sand paper 200-600 will be fine. Color you want to paint them and a clear coat. Try and do at least 3 coats of paint and depending ojn how shiny you want your wheels thats how you will know how many coats of clear coat u want to add

[pbassist12]

Thanks man, do you need to sand them forsure? ive seen people paint them just onto the regular wheel

[wwralliart77]

If you only want to do it as a temporary thing may I suggest Plastidip. No sanding/scuffing required, just spray a few coats and your good to go. You end up not liking it or selling the car the paint literally just peels off. Only thing with Plastidip is that it's black. If you want something that will last a while I suggest sanding the entire wheel with a fine grit like 600 or 800. Spray a few coats of primer, few of whatever color you choose, and a few of clear. You want to do it on a fairly clear day. Not too hot or cold cus the paint won't adhere correctly. Let it dry for at least 24 hrs before putting them back on the car. GL!

[Jackal]

Just spend the money and get them done right as in powder coated.

[oktaneRA]

I have experience painting wheels. If you want good result
Do what ralli kid said just one more step I wud take is right after
You finish sanding clean well and use a coat of primer and after
that your ready 2 paint...

[wwralliart77]

Originally Posted by Jackal

Just spend the money and get them done right as in powder coated.

Powder coat chips to easily, especially when removing and installing tires. Just ask Ozzy aka zeRep85. It does look good though!

[Jackal]

Well maybe where you get them done LOL !
Parts go through several washes and rinses depending on what kind of metal they are. Some are a weak acid dip to etch the metal and some pcs are sandblasted prior to being put on the line. Point is you have to make sure the parts are prepped properly. I used to work at a powder coat place doing Military spec stuff and the prep work made all the difference add to the fact that all parts had to have a minimum uniform thickness throughout. The only place it might chip is where the lugnuts tighten and twist onto the rim on final tightening.

For the track we had thin plastic washers between the rims and lugnuts and used lubriplate and /or white lithium grease on the wheel stud threads.

Sorry I have only seen mild chipping under extreme uses like rally cross and full on high speed gravel racing and only after a couple seasons.

Best thing to do is prep the pcs yourself to make sure it is done right and point this out when you bring in the parts cause they usually give you a discount fro saving them labour etc. Ask them if they provide a warranty and find out against what and for how long.

Point is if these are just going on your daily driver and your not switching rims every other weekend, they should last years before they start chipping

[wwralliart77]

I understand the process, I worked at a custom paint shop for a few years until I decided to get into the performance side. Anyhow I'm not the one who had a bad experience with the powder coat chipping, it was Ozzy. The powder coat started to chip around the edges of his wheels when the tire shop installed the tires. Think it was more of the tire shops fault, but I still thought it should have been a little more durable then to have chipped like that. I guess I'm just more accustomed to paint as you as to powder. They both get the job done in the end! I guess the real way to do it right is just to buy a "real" set of wheels! LOL!

[pbassist12]

Ill probably do the Plastidip cause im gonna get new wheels later on and they will already be black and ill just touch it up every year, no big deal