I did this a long time ago, so I
wont have any in progress pic's. but ill try to make it as detailed
as I can.
Items you need to purchase - Index cards, doesn't really matter what
size, as long as you have lots of them. - 2-4 cans of Duplicolor Engine Enamel in
your colour of choice (mine was gloss black) - 2-4 cans of Duplicolor High Performance
Wheel Coating Clear Coat - Simple Green Degreaser, or something
similar - 3M red scuff pad
painting guidelines by no means do you have to be a professional
to do this, this is the first thing I painted on my car with rattle
cans, and it came out beautiful. the reason it came out so beautiful
is because of the wheel coating clear coat, it is very easy to use,
very easy to apply, doesn't run, doesn't spot, just goes on smooth.
due to the nature of this paint though, I highly recommend u start
in the morning early to give them enough time to thoroughly dry..
.you will still be smelling paint a week later though, just to
forewarn you.
but the first time I painted them, I had to
leave, so I put them on VERY carefully after 2 hours of drying, and
they survived
what to do the first thing you want to do is get your
car in the air. if you have a full set of jackstays that would be
best. if not do what I did and work on two wheels at a time.
once you remove the wheels you will want to
remove all the weights from them with pliers and clean them very
well with the degreaser and a sponge from your house (don't let the
wife/mom/girlfriend find out )
once they are nice and sparkly this is the
painful part, the part of no return.. start hitting them with the
scuff pad, make sure to get every single little part of them.. you
will be there at least 30 min on each wheel if you're on an r/t
wheel. and they will look like crap while you're scuffing. once
done, rinse clean and let dry
open up your pack of index cards and place
them in between the tire and the wheel to mask the tire off. make
sure there is little to no wind, or you're doing it in an enclosed
(but ventilated place) or the cards will fly out and mess up the
paint and you will get mad (don't ask me how I know )
I didn't primer, or do any other prep other
than clean and scuff. and mine are holding out for about 8 months
strong. I didn't do the inside of the wheels. and you cant even
notice so at this point, grab of can of engine enamel and shake. I
put light coats, but not too light .. just enough and let dry. the
hardest part of painting my r/t wheels is getting inside the spokes.
you literally have to spray from every direction to get every little
bit. this is another part. .that in between waiting to dry and
re-coating should take about 1.5 -2 hours per wheel. but if you do
all 4 at once, you can save time.
once you have the wheel's nicely coated and
basically dry, its time to hit the clear coat. I tried light coats
of this clear.. but I personally hit it with thick coats. like where
I would hold the nozzle down for a good 2 minutes spraying from
every direction to get a nice thick coat on it. like I said before .
.it goes on smooth so you don't have to worry.
after all 4 are cleared. you should wait a
good amount of hours.. id say at least 4-5 before touching them.
when I put mine on after 2 hours, if I pressed my finger softly into
it, it would leave a fingerprint. so 4-5 hours should be ok.
when mounting them back on, carefully put
the lugs in and tighten them.. they will still be pretty vulnerable
that day. so try not to drive unless you have to. once you feel a
little better driving them. .. go get them balanced again.
and you're done.
8+months later mine are still looking brand
new. EXCEPT for one little chip from me dropping a $700 snap on air
gun on it.
