So you want to change the look of your car by painting your wheels but need a few pointers, well here's how I painted mine.
Tools needed:
bucket, car wash and sponge
wire brush, drill or grinder
Protective gear, gloves, ear plugs or muffs, glasses and dust mask.
Your choice of paint -:
- If you are using Acrylic paint, you should use an etch primer. If you are using pressure pack cans, make sure you have enough, probably 2 cans per wheel. And just a tip, to get the spray finer put the can into a bucket of, or under running hot water, NOT BOILING. It will build up the pressure inside the can giving you a better spray.
If your using an air compressor, 1L of paint is enough for 6 wheels when thinned out.
The compressor I have is a 2.5Hp and a low pressure spray gun. Always read and follow the destructions on the paint tin.
First thing is first, You have to get the wheels stripped off the rims. Well you don't have to but it's easier and there's no need to mask up the tyres.
Remove the wheels weights and give the wheels a good wash. You will most probably use a screw driver to pry off the weights.
Now your ready for preperation, Take your time, what you do here will reflect on the end result.
You could use paint stripper but I took the easy way out and used a grinder with a knotted wire brush attatchment. Using protective equiptment is not gay and should always be worn when using a grinder, Especially when using a wire brush attatchment. Protect your hands, eyes, ear's and lungs !!!
Don't forget to clean along the bead of the rim.
Now that you've taken off any loose paint flakes, rust and crap, you should wipe the wheels over with either wax and grease remover, thinners, turps, metho to remove any dirt or dust.
In saying that I just used the air blower to blow the dust out.
Ok the fun part. Paint.
First I reccommend that you have enough room to walk around the wheels and try to do the hard to get to parts first, Paint any gaps and sides before concentrating on the face of the wheel.
For a nice even finish, you should do numerous light coats and allow at least 10 minutes between coats. I did about 3 coats on the back of the wheel and probably 5 on the front and one heavy coat just for good measure.
I suppose it's a good thing with my little air compressor, I can do one light coat of paint before the motor kicks in to build up pressure, that way I knew how much time I was taking on each wheel and between coats.
Allow to dry for a few hours before touching them, Don't be tempted to stick your finger on it only to find that it's not dry and your left with a mark on your wheel.
THE FINISHED PRODUCT
