Anyone ever paint wheels? - NJFBOA - Home of New Jersey's Camaros and Firebirds

MonmouthCtyAntz · 02-20-2009, 01:46 PM

Well im picking up C5 wagon wheels from maroman88 tommorow and Im going to be painting them black. Anyone have any experience w/ this. I did my research and this is what I found.

Supplies
1 can of duplicolor primer
4 cans of duplicolor black wheel paint
320 grit sandpaper
1 can of acetone
Simple green
Painters tape

Steps
1.Clean wheels good w/ simple green.
2.Sand the wheels w/ 320 grit.
3.Tape up edge's of wheels to prevent overspray on your tires.
4.Wipe down wheels w/ acetone to get rid of dust,oil,etc.
5.Primer the wheels, wait to dry then repeat. 3 light coats.
6.Wait to dry then spray paint wheels black...3-4 coats.

Now I never done this before. This is what I got from a google search from a chevy forum so any added advice would be appreciated...Thx guys.

The Fixer · 02-20-2009, 01:59 PM

I did pretty much the same thing, except I used Duplicolor's Adhesion Promoter - it's basically the same thing as primer. I also used the Duplicolor Wheel Clear coat over the top of it, came out great.

MonmouthCtyAntz · 02-20-2009, 02:11 PM

Cool... Im kinda looking for the flat look so I wont need the clear coat.

WayFast84 · 02-20-2009, 02:29 PM

Its not hard. Ive done 2 sets of wheels, 3 times. I didn't mess up I just didn't like the first one and changed the color.

Duplicolor black

Graphite

MonmouthCtyAntz · 02-20-2009, 02:32 PM

Yea I never thought it would be difficult. I was just making sure I didnt leave something out.

Jensend · 02-20-2009, 02:37 PM

The procedure you found is correct. However, I'd use the adhesion promoter as it's made to be compatable with the paint. Also, the clear coat is a much harder finish than the wheel paint by itself. If you want flat or matte finish, you can always spray the clear and then sand it to a matte finish with 600 or 800 paper. We've painted several sets of wheels with the Duplicolor system and had good durable results- even on a set of track wheels that saw a lot of heat and hot brake dust.

MonmouthCtyAntz · 02-20-2009, 03:32 PM

Well I already ordered the primer so im gonna go w/ that...ill look into the clear coat...

CivicEaterLT1 · 02-20-2009, 04:07 PM

i have the same wheels. i want them black to lol, kinda tired of the chrome

MonmouthCtyAntz · 02-20-2009, 06:57 PM

Yea it really cleans up those wagon wheels!

Mike · 02-20-2009, 07:52 PM

i would get something finer than 300 grit...

Slo86Bird · 02-20-2009, 08:09 PM

id start with atleast 400 grit and work my way to like 800 to smooth it out.

maroman88 · 02-21-2009, 05:03 PM

i painted my fox body pony rims black... since they were already spray painted silver all i did was spray black over them... if a lil flaked off i did it again lol

i also painted my stock 88 rims black and left the lip polished. did it a whole buncha years ago with regualt old black rustoleum... no prep work no clear coat... nada! and that stuff is still on there!

MonmouthCtyAntz · 02-24-2009, 07:32 AM

Yea, sanded them up yesterday...Just waiting for the primer and paint to get here from jegs.

HardcoreZ28 · 02-24-2009, 08:16 AM

320 grit will possibly show scratches still unless your primer is high solids and fills them enough. I'd go to 400 or 500 grit. Don't go any finer than that. If there's not enough "tooth" left on the surface you lose the physical bond between the paint and metal and you're more likely to have the paint peel.

MonmouthCtyAntz · 02-24-2009, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HardcoreZ28

320 grit will possibly show scratches still unless your primer is high solids and fills them enough. I'd go to 400 or 500 grit. Don't go any finer than that. If there's not enough "tooth" left on the surface you lose the physical bond between the paint and metal and you're more likely to have the paint peel.

Not looking to win any car shows here, just think the wheels will look better black....yea the 320 did show scratches, it'll look good enough for me after the primer and paint.

HardcoreZ28 · 02-24-2009, 01:46 PM

you'll always see scratches after sanding no matter what grit you use......I mean after you paint you could still see them. If you're gonna do multiple coats of primer you should probably be ok though.

MonmouthCtyAntz · 02-24-2009, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HardcoreZ28

you'll always see scratches after sanding no matter what grit you use......I mean after you paint you could still see them. If you're gonna do multiple coats of primer you should probably be ok though.

Will do thx for the info...

Jersyboyy · 02-28-2009, 04:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonmouthCtyAntz

Yea it really cleans up those wagon wheels!

That looks GREAT...I almost bought a set of wagon wheels but I held out for some c5 thin spoke wheels, if I seen this picture before I probally would have jumped on the deal and just painted them black too!

79CamaroZ · 02-28-2009, 01:48 PM

all the steps are correct. Make sure you pick up some of the blue painters tape for when you tape around the tires. The painters tape comes off easily, masking tape will not. Quarter inch painters tape is good if you have spokes to cover and stuff. I would definitely sand the wheels smooth with 320, and then prime them up with your duplicolor, and then lightly scuff them again before you apply the paint. I painted my Z28 wheels black with this process and they came out looking great. I used charcoal colored primer, and then covered them up with two light, and i mean light, coats of semi gloss black.

maroman88 · 02-28-2009, 03:17 PM

and an UPDATE!!?!