I just picked up some used rota tarmac 2's... and they are in the full royal gunmetal color.. they do have some curb rash on them but they can be fixed up.. anyways.. well heres my situation, i want them to be gold.. And im going to be having them painted at an auto body shop.. most likely going to have a coat or two of primer, then gold, and then couple coats of clear coat, all of car paint... but my main concern is, would it be bad to sand down the curb rashed spots, and then ruff up the rest of the rims so the paint has someting to stick onto.. or just fix up the rashed parts, and then spray directly over the current finish that the rims have??? also if someone could help me with finding the right color of gold to paint them with.. i talked to rota and they cant ge me any of their gold paint because they dont sell it... but i want something as close as possible??

 

The only time I ever painted wheels was a long time ago when I painted a replacement steel wheel for my Austin Healey Sprite. It came primed. I just cleaned it well with denatured alcohol and a clean rag, got the last specks of dust with a tack rag and sprayed it with some automotive-quality silver paint from a spray can. Stuck it into a warm (115-120 degree) oven for 20 minutes and shut of the gas and let it cool in the oven. I just gave it two color coats. It matched the other three perfectly and it lasted for three years, until I sold the car.

I still do a lot of my own painting and varnishing on my boat. You should strip off all of the old finish using a good paint stripper like Jasco Premium. Read the direction before using, it's nasty stuff. Do it outside near a garden hose to rinse from the wheel and your skin. Rinse from your skin quickly with water or use disposable plastic gloves. If you want to sand before painting to help the primer adhere better: use something like 220 grit or finer. I would use the sandpaper very sparingly to smooth out curb rash, relying more on a buffing wheel to do the job.

heck, with the nice paints that are available in cans (clear coat too), I'd do it myself. Read the directions on the cans as there can be specific instructions that vary from one manufacturer to another. If you find a clear coat that will tolerate multiple coatings, you can have a finish that will look much better than the factory work. I don't think there are many paints that befefit from baking, anymore. If it's a color you like, who cares if it doesn't match the Rota hue perfectly?

 

well im not to concerned with painting the rims myself, only because im most likely going to get the rims painted for free.. i just have to supply the paint... and thats no problem.. i was just wondering if anyone has done the same process that i am tryin to commit to and hopefully they could give me some good tips before i start sanding/smoothing...

 

anyone else have experience in this???

 

I have, in one of my other posts I described how I did my ADR 17" (I painted the lip blue). It is a long and involved process between priming and sanding.. it took me about 4 hours per wheel.. It is no different than doing bodywork.. The more time you put in it prepping and priming the better it will look. You can get the paint specially made for your choosing. Not sure of your location but here in Racine there is a company called Color Bright that can mix ANY color you can think of... It may sound strange but find the sample in a Nail Polish and take it to an automotive paint supply store and have them match it. They have the tools to break down the color and get the almost exact or exact color. It may be pricey $100/qt depending how long it takes. Also they may have a color selection book that you can choose. Hope this helps.

Kevin G.

 

I found a link for BBS Gold wheel paint.

http://www.hrpworld.com/index.cfm?fo...action=product