i have a 07 wrx tr with the stock wheels, i wanna paint them like bronze or gold or something nice, but i have no idea how to paint them, what kinda paint to use or any prep work, can anyone who has had success painting their rims tell me how they did it and maybe some pics

 

Basically there are two schools of thought, I have done neither on my 06 yet, but have done it before. Some people go with the sand it paint it clear coat it method. Others go with the sand it, prime it, paint it clear coat it. Either way it works. The main thing is just take your time. Clean your wheels really well. Then take some medium grit sand paper, like 200-400, and sand your rims down. I reccomend the priming method. So spray a couple coats of primer on there. Like any other type of painting, use even strokes and don't try to get the whole wheel on the first spray it won't happen and it won't look good. Wait for your primer to dry. Once it has, use some Duplicolor Wheel Paint whatever color (obviously) and start spraying. Again nice even coats. You will probably need at least 5 or 6 coats. There are directions on the back of the can on how long to wait between coats (I can't remember for sure it is probably like 10-15min). Then do the same thing with the the clear coat and you are done. Make sure you mask off your tires a lot of people use index cards and just try and be accurate. Then make sure you wait at least 15 hours before you start driving with them on. Hope that helps.

 

PM mad ra88it

your welcome

 

i painted my 06 wheels. here's what i did:

i used Rustoleum products:



i first sanded down the wheels, using something around a 400grit sand paper. The product i used was actually not sand paper, but this rubberish stuff with a coarse surface on one side, i found it at home depot.

then i used a wetsand and waited for it to dry

i used index cards around the tire so i didnt get overspray on them



i put about 2 -3 coats of primer on each wheel, waiting about 10 minutes between coats.

after the primer dried, i applied my paint- again using about 2-3 coats.



last i applied a clear coat, about 3-4 coats.

after your final coat i would wait at leat 24 hours for the clear coat to properly dry before mounting the wheels again, probably longer

mine came out pretty good, and they held up really well too. i had them up in the snow a few times and in the mud too, and didnt get any nicks or scratches or anything... if you have any questions just let me know! good luck!

my finished product:

 

damn ava that ****s clean

 

thanks

 

Whoa! I think I want to paint my stock wheels now. Thanks AVA!

 

i just recently painted my wheels almost the same way avawrx did. except i used 100 grid to sand down and 200 grid to smoothen. used rustoleum products as well. sanded down, primered about 2 coats. used metallic gold paint and used about 3 coats. finally clear coated 3 coats on. i didnt wait 24 hours but at least a good half hour it was dry and smooth. no damage i could spot.

 

Hey AVAWRX, how many cans of rustoleum did you need for all four wheels? (How many primer, how many color, how many clear)

 

i used duplicolor wheel paint. and duplicolor prep spray.

wet sand it, couple light coats, 2 medium, 1 heavy. the index cards work the best

i didnt clear coat, if you have to touch it up later you will have to strip it to make it look great again.

as long as you let it cure i have had little to no chipping on any of my rims.

just gotta take your time

 

thats ****en sick!!! i need to paint my wheels too. thank you for this thread... really helps.

 

I did my rims and calipers at the same time

Before

During

Done

Rims/Calipers before

Rims/Calipers after

painting process

 

This is a great thread..learning about painting wheels for sure.

Thanks Everyone...

 

this is an awesome thread i followed these steps and did mine and it came out perfect! thanks!!!

 

This thread has a ton of good information about painting wheels. You should definitely look through it so you do it right.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...ht=wheel+paint

here's how mine turned out

Picture057.jpg?t=1288293047
Picture015.jpg?t=1288293080