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My first attempt at giving back - A DIY Wheel Painting Walkthru
First of I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has either read my posts or answered my questions over the past year since I owned my 'Stang...I have a set of Black 20" Shelby Redlines, but with winter coming those won't be going on until springtime. With that being said I need some winter wheels to put on my 6 banger after I upgrade my brakes and rotors to GT size. After some searching I picked up a set of 17" Anthracite takeoff GT Bullitts. I have a Perf. White 'Stang with Black accents. How silly would I look with Anthracite rims?!?!? That led me down the path of painting my own and as you'll see I was pretty happy with the results. Now on to the walkthru...
Here is a list of supplies and prices of what I used:
2 - Duplicolor High Performance Wheel Coating Black DC HWP105 - $12
2 - Duplicolor High Performance Wheel Coating Clear DC HWP103 - $12
1 - Black Sandable Primer - $5
1 - Grey Primer Sealer - $5
1 - Roll of painting tape - $5
1 - Pk Index Cards - $1
1 - Bottle Simple Green - $7
1 - Pk Tack Cloth - $4
1 - Medium/large(5pk) - $5
1 - Duplicolor Tack Cloth
___________________________________
$61 +tax Total
I'm not saying this is the best way to do this...all I'm saying is this is what worked for me. Keep in mind my wheels were already painted. I looked at several videos and the like doing my research, but I figured I'd post what worked for me and my results.
Step 1(I would say remove the wheels, but I think that step is understood. Make sure you also remove the center cap)
Wash the Rims and tires well. I would also use a degreaser to make sure you get as much as possible off. I used Simple Green, if you prefer to substitute feel free.
Step 2
After allowing the wheels to dry begin taping off any parts that you do not want to paint.
I painted mine outside laying on a clear trash bag, feel free to improvise your drop cloth of choice.
Step 3
Lay the rim face down on your drop cloth. Take the index cards and line them along the edge of the rim using the space between the rim & tire to stand up the index cards. Be sure that they are overlapping by an inch or two.
Step 4
Apply 2 medium to light coats of Primer. Allow 10 minutes drying time between coats. I didn't take any pics of this step because I didn't think of doing a walkthru(Sorry!)
Step 5
After waiting 10 minutes for the Primer to dry apply 2 medium to light coats of Primer Sealer. Allow 10 minutes drying time between coats.
Step 6
After waiting 1 hour for primer sealer to dry apply 2 light to medium coats of Duplicolor Wheel Paint. Allow 10 minutes drying time between coats. Remove the index cards.
Step 7
After waiting 1 hour flip the wheel over to begin working on the face of the rim. Take the index cards and line them along the edge of the rim using the space between the rim & tire to stand up the index cards. Be sure that they are overlapping by an inch or two.
Step 8
Apply 2 medium to light coats of Primer to face of rim. Allow 10 minutes drying time between coats.
Step 9
Apply 2 medium to light coats of Primer Sealer to face of rim. Allow 10 minutes drying time between coats.
Step 10
Apply 1 light coat of Duplicolor wheel paint. Allow 10 minutes drying time. (Optional Step - Remove index cards and stand wheel up on it's side, touch up rear of wheel and ensure any primer overspray has been covered up. Wait 15 minutes before laying rim back down face up). Apply 2 medium coats of Duplicolor Wheel paint. Allow 10 minutes drying time between coats.
Step 11
After waiting 1 hour for paint to dry apply 4 light to medium coats of Clear Duplicolor Wheel paint. Allow 10 minutes drying time between coats.
Step 12(Optional - Painting Center Caps)
While waiting for clear coat to dry remove the Ford sticker from the center of the cap and place to the side. Lay center caps face down and apply 1 light coat of Dulpicolor Wheel paint. After allowing 10 minutes drying time flip the caps over and apply 1 light coat of wheel paint to the front and sides. After 10 minutes apply a very light clear coat to the front and sides of center cap. I did this at night, so I didn't take pics. The next day I place a thin line of super glue down the middle of the center cap and reattached the Ford stickers.
Step 13
After allowing 2 hours drying time I moved the wheels back into the house for overnight storage. After 24 hours carefully remove the tape from the wheel(if used).
It's been overcast pretty much everyday since I painted them, so the pics don't do them justice. They're not bad for only spending a little over $60). I'll try to post better pics later. I received my caliper brackets in the mail today, but due to a screw up at f-UPS I won't be receiving my White G2 caliper paint until Monday. I'll be installing a set of GT Sized black zinc coated dimpled and slotted rotors from Rotorpros and a set of Hawk Pads along with these rims this Monday after I paint the calipers white. I'll definitely be posting after that. I hope this helps some of you out. Please feel free to ask questions and I'll help out if I can. Thanks again MF!!
P.S. - Here's a shot of the rotors close up...
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I did this as well myself. I had a ton of fun doing it, and the only real difference between what I did and what you described was that I wetsanded mine before the clear coat, and then again after the clear coat. And I wish I had used glossy paint rather than whatever I did use, but oh well. I love the way it turned out and it beat spending all the cash on new wheels and tires!
I did this as well myself. I had a ton of fun doing it, and the only real difference between what I did and what you described was that I wetsanded mine before the clear coat, and then again after the clear coat. And I wish I had used glossy paint rather than whatever I did use, but oh well. I love the way it turned out and it beat spending all the cash on new wheels and tires!
Great job!
Thanks guys! Can you post some pics of yours? Do you think wetsanding made a big difference? You can wet sand AFTER you paint? I didn't know that. What grit did you use?
I don't have any pictures from during the process. But look at my recent posts, I might have posted some pics that include the wheels.
The wet sanding helped tremendously in making them feel smooth in the end. It doesn't look rough at all, or painted. It looks like they came to me from the plant already colored.
I believe I used 800 grit? Maybe 1000? I really don't remember. It could have been a lot lower than that.
I used the walkthrough that was posted from the main forum page.
interesting that you did not wetsanding or buffing after the wheels were painted.
wetsanding is usually done with a few grits of paper. usually i like to start wetsanding with 1500 grit, or sometimes 1200 and finishing off with 2000 grit for wheels followed by a machine compounding and polishing.
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My first attempt at giving back - A DIY Wheel Painting Walkthru
