[X7LDA]

Anyone done this?

Few of the guys over here in the UK have but mostly on the S1 Elise - not spoke to anyone who has done it on the Exige yet!

I have an all black Exige with the UK Y spoke wheels. Want to change them to Gloss Black for a change (they are semi-gloss/satin now) but not sure if I should do it myself or not. :shrug:

 

[holmz]

You will need a two pack paint.
This likely means a spray gun and compressor

 

[Dragon]

Your best bet is to bead blast them and then powder coat them. If you use paint then I would suggest and epoxy type paint.

 

[cd4age]

I did mine but I have a spray booth @ work. There was a lot of prep work to be done and even then it won't be as tough as powdercoating.

 

[X7LDA]

Hmmm.. Few of the guys over here have just done it with aerosol cans.. 1 of black and 1 of lacquer.

 

[LUKN4UBL]

I've done it myself to a set of rims for my Hummer using Duplicolor wheel paint. I first rough sanded the aluminum, then cleaned, an then sprayed on a self-etching primer from an aerosol can. After about 30 minutes I sprayed on a few light coats of gloss black then a few coats of Duplicolor clear coat. It looks great.

The down side is it isn't as durable as powder coat, the upshot is it is easier to repair if scratched, plus it is far less expensive. On the hummer, off road rash will cut right through powder coat, so I opted for an easier touch-up solution.

 

[holmz]

I've done it myself to a set of rims for my
Hummer using Duplicolor wheel paint...

The 2 can solution is good.

Powder coat is not as hard as paint so it doesn't chip as easily as paint, but does scratch easier.

Painting recommended, but powder coating is easier.

 

[X7LDA]

I've done it myself to a set of rims for my Hummer using Duplicolor wheel paint. I first rough sanded the aluminum, then cleaned, an then sprayed on a self-etching primer from an aerosol can. After about 30 minutes I sprayed on a few light coats of gloss black then a few coats of Duplicolor clear coat. It looks great.

The down side is it isn't as durable as powder coat, the upshot is it is easier to repair if scratched, plus it is far less expensive. On the hummer, off road rash will cut right through powder coat, so I opted for an easier touch-up solution.

Good to know thanks :clap:

Think I'll give it a shot next weekend.

Unfortunately you don't get Duplicolor over here in the UK So will either have to order it in or find an alternative.

As mine are already powdercoated I've been told I won't need a primer just a couple of coats of gloss and clear. Can someone confirm this?

Will post up results :up:

 

[glb]

some of our lt sponsors may offer paint, primer, prep solvent.

Griot's does, as does my fav: carcareonline.com

I painted my wheels silver w/3 types of spray and they seem to be weathering ok...and are winter wheels.

 

[Bane]

I sprayed mine with the Duplicolor stuff from Walmart.

It's been through a track day and several thousand street miles.

Still looks great... I didn't put a clear coat or anything on top of it.

Surface prep is the key to making it look good. I cleaned and sanded mine really well before spraying them. I also used a hairdryer to speed up the drying process between coats.

 

[X7LDA]

That's good to know!!

Looks great..

What does it look like up close? Can you tell it's been a DIY job?

 

[glb]

Do NOT speed up drying process if using, as I did, metallic coatings. They need to dry in shade and let the metallic particles flow. I put mine in sun (doh!) and then had to use clay bar to smooth the finish.

OTOH, using a non-metallic paint yrs ago, I trained my space heater at the parts and they had a nice hard finish when done.

 

[mrcarcrazy]

Are you guys taking the tires off to paint your wheels? Or breaking the bead? Mine are a bit stained by what I must assume is a combo of brake dust and a cleaner. (Its a fluid looking stain, in the color of brake dust) and it won't come off with light polishes or clay bar...

I think that gunmetal duplicolor stuff would look pretty cool, but want to do it right...so options are
1. buy powder coating setup and powder coat them (good excuse to buy one)
2. paint
3. aftermarket wheels (only option I can justify cost of is "rota")
4. live with my nasty wheels (not really an option for me)

 

[LUKN4UBL]

I have actually done it twice. Once I just taped the tire off and wrapped it in newspaper, the Hummer rims I painted with the tires off. If you have stains on the rim, they should come off with the light sanding you need to prep the rims for primer. I think I used 1000 grit sand paper and water as the first step.

 

[LUKN4UBL]

Are you guys taking the tires off to paint your wheels? Or breaking the bead? Mine are a bit stained by what I must assume is a combo of brake dust and a cleaner. (Its a fluid looking stain, in the color of brake dust) and it won't come off with light polishes or clay bar...

I think that gunmetal duplicolor stuff would look pretty cool, but want to do it right...so options are
1. buy powder coating setup and powder coat them (good excuse to buy one)
2. paint
3. aftermarket wheels (only option I can justify cost of is "rota")
4. live with my nasty wheels (not really an option for me)

I would recommend investing the $20 in materials and giving the duplicolor option a try first. If it doesn't work, just remove it and powdercoat or replace the rims. I think it is worth the effort to give it a shot, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the results if you take your time.

 

[Bane]

I would recommend investing the $20 in materials and giving the duplicolor option a try first. If it doesn't work, just remove it and powdercoat or replace the rims. I think it is worth the effort to give it a shot, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the results if you take your time.

That was my rationale. It ended up looking great so I just left it and saved a lot of money

People have positive comments all the time... even the guy who put my tires back on thought it was a factory job.

The key is being patient. It took like 10-12 coats of paint on each wheel with drying time in between each coat. I just went from wheel to wheel and by the time I was done with wheel #4 it was almost time to paint #1 again. Make SURE the area you are painting in is dust free and as clean as possible as well.

 

[mrcarcrazy]

That was my rationale. It ended up looking great so I just left it and saved a lot of money

People have positive comments all the time... even the guy who put my tires back on thought it was a factory job.

The key is being patient. It took like 10-12 coats of paint on each wheel with drying time in between each coat. I just went from wheel to wheel and by the time I was done with wheel #4 it was almost time to paint #1 again. Make SURE the area you are painting in is dust free and as clean as possible as well.

"tires off" would be the suggested method for painting wheels? I could break the front bead and push the tire down a little, so I could tape off the wheel w/o removing the tires (this would allow me to paint them w/o actually removing the tires.)...but would also mean that I couldn't reset the bead until the paint has cured...so how many hours does it take to cure to the point where it'd be safe to reset the bead?


So, from what I'm reading steps should be as follows
1. wash wheels
2. 1000 grit wet sanding
3. wash wheels (dry as well) - some sort of tack cloth
4. prime (How many coats of primer?)
DRY
5. Paint (~10 coats, drying in between)
DRY
Clear coat?

 

[holmz]

"tires off" would be the suggested method for painting wheels? I could break the front bead and push the tire down a little, so I could tape off the wheel w/o removing the tires (this would allow me to paint them w/o actually removing the tires.)...but would also mean that I couldn't reset the bead until the paint has cured...so how many hours does it take to cure to the point where it'd be safe to reset the bead?


So, from what I'm reading steps should be as follows
1. wash wheels
2. 1000 grit wet sanding
3. wash wheels (dry as well) - some sort of tack cloth
4. prime (How many coats of primer?)
DRY
5. Paint (~10 coats, drying in between)
DRY
Clear coat?

1.- yes
2. - 600 would be fine, you want the primer to get a grip.
3. - wash and solvent wipe, then tack-cloth after it is dry
4. - 2 coats, then a guide coat (like 2 black and then a thin grey on top.)
4.25 - dry/cure
4.5 - (later) Sand until the grey is gone and only the black remains. This means it is smooth and flat.
4.75 - tack cloth
5. - Paint 2 coats (flashing off in between)
5.5 - clear a couple of coats (maybe 3)

There is usually only some flash off time between the paint coats, and the paint to clear layer, and the clear coat layers.
Or you have wait a day and then resand the whole thing to rough it up again.

There are additives to the clear that you could add to the final layer it were concerned with chipping... I have never tried them.

 

[mrcarcrazy]

Many thanks, This may have to be next weekends project.

1.- yes
2. - 600 would be fine, you want the primer to get a grip.
3. - wash and solvent wipe, then tack-cloth after it is dry
4. - 2 coats, then a guide coat (like 2 black and then a thin grey on top.)
4.25 - dry/cure
4.5 - (later) Sand until the grey is gone and only the black remains. This means it is smooth and flat.
4.75 - tack cloth
5. - Paint 2 coats (flashing off in between)
5.5 - clear a couple of coats (maybe 3)

There is usually only some flash off time between the paint coats, and the paint to clear layer, and the clear coat layers.
Or you have wait a day and then resand the whole thing to rough it up again.

There are additives to the clear that you could add to the final layer it were concerned with chipping... I have never tried them.

 

[X7LDA]

Sounds good guys... Thanks for this.

Can someone with more knowledge than me tell me if what I'm being told is correct - because my wheels are already powdercoated black I don't need primer before paint?