Hi guys,

Can you take a set of regular gold JDM STi-7 wheels and sand them down and have them professionally painted ?

Will they look professional or will they come out looking like they were changed after the fact ?

Do they need special paint etc to hold up agains't all the low down abuse or will regular car paint with a clear coat finish work?

I am thinking about changing my gold rims to black (MY2001 JDM STi-7, colour: silver), I would prefer that they looked kinda of off black and not all shiny etc...?

Any ideas, advice, pictures etc from those that have done the same or know someone who has done this....pics would be greatly appreciated...

Mods: please keep this thread here for a day or so before you move it to wheel and tyres so I can get some responses :)

Cheers,
Ray

bttt :)

You can get them refurbed quite easily and cheaply (I've seen prices from £25 to £50 per wheel)

I scraped, rubbed down and painted mine myself. They don't look too bad, but not as good as a "professional" job when you get very close to them . I figured that they would get curbed within the first week if I paid someone to do them...

http://www.btinternet.com/~chocolate...lose_small.jpg

http://upload.turbosport.co.uk/getpi...1759697612.JPG

you sure can , most body shop's will do it for u .

From my experience, wheels are best sandblasted to remove the paint, then primed and painted, followed by a baking process to ensure the enamel sets hard. Wouldn't fancy trying to do it myself.

Not sure if anyone does sandblasting removal or the bake on process....

I will not be doing them myself, but rather taking them to a body shop, I know that all they will do is sand them down, prime them, paint them and then clear coat seal them....I like the way the above ones by 4x4 came out, is this possible without sand blasting and baking on off the paint. I don't want to ruin a set of 6 month old JDM STi-7 gold rims its just the gold is getting old and I think a black or off black (similar to 4x4's above pic) would look better on my silver car :)

Cheers,
Ray

If your wheels are good have you thought of buying a tatty second hand set & refurbing those, as long as they are not badly kerbed you will get the same result.

Ray

Mine were done in the UK by a mobile wheel refurbishment company. I'm not a gold fan and didn't fancy spending big money on some P1 anthracite wheels so they painted with my wheels with the same colour. It took them an hour a wheel without a professional oven and the finish was very high quality. I got a tub of spare paint in case I kerb them again. You don't see the brake dust anymore as well !

By the way - what's Nassau like ? - calling in on a cruise for a day over the winter. (Been talked out of ski-ing this year)

Go ahead and give it a try yourself before paying over 100 quid to someone else. I've done it a few times with decent results. Even my first attempt worked well. It's not that difficult.

Flat 4 x 4: Thanks for the confidence, I may go this route :)


I also may like to try it myself, anyone got a step by step process to follow along with a list of materials, paint etc needed ? Would be greatly apreciated :):)


Cheers,
Ray

Estimated time it takes per wheel would be good as well :)

where did u get the paint from???? how much?

marty,


Anychance of a brief step by step DIY and a list of supplies when you get a few mins :) Greatly appreciated :)


Cheers,
Ray

Razor,

The wheels i've painted have always been in desperate need of a refub. You'll find that most of the time is taken up cleaning and smoothing the wheels and watching the paint dry. The better conditin your wheels are to start with will mean less time prepping them.

The kit I used included the following :

1) Lots of "Wet and Dry" paper 800-1500 grit (some 600 if you need to fill any kerb scrapes). The smoother you get the wheels the better the result

2) 3 tins of spraypaint, preferably paint without laquer(halfords stuff worked fine for me)

3) 3-4 tins of clear laquer. (you want several good layers of laquer)

4) Heat lamp (not essential but speeds thing up and hardens the laquer better)

Total cost is about 40 quid not including the heat lamp. Took me a Saturday afternoon/evening to do them and they were ready to fit again on Sunday morning.

Prep -

Start by washing the wheels (good time to get rid of any tar etc).

You can do the whole process with the tyres still on the wheels but just make sure you mask them off really well. It's a good idea to cover them with bin liners then some old sheets cut to size. Dampen the sheets as it cuts down the dust that'll be kicking around and keeps the heat off the tyres. If you're going for a darker colour you might want to mask off the inside of the wheels too cuz there'll be paint dust going through the spokes and it'll save you having to clean it off later.

If there are any chips/deep scratches/kerbing marks in them use filler the same way you would on a body panel. I used both "Chemical Metal" and some normal body filler and both worked fine. Use the 600-800 grit paper dry to get the filled area smooth.

Then it's time to smooth the wheels off. Do this by hand as power tools sand it down too fast and don't follow the curves in the wheel properly. It takes ages and is the worst part of the job but the finished resuts are worth it.

Start with the 800 grit and work your way up to the 1500 grit using the paper dry (If your wheels are already in good condition then you'd get away with starting at 1200 grit). Next, wet the 1500 grit and go over the wheels again until you can't feel even the slightest blemish. Rinse the wheels thoroughly and then dry them. Best to leave them for 30 minutes or so to make sure they're totally dry before applying the paint. Once you know they are dry, check the masking again to make sure it's not covering and of the rim.

Painting -

Follow the istruction on the can and do a "test spray" on something so you can gauge the best distance to hold the can from the wheel for spraying. Make sure the spray from the can is coming out evenly and not spitting out.

Lay the wheels facing upwards to help avoid runs in the paint (if there are runs they won't be noticable as they'll be running toward the inside of the wheel). Again, follow the instructions on the can and spray evenly. Don't use the can right to the end as it'll start to spit as the pressure gets low (a downside to tinned spraypaint). Give the wheels several coats making sure you get the spokes from all angles and get right into the rim. It helps being able to walk round the wheel while spraying. I found putting the wheel on a stool in the middle of the room was easiest. The paint itself will dry quite quickly (but don't be tempted to touch it to see if it's dry). Let it dry between coats. Once the last coat is dry you can stand the wheels upright again and position them in front of the heatlamp (if you have one). Dampen the cloth thats masking the wheels again before using the lamp though. Leave them for a few hours for the paint to harden up (checking/redampening the cloth occasionally).

Laquer -

This is the bit that'll have the biggest influence on how good they look afterwards. Test spray the laquer thoroughly as it's more important to get the Laquer finish right than the paint. Use the same procedure you used to paint them (wheels facing up from all angles and use several coats). The laquer takes a bit longer to dry so leave more time betweem coats. It's vital that you don't touch the laquer while it's still soft or you will have fingerprints in the finish. Again, don't use the whole can or it'll start to spit and ruin your finish. Let the last coat dry and then do the same again with the heat lamp. Leave it on overnight (but move a little further from the wheels if you won't be re-dapening the cloth).

Your wheels will be ready to fit again in the morning.

This post is a keeper !!! Excellent man, thanks a ton. I am going to set aside a Saturday within the next few weeks and give it a whirl :)

Thanks again, excellent help :)

Cheers,
Ray

Good Luck, I'm gonna try find to do mine over the next few weeks too if i get time. Gonna get rid of the gold and go for silver i think.

It's always good to see someone have a go at doing some of these jobs themselves. :)

You can learn very much about things by simply having a go. At the end of the day, what have you got to lose?

marty_t3 - you beat me to putting up the instructions. I did a very similar thing (except I didn't have a heat lamp, so it took me a couple of days, and I laquered them in bright sunlight!)

I will add the following - Take your time. Whatever you do, don't rush the job, as you'll never be happy with it.

Good point W1bble, definitely don't wanna rush it.

One more thing i just remembered. If you have a full set of 5 wheels then don't forget the spare (like i did the first time). If you do your car's gonna look a bit wookie next time you get a flat.

Halfords do 'wheel' paint, the Steel or darker shade looks good. Gives a satin finish so no need to spray on the clear stuff. Also easier to repair any scratches later.

Make sure you do the insides too if you can see through!

If you want to to come out like new, there are a number of companies that do it for about 20-30 pounds per wheel. they strip them, repaint and bake. Your local tyre supplier should know a local company (There's one in Croydon I think)

What did you rest your car on while the wheels were off ? :)

Is it possible to jack up car, remove wheels, sand dry, paint, etc etc in one full day and then put them back on in the morning ?

Ie: If I started 9am Saturday morning could they be finished by Saturday night and then leave to dry under heat lamp over night, and put back on in the morning ?

I also wondered if I could use primer first then instead of clear coat use a dark grey etc finsih that was not too shiny as I want to go for the non shiny look I think ?

Cheers,
Ray

FFS Don't sandblast alloy wheels Ever:eek:

If you are going to get them stripped prior to re-coating, make sure you find a specialist who will blast them with either GLASS bead, or fine steel balls. Sandblasting removes the top layer of alloy leaving a very large, pitted surface area which will oxidise very quickly, glass or steel beads remove the paint but only indent the surface of the alloy, leaving a smoother, less abrasive finish, which when examined in close up resembles the surface of a golf ball. If coated correctly afterwards this surface retains the coating much better, as the surface has less 'scar' edges for oxidising to commence.
Unless the wheels are massively scratched and scarred, I can heartily recommend the DIY rout using the Halfords wheel repair kits and a good aerosol or ten.

Razor,

If you're gonna use paint that doesn't need laquer then you should be able to do it in a day without any trouble.

By the sounds of it, the finish you want won't need laquer so it'll take a lot less time for the paint to harden (the paint dries and hardens much faster than the laquer).

When i last did mine i just put the car up on axle stands over night. Probably only a good idea if you have a garage/driveway though.

Oh, its so pleasing to see that the pansy Gold is getting dumped - its ever so 90's and tarty!! ;)

Long live the death of MariGolds!!!!!! :D

Pete