Celica Forums General Discussion Exterior who's painted their wheels?

I need to paint my rims, but can't find an install guide or anyting - I know to use the duplicolor stuff, but don't know much else. Advise is much appreciated

thanks

I started out by jacking the car up,you know dropping on 4 jack stands and taking the wheels off. Next thing i did was find a good clean surface away from wind and dust that could get on the wheels while painting. You want to start by cleaning the rims with a good wheel cleaner and wiping them down real good. Then I took a flathead screwdriver and popped the toyota cap off the center of the rim. Next I used some 400 grit sandpaper to do an initial sanding or the rim, 600 works just as well. Now for masking off the tire from overspray I took 3x5" index cards and ripped them in half. Placed them around the rim sliding them into the spot where tire meets the rim. Then it should look like a sunflower or something. I used some of that blue painters tape to make them flush with the tire. From there i sprayed a light primer coat to just get a basic covering. When you do this you want to make sure you get the edge of the bead real good. I went around the rim on the edge, then layed down the primer in the center by doing a star pattern. Then I lightly sprayed each spoke front. Next you spray the primer in the arches between the spokes. Last I did the sides of the spokes since they are the hardest to get. I let that dry for 30min. Then I came back and did another coat. Primer should take 3 coats max to be finished, so just repeat the spray process as long as it takes, if you try and do too much at once,its ruined. So when your done with priming it it should be a nice flat gray, I rotated the wheel a few times to make sure every crack was covered, a bright flashlight helps with finding uncovered spots. Let all primer dry for a good 40min or so. I did a coat on each wheel and kept moving down the line so that by the time i finished with the fourth wheel the first was ready for another coat. Before final paint I roughed the primer with a 800grit sandpaper., this scuffs it up very lightly and helps the paint adhere better later on. So when thats all ready you spray your wheel paint on just like the primer. Let the real paint have enough time to dry before putting more coats on to avoid runs, because then you have to sand it all out and it gets hard to do. I used a really metallic sparkle paint that kinda covered up the small mistakes.
When your done let it sit a good 2 hrs to make sure all the paint sets up and cure, it you have more time to let it sit, the better. Lastly I put the toyota caps back on. Then take off the masking and stand back and look at your new wheels. If you have anymore questions feel free to ask, if you want pics i can email them to you or send them on AIM. Word.

thanks a lot! - what kind of paint/primer did you use?

i did mine myself as well, i used ppg primers and paint/clearcoat. but then again, i work at a body shop too. just make sure to hit all the areas good when sandind, use sanding scotch pads as well, they'll help in getting in the smaller areas.

ill be doing mine soon. but i im going to sand blast it

I painted mines also, But i guess i dont need to explain because sickcelica696 already
told ya

I used duplicolor primer and duplicor high heat metallic wheel paint.

i painted mine too