How To: paint your wheels with 60$ (wrx stocks)

[gaboboost]

Whatsup everyone, lemme start by saying again...PREP is the most important step!!! Been painting wheels since highschool so feel confident with this thread~!

*Now..youll need a few items:
1x Primer (etching primer if your sandblasting the wheels)
3-4x Paint (color of your choice)
2x Clear
800 grit wet/dry
1000grit wet/dry
(the factory paint on the wheels are better than you can ever replicate, no need to sand harshly)
index cards!!
Painters tape
Optional-WD40 (if any paint gets on your tires, use some WD-40 on a small rag)
Vinyl gloves
Mask (if painting indoors)
Spray bottle



-------------P H A S E O N E:
If you slack on prep work you might as well not paint your wheels yourself..! This is a vital tip!

*Leave your car on jackstands, not cinder blocks.
*fill up a spray bottle with detergent and water 20/80 ratio (you want it to cut all the grease and oils too)




*spray the entire wheel and begin to wet sand with 800 grit wetting it with the hose every time it gets a little hazy (clear coat being removed)


*once all your wheels are PROPERLY and EQUALLY sanded, let them sub bathe for a while and dry them out with a rag.
*once they are completely dry, bounce all 4 wheels for any trapped water under the rim (any drips will ruin the entire wheel once you start painting)

-----------P H A S E T W O:
*Lay out some newspaper or canvas
*place wheels equally apart, 2 ft between each, you want space to walk around each wheel during painting.




*Tape off the valve stems with or without the caps, i did them without

------------P H A S E T H R E E:
*The funnest part! surround the wheel with index cards and make sure they are secure
*apply 1 light coat of primer to each wheel (remember the order you paint them, 1,2,3,4....1,2,3,4...etc.)
*after 10 min or so apply another light coat of primer(careful not to paint too much when your doing the inside of the spokes, the are tricky!)
*10 min and half a sub later..apply a nice medium coat of primer, if your doing it properly 1 can should be suficient


*10-15min: Apply 1 light coat of color to each wheel


(there still will be primer showing! its ok dont panic and paint the grey spots, cover them up in the next light coat)
*apply a second light coat of color

*after 10 min apply a nice medium coat
*another medium coat is optional (i did)

*Now wait 20-25min for them to be completely dry and ready for a clear coat if you want to clear them

i didn't know weather or not i wanted to since was using a nice strong paint (VHT, i always use it never used clear until today)
i painted the back of an old license plate to see what id prefer



i decided to go with the clear
*Apply 2 Light coats of clear with 10 min of dry time in between
--------20 min-----
*apply a nice medium to thick coat of clear (it will be a little hazy until fully dried
*remove the index cards once you applied the last coat of clear




**Optional but totally worth it:
wash the whip while its on jack stands and clean the wheel well, and everything you think needs some cleaning up (This will also buy you time while the clear coat dries)


----------F I N I S H!

[rage-wrx]

Looks nice.Good job.

I was thinking of painting my OEMs,but I'n not brave enough to do it on my own.Past experience has shown that I am terrible with spray paint.

Let us know how the paint holds up.

[gaboboost]

This paint holds up amazing! on my previous car i had the exact same paint with no clear and it last about a year or 2 with zero chips VHT is very strong, id recommend it any day, ill post a pic of my previous setup

[gaboboost]

Yes im a fan of Mazda and gold wheels!


RIP speed

[T0rque]

I do the same thing, except since its spray paint... **** sanding them unless they are scratched.. I use windex to clean the wheels very well let dry, prime and paint. Clear coat if you want shiney, dont if you dont.. Dont think this method will last you 5-6 years but a respray every year for less than $10 is do-able.. I use my exhaust boxes, or wheel boxes for painting on.. Nice write up.. excluding calling your vehicle a "whip" next time we will ban..

[T0rque]

I see you use VHT does it hold up any better? I always have used Krylon, I change the color of wheels so much that it really doesnt matter to me how long it lasts, its usually temporary til I powdercoat them.. Just wondering if the VHT would last longer.

[gaboboost]

yea im not a fan of krylon, it dosnt really hold up well with daily driving and weather :/

I see you use VHT does it hold up any better? I always have used Krylon, I change the color of wheels so much that it really doesnt matter to me how long it lasts, its usually temporary til I powdercoat them.. Just wondering if the VHT would last longer.

[T0rque]

I don't have a change of weather really.. So krylon doesn't get affected

[EJ257]

From those pictures, it appears you did not paint the inner portion. Please tell me you went back and corrected that...

[gaboboost]

what inner portion? i dont see it

[EJ257]

what inner portion? i dont see it

See below:

[gaboboost]

oh now i get you, personally i never spray the inside of the rim or hub area, you cant see it when its on the car at all, good looks though!

[irvin787878]

Pretty good write up. I might try this out with some diferent colors. Need to get some ideas for when I decide to get new wheels.

[cflip2x]

Im painting mine now currently using the grimmspeed gold

[spirited09wrx]

I initially wanted to paint mine gold...but driving home today in our other car as I pulled up the light and the brake dust made my wheels look almost bronze, and I thought that looked really good...so maybe i'll do bronze instead....either way, nice job/writeup