Painting Stock Wheels?

[91White-T]

Has anyone done this? I think the stock 15's would look pretty good painted black or dark gray. I'm not very good with paint, so what would be the best way to go about this?

[vrg3]

I guess you'd ideally do it with the tires off the wheels, but if you use a lot of masking tape and newspaper you can do it with them still on. Just get two cans of spray paint from the auto parts store -- one black or gray, and one clear coat. I think Plasti-Kote is a popular brand. My rims have Plasti-Kote Flexible Bumper & Trim Semi-Gloss Black on them.

Practice on something else first, but basically all you need to do is give it an even coat with the black or gray paint, let it dry, and then give it a couple of coats of the clear coat, letting it dry in between. Just make sure you hold the can far enough away from the wheel, and don't spray too much paint, or else you'll get dripping.

[91White-T]

Sounds good, should I sand the wheels or anything?

[vrg3]

I dunno... I guess there is paint on there already, isn't there? I guess you might get better results if you sand it all off first... I don't know. My wheels are painted kind of cheapo-style.

[LegacyT]

If you want a good looking/long lasting finish, then I highly recommend stripping the original finish off, and cleaning out any corrosion. Either by sandblasting or chemical dipping. Then prime with good etching primer, then color coat, then several clear coats. Ideally you'd use a spray gun, but if your good with cans, you can get a pretty damn good finish that way.

Mark,

[91White-T]

I'm in the process of doing this right now, so far its looking great...

[Legacy777]

prep them and just get them powder coated.

More durable and better looking.

[-K-]

I'd powdercoat if you got the $. If it's on the cheap, do a lot of sanding. The more time you spend on the sanding and prep the better it will come out. Wipe it down with Toulene (some for cleaning, some for my gas tank ) I'd say to use two thin coats one up-down one side-side. Just don't try to cover it all in one coat, it'll end up running.

[91White-T]

I wouldn't waste too much money on the stock wheels anyway. I spent $9.50 and I wish I had a digital camera so I could post some pics cause I think it looks pretty good.