Might paint my wheels this weekend... advice?

"Chairman Kaga" (mike-mckinnon) 01/17/2014 at 17:20 • Filed to: None

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My Alfa's wheels are sorts dingy. I've tried cleaning them with everything from rubbing compound to a scotch brite pad. I think it's time to repaint. Just going with the same basic matte gunmetal of the original Campagnolo finish.

Any suggestions or recommendations for the process? I'm not unmounting tires. I'm only using rattle cans. This is not going to be a show car. That said, I'd like to start with a clean, smooth surface, so maybe a wire wheel on my drill, followed by some 400 grit and 800 grit, high build primer, and multiple coats of paint. What about a finishing coat? Some matte clear?

MonkeePuzzle > Chairman Kaga 01/17/2014 at 17:22

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pics of the wheels would help, but a wire wheel likely isn't necessary.

I took mine off, rubbed them down with sand paper, and then sand paper built into a sponge to get into tighter spots. Taped up the tyres, back of the wheel, and valve stem. Then painted primer (~2 coats), and gloss colour (~3 coats)

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/white-wheels-a…

Someone here used essentially that process on their subaru wheels and it came out well.

Chairman Kaga > MonkeePuzzle 01/17/2014 at 17:28

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Yeah, I don't have close-up shots of the wheels, in case you were curious about their actual condition. But just like these.

Tight spaces, hard to really get into the "turbines".

I'll check out the thread. Thanks!

Joe_Limon > Chairman Kaga 01/17/2014 at 17:32

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Plastidip?

MonkeePuzzle > Chairman Kaga 01/17/2014 at 17:33

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going to be tricky to get a good key, roughed surface, on those fins. but, honestly, no harm. Its just paint.

Milky > Chairman Kaga 01/17/2014 at 17:33

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I learned a decent amount over 2 years, painting 3 sets of wheels. Actually I just learned to not be stupid. IMO if you do a good enough priming you won't need to do 800 grit. Like monkey puzzle said tape up, and tape up good. Spend time on that, and it will go good. Also I used a coat of clear after my first set, and I think it helped.

But really if you just want the original color wouldn't a super good clean job do the trick?

MonkeePuzzle > Milky 01/17/2014 at 17:39

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did a gloss coat on one set, didnt see much difference so I haven't bothered since.

One additional note, I waited a week or so until the paint was good and hard and did a polish on them. Got out some of the crap that inevitably gets in when you spray paint in your yard, and gave a nice smooth surface so they spray clean without scrubbing

Chairman Kaga > Joe_Limon 01/17/2014 at 17:47

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I haven't really had good luck with Plastidip so far. More expensive than paint, that's for sure.

Chairman Kaga > Milky 01/17/2014 at 17:49

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Man, I've tried cleaning them with every solvent, abrasive, detergent, and fabric I can find. They just aren't looking ANY better than when I started. Plus a couple have some curb rash I'd like to smooth out. And maybe I'll go darker. Silver car, black moulding, smokey gray wheels?

GRawesome > Chairman Kaga 01/17/2014 at 17:55

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When I did my rover wheels I just cleaned the wheel pretty thoroughly and sprayed on some matte black. I did take a piece of cardboard though and cut it to match the arc of the wheel then used it as a spray barrier so I didn't paint the tires too. Before pic:

GRawesome > GRawesome 01/17/2014 at 17:56

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After:

Bird > Chairman Kaga 01/17/2014 at 18:06

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I used the index card method of masking. Not my idea, but I did come up with taping them together on my own. That way you can pull them off as one piece and reattach if necessary.

Do lots of light coats. They key is the prep. It's all in the cleaning and sanding. I reccomend scotch brite pads for your final sand/scuff. They get into all the little nooks and crannies well. If you have any areas you didn't scuff up well, or any dirt/wax/oil, your paint will be ruined. Make sure they're spotless.

Milky > MonkeePuzzle 01/17/2014 at 18:08

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Really? The first set I did without clear I had to re-spay a few times because they got nicked up so much. As you can see in the top pic I got tired of doing it properly.

Milky > Chairman Kaga 01/17/2014 at 18:09

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I'd do smokey gray, IMO no point in spending time if you can't tell the difference.

911e46z06 > Chairman Kaga 01/17/2014 at 18:17

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Yeah, but with Plasti you get do-overs if you fuck it up or you don't like the color.

George McNally > Chairman Kaga 01/18/2014 at 17:21

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Playing cards........