Spray Painting Wheels

[gsxr renegade]

Right then, Ive got a spare wheel in the garage that I want to have a go at painting as practice for when I re-spray my good set of wheels in a few months time.

Ive never done anything like this before, so would appreciate a bit of advice on what Ill need to get a decent finish.

The original wheel is black and Ive decided to go for a white re-spray, and see how that turns out (white is the new black, see). Im not looking for results thatll win me a concours competition, but I want it to look half decent.

I know Ill need to sand the wheel down prior to doing anything, I was thinking of nipping to my local b&q and picking up a few varying grades of sandpaper/wet and dry whats the best grade to use?

After that I assume itll need to be primed? Is there any sort of special primer I should use? Once painted, Im assuming itll need to be lacquered again will any clear lacquer suffice? Or do I need special stuff?

Bearing in mind Ill be using rattlecan paint from Halfords to do this as I want to see how good the results are it doesnt matter if it fails miserably as this wheel wont be going on the bike, but Im intrigued as to how good the results will be. Consider this an experiment, if you will.

As usual any advice will be greatly appreciated

[VanWinkle]

This is reproduced by permision of cabby and is a copy paste from firebladeriders.com .... many thanks

This only the second time I've painted wheels so I'm no expert but here's how I do it:

The wheel will need repairing for the primer, I removed all the casting letters etc and completely rubbed the wheel down.

It's worth fitting new bearings before you start painting as you don't want to mess up all you're hard work changing them if they go bad 2 months after refitting the wheel.

You will need a stand of some kind to rotate the wheel while the painting takes place.

You will need special primer called "self etching primer" make sure all the dust is removed from the wheel after rubbing down and apply a coat of primer and allow to dry.

Next mask up the areas that don't require paint and place the wheel on you're stand, use proper wheel paint as it will dry harder and resist chipping and brake dust discolouration etc.

I purchased Subaru gold

Use one complete can per wheel but only spray light coats leaving 10 minutes between coats till the can is finished then let the wheel dry for 24 hours

Next apply wheel clear coat in the same way as the colour

Here is the wheel with a full can of clear, let the wheel dry for 72 hours

Here's the rear wheel I painted 4 days ago, I've "T" cut it smooth and added some rim art stickers

After two coats of polish and ready for a new tyre

I'm no painter but the wheel looks good and a lot cheaper than having it done by a pro.

[gsxr renegade]

<snip>

That's brill, just what i needed to know. Thanks!

[BudgetBoy]

Just to add.. The primer is an ACID etch primer..Just incase you cannot find that brand.

Also to get the dust off the wheel use tack cloths to get the worst off then wipe down with clean cloth slightly wet with nail polish remover (which is Acetone).