Stock wheel idea...thoughts?
09-06-2007, 11:41 PM
#1
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: New City, NY
Posts: 552
Stock wheel idea...thoughts?
I had an idea for my stock 5 spoke wheels. Im a gold SE, and my wheels had bad brake dust on them so they had to b redone anyway. So im thinking of painting the wheels gloss black, and then make the nissan symbol in the middle gold, and also make the very edge gold. I was going to attempt a photoshop but im terrible with that stuff. Also im doing the black headlight, bumper light, tail light setup with 20% tints. So kinda a stealth look. And i currently have all gold trim.
09-08-2007, 03:42 PM
#11
Originally Posted by 97maximaman
Just started about an hour ago, even with aircraft stripper its a PITA geting the old paint off. Maybe i didnt wait long enough. Well, i'll update you all in a bit.
i painted my rims a few years back and never got around to doing a writeup. i
i haven't done the stock SE 4th gen rims, but i did my own set of 2001 GLE rims:
not to discourage you, but before you decide to do this read through what i wrote once or twice and see if you're still up to it. if not, too bad. if you are, great! it takes time and patience and work but what you get is unique rims that no one else has. when people ask me about my rims i'm always excited to tell them i refinished them myself. most people have a hard time believing you can get a quality finish from a spray can, but it's all in the details
remember that the end result is a direct product of how much work and care you put into this.
on the rims that i repainted the original finish was a horrible *****. I went through at least 10 cans of aircraft stripper. there's also another stripper that i found that works as well or better and is available at homedepot. i don't remember the name, just look for whatever has the most warnings. i think it comes in quarts in a metal container.
first off, the way i did it was, i believe, the best way. i've seen some other people that have tried this and i think my finished product looks pretty good, especially in comparison. seeing as how we're doing this right, a few words of advice: take your tires off. it makes the whole thing easier and you will be able to do a more complete job. you want to paint the inside lip of the rim where the tire sits because if you only paint the outside face of the rim when you are getting your tires remounted the paint may peel or scratch. even following this guide, you will still need to find a shop that has a urethane or plastic blade on their mounting machine. this should prevent any damage.
another piece of advice: do it right and do it right the first time. if you do a shoddy job you will have a crappy finished product. you can get away with a just a few coats of paint and a coat of clear. it won't last. prime, paint and clear. at least twice for each. i did three coats each. keep in mind that this is aftermarket spraypaint. it won't last like the manufacturer's baked-on professional thick glaze-type stuff. bearing that in mind, my paintjob has held up pretty well after two summer seasons of driving on crappy chicago roads. a grand total of maybe 20,000 miles. no matter what your rims will get chipped. even if you park carefully, rocks and debris will still chip away some of the paint eventually. the more time you spend on this the better it will last. if you do a coat of each a single tiny rock might tear through all the layers and leave you with bare metal. with adequate paint, though, it'll prob. only damage the clear and that doesn't look as bad, doesn't peel paint around it and can be filled in easier.
finally, one last word before i get started: this takes a while. it may be easier on different rims such as the 4th gen SE rims (i think it's just clear coated bare metal), but on the 2001 GLE rims the paint was really thick and the wheels were primed, too. i spent 2-3 hours every saturday and sunday for about a month working on this. keep in mind that when i did this i was more or less flying blind, so there was a lot of trial and error. hopefully with the things i've learned it won't take you as long.
since it takes so long and you should really do this without tires mounted on, you might want to have a second car or a spare set of rims. i have a winter tire set with snows, so i drove on those while i did this.
the thing that was really, really helpful was a sandblaster. I used my neighbor's compressor and bought a few bags of blasting powder at a construction supply place. blasting powder is tough industrial silica that is left over from other manufacturing processes. basically black powdered glass. it's nasty to work with because it irritates skin and is terrible for your lungs.
i combined everything all together. I did one wheel at a time. I hosed the rim down with stripper, let it sit for 10-15 minutes (not any longer because the stripper evaporates), then went to work. I used several stiff metal brushes (went through a few per rim) to remove some of the finish including the clearcoat. this took a few reapplications but eventually I got down to the primer.
a word of advice on brushes: i wouldn't recommend using drill attachments because they will form circular grooves or patterns if you're not careful. stick with a hand brush unless you have a fair bit of experience.
when the rim is down to the primer, hose it off and let it dry. you can start on another rim while one is drying if you like. Once dry hit it with the sandblaster. you will want to do this outside. an industrial one will make the work go faster, but good luck finding one that someone will let you use yourself. the one i used was a ten-year-old craftsman. it's basically a plastic receptacle for sand with a plastic filter and a few valves.
i mixed half blasting compound and half sifted beach-sand. you can use bag-sand, but it is almost always wet, therefore not suitible for our uses. do not use play-sand either because it is very fine, isn't as abrasive and most of all the grains shatter on impact creating minute silica dust particles. if you breathe these in you are basically making concrete in your lungs. the blasting compound doesn't have this affect but does have industrial byproducts in its composition by it's very nature, so it's no good to breathe that either.
wear goggles and a mask. by goggles i don't mean glasses. GOGGLES. something that covers your entire eye, including the sides. ski-goggles work well if you have nothing else. be prepared to have them damaged/scratched by flying sand, though. as for the mask, a regular particulate arrestor mask (the white cup-looking ones with a nose pinch) work fine. I put a bandana over mine on top of that because the blasting compound stings when it hits skin.
blasting compound, as I said, is industrial waste glass. this makes it great for sandblasting because it's cheap, plentiful, easy to find and works really well. the reason it works well is because each individual grain is jagged and sharp. hence why it stings when it's blown onto your skin. wear long sleeves and please wear goggles. i normally don't wear safety eyewear because it's cumbersome, but you do NOT want to get even a single grain of this stuff in your eyes. i can only guess that would be a BAD thing.
rants aside, i mixed blasting compound and beach sand (make sure you sift it so it doesn't clog the valves in the sandblaster) about half and half because the compound is nasty to work with and it may take off too much too quickly.
that's a good thing, right?
no.
you will get uneven results because some parts will clean up faster than others and you will be left with slight depressions in the finish when you paint it. all in all i think i used two fifty pound bags of blasting compund and about as much sand when i did this.
make sure you get all of the paint and as much primer as possible off the wheels. ideally you should do the entire rim, including the inside. if you don't feel like it, you can somewhat half-*** it on the inside of the wheel, which is not very visible. make sure you paint the outside and inside lip all the way around the wheel, with about a half-inch to an inch of paint past the edge of the rim where the tire seals.
another reason sandblasting is a good idea is because it leaves a completely uniform, clean and random surface on the metal. this is good because it looks much better than sanding marks or brushmarks and more importantly because it creates a perfect surface for primer to stick to. you can see the texture is still there in the close up picture. this is after three coats of primer, three coats of paint and three coats of clear.
after sandblasting you should have a clean, rough surface. it's a good idea to do this in a warehouse or a garage because you don't want any moisture or debris to fall on the primer or paint while it's drying -- you'll never get it fixed unless you redo the whole thing. keep in mind the ambient temparature while painting and drying should be 65-80 degrees and low humidity. this will make the dry time much faster and the paint will adhere much better.
when you're done sandblasting move the rims into a warehouse or garage and use a soft nylon-bristle brush or a clean soft towel to remove stray sand or debris. if you use a towel make sure you don't leave any fibers. these will remain there forever if you paint over them. if you try to pick them out while painting it will just make a mess.
i used paint that should be available at any autozone or most larger auto parts stores. i don't remember the brand off the top of my head, unfortunately. i got the primer and graphite/gunmetal paint as well as clearcoat. from what i remember i used about a can of each on each rim. don't skimp on paint. if you have extra you can always save it for touch-ups or other projects like a valvecover or intake or whatever you want.
if you haven't done a whole lot of spray painting before practice on a piece of cardboard. experiment with distance and strokes, etc. once you're ready start on the rims. situate them somewhere comfortable that isn't in the way of anything else. you shouldn't move them while drying, if at all. lay down a tarp or newspapers because you WILL have overspray. at least a foot away from each rim in every direction.
I laid the down flat on the floor with the faces up. make sure to leave at least a foot between rims in every direction. this will prevent overspray from landing on the other rims and making the finish uneven. this also gives you access to the inside lip so you can paint it right away. i eprayed from about 10-12 inches away. spray light coats with steady side to side strokes. make sure you don't overdo it in one coat because you will have runs. don't worry about getting the entire rim covered in a single pass. i primed the faces, the outside and inside lip in one go, then primed the inside of the rim once i was finished with the other parts.
apply at least two, preferably three coats of primer. follow the directions from the manufacturer as far as when to recoat and drying times. while you're waiting for one rim to dry enough to recoat you can work on another. if you time it correctly you can be ready to reapply another coat on the first rim only a little while after you're done with the fourth.
wait for the primer to dry before applying paint. again follow manufacturer's directions. for me it took I think 2-3 hours. just to be safe I waited 12 hours and painted after that. you shouldn't need to sand the primer unless you had runs or other imperfections. in this case consider sandblasting it with a 100% sand mix from a further distance than the first time. if you're going to do this wait until the primer is completely dry, otherwise the primer will come off too quickly or worse yet you will get sand in everything and have to start over.
after the primer is dry you can start applying the paint. it's the same procedure as with the primer. keep in mind that the paint is thinner and runs easier. apply lighter coats and be careful. if you have to do four coats because you went a little too thin, that's a lot better than redoing everything because you went too thick.
when the paint is all dry (not just tack-dry, completely dry), apply the clearcoat. same drill as with the paint. thin coats, recoat following manufacturer's directions. after the last coat, wait until the paint is tack-dry (not sticky to the touch). for a good margin, wait another hour or two. afterwards you can lay the rims in the sun away from flying debris and anything else that might fall and damage the finish. if this isn't possible just leave them where they are.
even though the paint is dry, it is still maleable and soft. you want to leave your project alone for at least another 24hrs. i left mine for about 36, i think. you can see if it's still soft by gently pressing on the finish with your nail on an inconspicuous area. i'd suggest the inside of the rim. it'll be very visible on the face and if you test around the inside lip the tires might not seal properly afterward. If it's still soft you will feel a little give and see a mark on the paint. just press on it gently, don't scratch.
once it's rock solid you're ready to have everything mounted. i can't overstress the importance of finding a trustworthy shop with a mounting machine that has a soft blade. you might have to call around or visit some shops, but it's worth it.
care and feeding is the same as any other clear coated wheel. you can use non-abrasive cleaners and brushes. the best thing is a conical soft plastic brush. it's flexible and you can get into the lugholes and all the little grooves to do a good job. since it's clear-coated, brake dust and dirt don't really stick too well, so you might not even need a cleaning product. other than that just be mindful of how you park and you're all good.
good luck and enjoy your one-of-a-kind wheels!
09-08-2007, 11:10 PM
#12
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: New City, NY
Posts: 552
Good write up, i dont have access to a sandblaster but the stripper got me down to primer. Im assuming it can get me to bare metal too. This is more of a weekend project, im getting new rims soon so these will be my ghetto winter wheels. (Actually this is just an excuse to waist money on un needed paint and stuff).
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