The OFFICIAL painted factory wheels thread

[Cebby]

Let's see 'em. I'm planning to paint mine soon, but need some inspiration. Painted or Powdercoated - bring them all!

[GGENIUS]

if you can go POWDERCOAT

[jholley]

I painted my OEM wheels 14 months ago using rustoleum wheel paint and they're holding fine.



I used Chris' procedure

Originally Posted by ChrisMan287

That all sounds good but you don't really need to work up to 2000 grit before painting. I'd sand the rims with 400 and wetsand with 600, clean them, primer them, then wet sand with 600 again, spray 3-4 coats (start light then get a little heavier with each coat, wait about 30 mins between coats), wetsand again with 600, clear with 3-4 coats (start light and get a little heavier again with each coat), wetsand at the end with 2000 grit and polish the **** out of them.

[jltibbs]

I second GGENIUS, if you can get them powder coated, do it.

Painted anthracite from Advance Auto Parts:


Polished Muranos, black trim:


Polished lip, gold painted center:

[VisciousMo]

forgot the name of the color, picked it up at o'reileys .

coiled1 by ViciousMo, on Flickr

[infinimax96]

I can't decide on a color for my S14 wheels.

Anyone have suggestions?

[max-r95]

What's the best way to paint your wheels? Did you guys dismount wheels or tape? Also what paint? Engine high temp?

[jltibbs]

Originally Posted by infinimax96

I can't decide on a color for my S14 wheels.

Anyone have suggestions?

I personally prefer contrast. With the exception of the G35 rims I once had, I've always liked charcoal/anthracite/black on white cars.

Disregard the fast and furious look lol.

[GGENIUS]

if you wanna kill a sat. afternoon, go to powderbuythepound.com and shop for some powder. that site gives me all kinds of inspiration

[GGENIUS]

and to answer the persons question about masking, theres a neat industry trick with a deck of cards that a LOT of wheel restoration places use. you literally "mask" the tire off by lodging the cards in between the tire and wheel.

this is the same idea with index cards

[TripleBLACKmax]

Originally Posted by jltibbs

I second GGENIUS, if you can get them powder coated, do it.

Polished Muranos, black trim:

ughhhhhh those muranos look so ill!

[JNCoRacer]

Polished those yourself?

[infinimax96]

Originally Posted by TripleBLACKmax

ughhhhhh those muranos look so ill!

That Q45 makes me want a Q45 and swap a 300zx 5speed in it

[BigLou55]

I want to do this but want the process straight, and plus i need to fix some minor curb rash. I just want to repaint the stock color or close to it.

1. clean wheels
2. Dry wheels COMPLETELY
3. Primer wheels(unsure)
4. paint wheels(unsure of what kind of paint to use)
5. Clear coat
6. lets dry
7. enjoy!

if this sums its up can I get a +1 if not direct me to the thread that tells me because I can't find the one I read a few months back and didn't bother the bookmark it

[GGENIUS]

you only need to prime your wheels if you sand down to bare metal, or if youre trying to do an extreme color change. otherwise theres no real reason to prime.

you also forgot the most important part, which is sanding. you have to have 4-500 grit scratches for basecoat to stick to the wheels.

[GGENIUS]

Originally Posted by BigLou55

I want to do this but want the process straight, and plus i need to fix some minor curb rash. I just want to repaint the stock color or close to it.

1. clean wheels
2. Dry wheels COMPLETELY
3. Primer wheels(unsure)
4. paint wheels(unsure of what kind of paint to use)
5. Clear coat
6. lets dry
7. enjoy!

if this sums its up can I get a +1 if not direct me to the thread that tells me because I can't find the one I read a few months back and didn't bother the bookmark it

just read the curb rash part, my bad. if youre fixing curb rash then yeah, its a good idea to prime the spots that go down to bare metal. then you want to use 400 grit wet on the primer. then you paint basecoat over that.

[BigLou55]

Originally Posted by GGENIUS

just read the curb rash part, my bad. if youre fixing curb rash then yeah, its a good idea to prime the spots that go down to bare metal. then you want to use 400 grit wet on the primer. then you paint basecoat over that.

cool, would any brand work from my local autoparts store? or does it have to be a particular kind(if some performs better than others)

EDIT: just seen the rustoleum wheel paint post...will look into that.

[GGENIUS]

i dont know because i dont use spray paint much. im not a fan of it so youll have to look elsewhere. but for the primer make sure you get some automotive outdoor primer.

[BigLou55]

Originally Posted by GGENIUS

i dont know because i dont use spray paint much. im not a fan of it so youll have to look elsewhere. but for the primer make sure you get some automotive outdoor primer.

will do, thanks for you help!

[jltibbs]

JNCoracer,

I had a friend do that before I know what to do. I was highly impressed, then I realized I could have done it myself lol. Anyways, I knew how I wanted them to look before I ever got them, and that's what I did. I'm about to redo them, with paint, since they're going on my white 99 max.

[tillor]

g35 sedans in dulpi-color graphite... pre drop:


post drop:


I'm going to say the same as everyone else, if you can afford to powder coat them I would do it. My rattle can job didn't fare to well after mounting tires and a winter of rocks on the road. They still look better than when I got them with lots of scratches and rash.

[ChrisMan287]

People still paint stock wheels?

I like Rustoleum wheel paint > Duplicolor though.

[Leo_Koneval]

Painted stock wheels actually look pretty good!

I had the stock 15" sawblades before and hated them, I wonder how they would look painted. But either way really disliked the style

[wirelessdude04]

Looking good

[GGENIUS]

Originally Posted by Leo_Koneval

Painted stock wheels actually look pretty good!

I had the stock 15" sawblades before and hated them, I wonder how they would look painted. But either way really disliked the style

i powdercoated them 98% black.

[love_my_gt]

those polished murano wheels are sick.... I love the look.

[Leo_Koneval]

Originally Posted by GGENIUS

i powdercoated them 98% black.

Wow thank you for the pictures! I am surprised how nice they look!