Painting Rims and Curb Rash Repair DIY (Some Pics) Plus bonus!
09-20-2010, 05:32 PM
#1
Rice Patrol
Thread Starter
Painting Rims and Curb Rash Repair DIY (Some Pics) Plus bonus!
hey everyone, So i recently found some time to paint my rims (yes, I did go orange...then I went back 
) And I realized there were zero DIY on here about actually going about doing this.
While it isn't the hardest project in the world I figured it warranted a write up.
I didn't take as many pics as I should have, but I have some to take and I'll put them in the right places.
First things first: supplies. If you have no curb rash you want to repair you will need:
acetone or paint thinner
Primer (I like gray, you can use white) (1 can per 2 rims)
Paint (1 can per rim) I used engine enamel. been working fine for a month now
Clear Coat (1 can per 2 rims)
Sandpapers (88/100, 200, 400 and if you're anal anything higher as well)
If you have curb rash, like I did. you're also going to need spot putty and an applicator (I used a popsicle stick)
Start!
USE JACK STANDS! Don't trust your shitty temp jack. Jack from the front and put down the stands trust me, it'll save you from any sort of heartbreak if your jack "fails"
take off the first two rims and WASH WASH WASH
Just so you know! I didn't mask off my tires. This is 100% because I was getting new ones next week. Unless you want painted tires I suggest you tape them off with newspaper. And cover the ground too please!
wash these things until there is no dirt on them, then take your acetone and wash them again. The acetone will loosen them up so that you can remove the paint from the surface. The goal is to make it rough enough that new paint will adhere to the surface. Now take your sand paper and starting with the lowest one, sand away! you don't really need to be careful as you are roughing up the entire surface. Make sure you pop off the center caps and get around them too. I just sanded and painted over my caps, I tried taking the A emblem off them and that proved to be impossible. Go on ebay and get new ones, since i'm doing a saber swap I didn't really care tbh.
Fixing Curb Rash:
As you can see, I had a lot of rash. 10 years worth to be exact. not to worry though! it's pretty simple to fix it to near factory luster. get out your spot putty and if you got the 3M branded one slowly but surely apply the big bottle onto the car. I used a popsicle stick and by using small THIN layers I basically painted the putty into the cracks and crevices. once you are done, use small amounts of the sealant to the overall mix. let it dry, it should only take about 10 mins, then sand it with the 400 grit paper so that the surface is flush again.
Painting!
get the primer, and spray THIN layers of primer on the tire. repeat these steps as many times as you like, I found that 5 THIN coats (about half a can) was plenty to give it a good base. then get out your 400 (or 600 and higher if you want) and sand the surface down so it is smooth again. This will make the color paint hold very nicely and it'll bring out the color.
Apply the color much in the same way as primer. Use a full can here though, it'll make the car look MUCH better, fuller, and deeper. Don't sand after this step though, or you'll have to paint again*
*you can sand with high grit paper if you see any bubbles or anything, it should be paint safe. I did this my third time around
apply clear coat. 5 THIN coats (half a can) should do it. This will ensure that the shine lasts. And let me tell you, it does work!
final results
Same Tire, Same rash area
This was before I polished it, so right after the clear coat. Once you're done and you let it dry (3/4 hours should be good if it's sunny) polish them, wash them, just like you would any other day.
BONUS!
I have a bunch of things to install!
But I have ZERO time
saber conversion* Not real grill I know
H&R Race Springs
I'll take a photo with the rims on once the car is dropped.
Just so you know, I've now painted the rims 4 times Orange (wrong orange, looked bleh) black, matte gray, and bright white. I like the whites at the moment but they got way to dirty all the time, I'm back to gray and I love em!
) And I realized there were zero DIY on here about actually going about doing this.While it isn't the hardest project in the world I figured it warranted a write up.
I didn't take as many pics as I should have, but I have some to take and I'll put them in the right places.
First things first: supplies. If you have no curb rash you want to repair you will need:
acetone or paint thinner
Primer (I like gray, you can use white) (1 can per 2 rims)
Paint (1 can per rim) I used engine enamel. been working fine for a month now
Clear Coat (1 can per 2 rims)
Sandpapers (88/100, 200, 400 and if you're anal anything higher as well)
If you have curb rash, like I did. you're also going to need spot putty and an applicator (I used a popsicle stick)
Start!
USE JACK STANDS! Don't trust your shitty temp jack. Jack from the front and put down the stands trust me, it'll save you from any sort of heartbreak if your jack "fails"
take off the first two rims and WASH WASH WASH
Just so you know! I didn't mask off my tires. This is 100% because I was getting new ones next week. Unless you want painted tires I suggest you tape them off with newspaper. And cover the ground too please!
wash these things until there is no dirt on them, then take your acetone and wash them again. The acetone will loosen them up so that you can remove the paint from the surface. The goal is to make it rough enough that new paint will adhere to the surface. Now take your sand paper and starting with the lowest one, sand away! you don't really need to be careful as you are roughing up the entire surface. Make sure you pop off the center caps and get around them too. I just sanded and painted over my caps, I tried taking the A emblem off them and that proved to be impossible. Go on ebay and get new ones, since i'm doing a saber swap I didn't really care tbh.
Fixing Curb Rash:
As you can see, I had a lot of rash. 10 years worth to be exact. not to worry though! it's pretty simple to fix it to near factory luster. get out your spot putty and if you got the 3M branded one slowly but surely apply the big bottle onto the car. I used a popsicle stick and by using small THIN layers I basically painted the putty into the cracks and crevices. once you are done, use small amounts of the sealant to the overall mix. let it dry, it should only take about 10 mins, then sand it with the 400 grit paper so that the surface is flush again.
Painting!
get the primer, and spray THIN layers of primer on the tire. repeat these steps as many times as you like, I found that 5 THIN coats (about half a can) was plenty to give it a good base. then get out your 400 (or 600 and higher if you want) and sand the surface down so it is smooth again. This will make the color paint hold very nicely and it'll bring out the color.
Apply the color much in the same way as primer. Use a full can here though, it'll make the car look MUCH better, fuller, and deeper. Don't sand after this step though, or you'll have to paint again*
*you can sand with high grit paper if you see any bubbles or anything, it should be paint safe. I did this my third time around
apply clear coat. 5 THIN coats (half a can) should do it. This will ensure that the shine lasts. And let me tell you, it does work!
final results
Same Tire, Same rash area
This was before I polished it, so right after the clear coat. Once you're done and you let it dry (3/4 hours should be good if it's sunny) polish them, wash them, just like you would any other day.
BONUS!
I have a bunch of things to install!
But I have ZERO time
saber conversion* Not real grill I know
H&R Race Springs
I'll take a photo with the rims on once the car is dropped.
Just so you know, I've now painted the rims 4 times Orange (wrong orange, looked bleh) black, matte gray, and bright white. I like the whites at the moment but they got way to dirty all the time, I'm back to gray and I love em!
09-20-2010, 10:19 PM
#3
Rice Patrol
Thread Starter
it did happen. on one rim. it looked like garbage so I made painted it black. I promise you, if you look at my comment history I am the biggest orange fan. As soon as I find a good looking orange engine paint I will respray the stockers in it.
The blacks looked too much like steelies and the whites just stayed dirty all the time.
Maybe if I put more clearcoat on the whites they'd stay cleaner, I really really liked the way they looked and they'd be a great contrast for my red H emblems (didn't bother putting them on the gray rims
I need to get indented H caps so I can stop ebaying 4 dollar stickers. They add up over time
The blacks looked too much like steelies and the whites just stayed dirty all the time.
Maybe if I put more clearcoat on the whites they'd stay cleaner, I really really liked the way they looked and they'd be a great contrast for my red H emblems (didn't bother putting them on the gray rims
I need to get indented H caps so I can stop ebaying 4 dollar stickers. They add up over time
09-20-2010, 10:23 PM
#4
Rice Patrol
Thread Starter
Update
I forgot to mention that the more clearcoat you use, the better chance you have against chipping. On my current iteration I used about 75% of a can and for a month now there have been zero chips on the tire.
The black one posted wasn't enough and there are plenty of chips all over the wheel
I forgot to mention that the more clearcoat you use, the better chance you have against chipping. On my current iteration I used about 75% of a can and for a month now there have been zero chips on the tire.
The black one posted wasn't enough and there are plenty of chips all over the wheel
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05-24-2011, 06:29 PM
#8
Rice Patrol
Thread Starter
^hey man, they're thumbnails if you click them they'll get to the right size.
and if you have two afternoons on like a nice weekend you can do this to your DD, my TL is my DD as well and that's when I got it done!
My rims are white now (check my other threads) but seriously if you have 99-01 rims they look good in most any color
and if you have two afternoons on like a nice weekend you can do this to your DD, my TL is my DD as well and that's when I got it done!
My rims are white now (check my other threads) but seriously if you have 99-01 rims they look good in most any color
05-24-2011, 11:38 PM
#11
Rice Patrol
Thread Starter
sure man,
it's by 3M and it's called spot putty. It's basically body filler and should be treated as such, just on a smaller scale.
All I did was smear the putty into the rashes and before I sanded it down I added the little tube (red stuff, it was a year ago sorry) mixed into one final layer of putty, this sealed the putty so that it was water resistant and wouldn't flake off.
the spot putty comes with both tubes btw.
so when I was done, I used 400 grit paper to sand it smooth with the rest of the rim and then painted in primer viola! as the final photo shows, there isn't anymore curb rash and as my before photos show, there was ALOT!
lemme know if you have more questions
it's by 3M and it's called spot putty. It's basically body filler and should be treated as such, just on a smaller scale.
All I did was smear the putty into the rashes and before I sanded it down I added the little tube (red stuff, it was a year ago sorry) mixed into one final layer of putty, this sealed the putty so that it was water resistant and wouldn't flake off.
the spot putty comes with both tubes btw.
so when I was done, I used 400 grit paper to sand it smooth with the rest of the rim and then painted in primer viola! as the final photo shows, there isn't anymore curb rash and as my before photos show, there was ALOT!
lemme know if you have more questions
05-25-2011, 12:01 AM
#12
my TL is satin silver and i've been dying to paint my rims...but i have no idea what color to paint them. i was thinking about taking the A off them and painting them gun metal or black, would those look alright?
05-25-2011, 09:09 AM
#13
Rice Patrol
Thread Starter
^It's all up to personal preference and trial and error man
I don't run center caps anymore, though I don't agree with color choices being limited for your ride.
better question, are you dropped? I can't tell from your avatar. If you're dropped you have a whole slew of colors that would look sweet with SSM (everything from neons to flat colors)
If you're not dropped I suggest you get duplicolor rim paint (decent stuff) and stick to a neutral dark or light silver painted color. TLs without a drop look very ricey if stock rims are something outlandish
I don't run center caps anymore, though I don't agree with color choices being limited for your ride.
better question, are you dropped? I can't tell from your avatar. If you're dropped you have a whole slew of colors that would look sweet with SSM (everything from neons to flat colors)
If you're not dropped I suggest you get duplicolor rim paint (decent stuff) and stick to a neutral dark or light silver painted color. TLs without a drop look very ricey if stock rims are something outlandish
05-25-2011, 09:47 AM
#15
thanks.. is it this?
so many look alike..which one?
http://3mcollision.com/products/fillers-and-glaze/putty
so many look alike..which one?
http://3mcollision.com/products/fillers-and-glaze/putty
Last edited by JterrorC; 05-25-2011 at 09:52 AM.
05-25-2011, 12:48 PM
#16
Rice Patrol
Thread Starter
thanks.. is it this?
so many look alike..which one?
http://3mcollision.com/products/fillers-and-glaze/putty
so many look alike..which one?
http://3mcollision.com/products/fillers-and-glaze/putty
05-26-2011, 01:17 AM
#19
Rice Patrol
Thread Starter
paint is up to you.
make sure it's a color you want and is rated for high heat (500 degrees)
super red is the putty you want
and I don't know what carb cleaner is but i'm assuming it's a type of paint stripper. if you've never painted them before you're going to want to use aircraft stripper or something of the like to remove as much as the brushed aluminum look off as possible before you sand and putty and primer
make sure it's a color you want and is rated for high heat (500 degrees)
super red is the putty you want
and I don't know what carb cleaner is but i'm assuming it's a type of paint stripper. if you've never painted them before you're going to want to use aircraft stripper or something of the like to remove as much as the brushed aluminum look off as possible before you sand and putty and primer
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