UNC96XJ

Sooo... i was thinking about maybe painting my stock rims with the Duplicolor Wheel Paint - Graphite. I am still uncertain on it. I have tried searching for a ABP TL with a darker style wheels. I am just not sure if the Duplicolor Graphite is too dark.

I want to do a color/shade similar to the A-Spec 18" Gunmetal. I am just not sure if the Duplicolor Graphite is too dark.

I did a little teaser with photoshop. The wheels are from h2point2 TL, so it is the correct color, just in the wrong lighting..



And the original...




Tell me what you guys think.

***Oh yeah the front grill has been photoshopped darker as well as the fog lights have been photshopped in, just to get an idea..**

TheDanger

i like the wheels that color but unsure about the grill. the fogs are huge improvement.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

I like the wheels and the fogs. My suggestion is to leave the grill original so everything isn't so dark.

sherker55

I did my wheels that dark, and they look sick. I would do the grill too if I were you, looks stealthy!

scrim

i do like the wheels but if you do the grill i would do it the same color as the car.

bigmoetl1

same color as car for grill wheel color is good i think i might do the same

UNC96XJ

Yeah the color of the wheel has grown on me. I will end up probably painting the wheels myself.

A friend just informed me that he knows of a place in Anderson, SC that powdercoats wheels for like $13-14 a wheel. I will have to verify this place but could be well worth it.

enigmaos

iTrader: (4)

$13-$14 a wheel? Usually it's around $100-200 a wheel.

myron

iTrader: (4)

I like the way it looks with darker wheels but I like stock better. Fogs are definitely good

AMUA6

iTrader: (7)

I actually like them, now that I've seen what they'll look like on the car! Go for it bro, if all else fails and you don't like; it's only paint

UNC96XJ

Well finally got around to painting the wheels. Here is a teaser pic. It started to rain here in NC so gotta wait to finish the rest!

ABP_04TL

iTrader: (2)

heres my ABP i think the best look IMO for the ABP is the aftermath
Da beginning


Aftermath




heres my boy carlos ABP


u decided dark... which is not bad, but i like the chrome accent

UNC96XJ

Yeah they look pretty dark in the garage. Im anxious to see what it will look like out in the sunlight.

Your TL is looking good tho. I would have liked to have gotten some gunmetal A-Specs like your boy, but in terms of funds this was my only alternative.

Just a little something to set me apart from all the other stock TL on the road.

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Damn those look good! Nicely done!

I hope this rain goes away soon so you can take some pictures out in the sun

UNC96XJ

Thanks, definitely takes a lot of prep work and patience! Its all worth it in the end.

Rain should clear up tomorrow and i should be able to finish it up.

rossv1

They look
Did you just spraypaint them?

UNC96XJ

Nope, they have been sitting for about 24hrs now. When picture was taken they had their last clear coat like 7hrs prior.

VQPower37

the graphite looks good ... giving me ideas for my wheels

1SickTL06

Just make sure you do a couple of clears and let dry really good so you don't get chipping later on!! Looks good!

UNC96XJ

Yeah the wheel you see has 4 coats of clear, 2 light 2 medium.. plan on doing that for all of them. I also plan on letting the wheels sit for a couple days before i drive around on them. Glad i have a 2nd vehicle.

youngwhon

ive been wanting to paint my wheels like this... hopefully ill be able to soon. looks good man.

UNC96XJ

OK finally had some time to take some better pictures!

















Overall, I am pretty happy with the end result. I was very skeptical about the color. I was afraid the Duplicolor Graphite was going to be too dark but i am glad now they are darker or else it would have been to subtle of a change. At night they do look black, they look mean too!

Anybody got ideas for the center caps? Thinking about a paint marker or sharpie in black? Anybody make Acura stickers that will fit?

Let me know what you guys think.

VQPower37

nice pics ... wheels do look really good IMO

why dont you spray in the acura symbol on the center cap? ... get a stencil and tape up the rest of the cap and go at it with whatever color you would like the A to be.

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Damn those look great! Nicely done

I spy an old school Benz in the garage

UNC96XJ

Thanks guys for the comments!

[quote=CLtotheTL32;12490248

I spy an old school Benz in the garage [/quote]

Haha, its a 1968 Mercedes Benz 250SL, 75k original miles, 1 owner

guitarplayer16

iTrader: (8)

They look good!

Would have left the Acura logo unpainted, though =)

Pennstater

iTrader: (2)

The Graphite looks good on the ABP - I did mine back in February and they have held up very well. The ABP seems to be a pretty rare color, especially here in Tampa. When I do see one with the stock (unpainted) rims, I think, "Wow, I'm glad I painted mine!"

Nice job!!!

blkonblk05TL

i really want to paint my stockers on my nbp but i'm worried about how the paint (the DIY rattle can) will hold up to road conditions, repetitive washes, being mounted & balanced, etc, etc..

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

OP- I like what you did.

Pennstater- make sure you come out to the next local meet in TPA. Would like to see your wheels in person.

WhiteBB2

iTrader: (1)

I to have an ABP TL...I was thinking about painting my stockers but I have been to chicken sh!t to do it! lol...

I might have to try it...

How much paint did you use and how much was it a can?

Pennstater

iTrader: (2)

@blkonblk05TL - I have had no issues with repeated washes and mountings (they have been on and off more times than I care to count). I'm not sure how they would hold up if new tires were mounted though. I painted mine right after I got new tires. The rims have about 7K miles on them and they have held up very well - better than I had expected. However, I lost to a curb about a month back - scraped about 6" of paint off the top of the lip of the rim on the front passenger side, right up against the tire. That rim/tire has since been rotated to the back.

@ggesq - the TPA meets, how are those announced? I know a group of guys got together back in June out on the Courtney Campbell Causeway and did a drive to downtown St. Pete. Is there another one of those planned, or are these meets completely different?

SRT-11

+1 for the Tampa meetup I wanna show up!

Pennstater

iTrader: (2)

@WhiteBB2 - I sprayed two coats of gray primer, three coats of color and three coats of clear per wheel. If I remember correctly, I bought three cans of primer, four cans of color (wound up returning one), and three cans of clear, with a little left over. I sprayed the inside of the rim with primer and color only - the outside of the rim received the clear coats.

I bought them at Pep Boys, but don't remember exactly how much. Advance Auto Parts also sells them for between $6 and $8 a can (at least here in Tampa) - I think Pep Boys was competitive with that.

I wet sanded the outside of the rim with 150 grit sandpaper. I then washed the rim with car wash soap and allowed it to dry. Once dried, I wiped the entire rim down with isopropyl alcohol. I then applied the primer, color, and clear.

I wound up using blue Painter's tape around the sidewalls, positioned down into the bead. I wrapped the entire tire in bulk "SaranWrap". I followed the instructions on the cans for when to apply the coats, and made sure that the outside temperature and humidity were okay (there were a few cold days where it was below the recommended temperature, so I played it safe and held off). It took me one day to do two wheels. I was driving around for a few days with two painted wheels up front and the stock color on the back).

One thing with the Dupli-color Graphite - it has little "graphite?" specks in the paint - this can overspray easily, so make sure you are in a well ventilated area and have nothing you don't want this stuff on around you. Its almost like a dust that can wipe off (thank goodness). I also found on the first wheel that this dust is on the wheel itself. So after my clear coats dried, certain parts of the wheel had a gritty, almost sandpaper like feel to it. You can't see it, but you can feel it. For the remaining wheels, I used a soft, clean cloth and wiped the graphite paint when it was dry and ready for the next coat. I could see the graphite "dust" on the cloth! When I did this, the finish came out nice and smooth.

I mentioned that there are about 7K miles on the rims since they were painted, but neglected to mention the time - it will be one year since I painted them come the beginning of February.

If you take your time and prep the wheels well, you should be very pleased with the results. Go for it!!!