Originally posted by RoninEclipse2GOriginally posted by dalesmitsu Question for those that have done this. How many cans of engine paint and engine clear coat to repaint my stock wheels. They're the 16inch five spoke and I'm repainting them black. Also, should I sand them and prime them, reason is because the center is shown some rust and some curb rash.
rust will be from your hubs or the spring clip that holds your center cap in place, not the wheels themselves. last time I painted wheels I started off by cleaning the SHIT out of them with a red scotch brite pad and various cleaners (bleche white, simple green, etc.) it's best to take the tires off and remove the valve stems, weights and such, but if you don't have access to a tire machine to do all this you can tape off the unpainted bits. I would still remove the weights and the centercap just to make sure that you don't get chipping when you get your tires done (and have a stupid looking unpainted spot) after you've cleaned them to looking cleaner than new, scuff all the smooth surfaces with some 600-800 grit sandpaper. wet sanding will work best. rinse and dry your wheels. compressed air really helps get the water out of the cracks. get some alcohol and wipe them down with something that won't leave lint. I prefer blue shop towels.
DO NOT use any towels that have been through your dryer with any kind of fabric softener or dryer sheets! these contain silicon and will leave nasty fish eyes all over your paint job!!! finally you're on to paint!!! I prefer the duplicolor wheel paint for ease of use, but you can use engine paint if you are willing to throw the wheels in the oven and bake it on (which is actually stronger) I bought 5 cans of color and 5 cans of clear, 1 can per wheel of each and just a little extra for touchups and such. start with light dusting coats of the color to give things a layer to stick to and then paint as you would normally. I like to start with the backside of the wheel so that I can get a feel for the paint and how it sprays without screwing up the part that the world will see. the best thing to remember is that when you're painting, STOP
before you think you've got enough paint on. you can always come back and add more later. this will prevent drips and runs. once the color is done, spray on your clear just like the color but be even more wary of drips and runs since it's harder to see. at this point if you used engine paint and you've taken off the tire, valve stem, weight and centercap you can throw those bad boys in your home oven to bake the paint in place. Baked engine paint is almost as tough as powdercoating as far as being chip and chemical resistant. if you don't bake it, the first tim you hit it with brakleen or acidic wheel cleaner it'll come right off (this does not count for the wheel paint, just engine paint) different engine paint manufacturers have different specs on how long it needs to bake, and at what temp so read your directions carefully when I repaint my EVO 8 wheels I'll do a WIKI write up
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