Mikepol2
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- Mike
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I have a set of base 5-spoke wheels that I use for winter with all-seasons but didn't like the dark gray finish against my silver car so I painted them gloss black and am really happy with the results.
First, obviously, clean the wheels with wheel cleaner and let them totally dry.
The trick is how to keep paint off the machined lip. I used green painter's tape, a fine cut half-round file, and a hobby knife to mask off the lip. Start at the valve stem and cover the lip and tire with tape, it took 6 pieces to get around the edge. Keeping a tape V at the stem makes it easier to trim. Then use 2 more layers of tape to cover the tire. (Took this pic before adding the outer layer of tape, and didn't have a tape V at the stem.)
Now using the round side of the file, gently "rub" the tape away along the lip, pushing only inwards towards the center of the wheel. It's hard because there's not a lot of slope at the lip. Use the knife to make a cut along the side of each spoke so the tape can fold inwards with the pressure of the file. There's not enough room to do this at each spoke so you have to use the hobby knife to very carefully freehand the cut along the edge of the lip. It's really hard because the knife keeps wanting to fall off the edge so go slow. Then tape off the valve stem. Took about 90 minutes to mask them off.
The filing will create tape dust so I used a detailing brush to brush it away, then wiped the surfaces with CarPro Eraser surface prep. You can probably just use isopropyl alcohol too. One coat of primer and two coats of plain old Dupli-Color gloss black wheel paint. Perfect day today for painting, mid-60's with low humidity and hardly any breeze, then sun to dry quickly.
I'm pretty thrilled with the results, the lip edge was a lot cleaner than I expected. Now I won't be dreading taking off the summer wheels quite as much!
First, obviously, clean the wheels with wheel cleaner and let them totally dry.
The trick is how to keep paint off the machined lip. I used green painter's tape, a fine cut half-round file, and a hobby knife to mask off the lip. Start at the valve stem and cover the lip and tire with tape, it took 6 pieces to get around the edge. Keeping a tape V at the stem makes it easier to trim. Then use 2 more layers of tape to cover the tire. (Took this pic before adding the outer layer of tape, and didn't have a tape V at the stem.)
Now using the round side of the file, gently "rub" the tape away along the lip, pushing only inwards towards the center of the wheel. It's hard because there's not a lot of slope at the lip. Use the knife to make a cut along the side of each spoke so the tape can fold inwards with the pressure of the file. There's not enough room to do this at each spoke so you have to use the hobby knife to very carefully freehand the cut along the edge of the lip. It's really hard because the knife keeps wanting to fall off the edge so go slow. Then tape off the valve stem. Took about 90 minutes to mask them off.
The filing will create tape dust so I used a detailing brush to brush it away, then wiped the surfaces with CarPro Eraser surface prep. You can probably just use isopropyl alcohol too. One coat of primer and two coats of plain old Dupli-Color gloss black wheel paint. Perfect day today for painting, mid-60's with low humidity and hardly any breeze, then sun to dry quickly.
I'm pretty thrilled with the results, the lip edge was a lot cleaner than I expected. Now I won't be dreading taking off the summer wheels quite as much!
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