The wheels on my wifes '85 300D looked pretty bad. i figured I had nothing to loose so I bought a can of silver wheel paint and went for it.

They turned out pretty nice! I don't think they are as nice as the results you might expect from a pro, but they look much better.

For anyone interested,
1. Cleaned both sides of the wheel with Eagle One A-Z cleaner.
2. Wet sanded with 400 grit sandpaper.
3. Dried off wheel, used bicycle pump to blow water from crevases.
4. Cut some poster board in 6" strips and taped together, end to end to make a shield.
5. Insert poster board between rim edge and tire bead, place rags over tire to prevent overspray.
6. Spray hub, then cap, then rim and finally middle (egg carton)
7. Poke holes in a box and insert lug bolts, spray.
8. 2-3 light wet coats of silver then 2 coats of clear.

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Mr. BILL

91 300E 120K
90 300SE 275K (sold)
92 BMW 525iM 120K
90 BMW 525iA 175K
85 300D 175K (sold)
84 300SD 245K (sold)

Well done!

I would have done the same, but my wheels have partial chrome. I was quite keen to paint the engine bay - but haven't mustered the energy to do so.

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... Kerry

126 tailed by a 203, 129 leading the pack.

I was thinking about painting my wheels but people have told me that the paint will peel off after a couple of weeks. How are your wheels holding up? Has the paint chipped or peeled off?

No peeling yet, good preparation will help the finish to hold up. Either way, they look better than before.

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Mr. BILL

91 300E 120K
90 300SE 275K (sold)
92 BMW 525iM 120K
90 BMW 525iA 175K
85 300D 175K (sold)
84 300SD 245K (sold)

Good job.

Two of my wheels are flaking and the paint guy told me to take it to a professional wheel shop. Est. cost : $200 / wheel.

Proper prep work will ensure a long lasting paint finish.

Unfortunately, wheels are subject to a lot of abuse from kicked up debris, gravel, etc. Even a good paint effort will eventually get pitted.

The solution is powdercoating...price-wise, it's comparable (even less expensive) than painting...

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

I feel dumb saying this but what exactly is powder coating? Is it actual powder that you you put on somehow? Also, is there a special place you have to get it or can you find it at like Kmart or Autozone? One more thing... how easy is it to put on compared to spray paint?

See my other post on wheels. I too painted my wheels did the preperation, followed the directions and I thought they looked fantastic (compared to before). Sad to say, it only lasted three weeks and they started to peel. I'm lost as far as what to do next. Heellp!!!!
Larry

Powdercoating is a process that uses a special "powder" compound that bonds to the surface electrostatically with heat being the catalyst.

In other words, the paint is oven baked and melts onto the surface, making the bond far more durable than paint. Look at the metal surfaces on most office equipment (file cabinets, drawers, etc.) and most likely, those units have been powdercoated at the factory.

You can powdercoat at home (Eastman products supplies a kit), and I have done so with good results. However, you need a dedicated oven (DON'T USE THE KITCHEN OVEN!!!) and the parts you can do yourself are limited to smaller items...wheels should be done by a professional...somewhere around $125-$200 per wheel.

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

If it cost 125 to 200 dollars to powder coat each wheel, then it'd be cheaper to just buy new wheels so i guess that that's out of the question..

Griot's garage sells a kit for about sixty bucks to do four wheels. Including the basecoat to prep, silver paint and clearcoat. I've done some down and dirty paint on my sister's Altima with minimal prep (only washed with car wash) and no clearcoat. It stayed on for a couple of years before the car died. I would figure the kit would give much better results. They are on the web now...

http://www.griotsgarage.com I am sure if you follow Mr. Bill's procedure, which I will if and when I do my wheels, it will turn out excellent. For the less than $100 investment anyway.

I've been down this road, too. Here's what I did, and there has been no peeling (knock on wood). First, I used a solvent to clean the wheels. Then I wet sanded them. Used the solvent once more, just to be safe. Then used a good primer (two coats), then wheel paint. When good and dry, I waxed the wheels. They continue to look great. I think the keys to preventing the peeling are the solvent and the primer.

That is how I feel too. For that kinda price, I'd rather get a new set of wheels.

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... Kerry

126 tailed by a 203, 129 leading the pack.

After complaining to the local shop where I had seals put on my 560 Sl that my wheels had started to peel after I had painted them, he told me he could fix them. Well for $70 each wheel he power washed them, primed them and painted them Mercedes silver, clear coated them and will guarantee them not to peel.Well as of today they look great (I said this before when I did it). Time will tell.I also found out today from tthe body shop who painted the car that he could get the wheels exchanged from a source for $116 a wheel that is factory reconditioned to look and perform like new.. If after a few months I do not post anything on the wheels we'll know if it was successful.
Larry '86 560SL