Repainting rims

[firstdiesel]

I read a post a few days ago about repainting Bundt style rims. If I don't have access to a glass bead blaster, what is the best way to sand the rim before paint? More specifically, what type of sand paper would work the best?

Thanks all

Todd

[JHZR2]

Hi,

From this post (I didnt go back to read the old one), I dont know if youre taking the tires off, etc. I bought a set of BBS 'basketweave' wheels for my BMW and redid them over the winter, so I had a set of original steel winter rims, and then the BBS wheels for my summer tires.

I started off by taking off the tires and all wheelweights. These wheels were a great deal to me because I got them for 1/4 of the going price. The problem was, they had brake dust baked onto the wheels. Even using a wire brush didnt work, some areas needed a light touch of a screwdriver after soaking in wheel cleaner.

My advice is as follows, its what I did, and my wheels came out really nice.

If there is HEAVY brake dust buildup, that essentially comes off in flakes, rather than a pasty wash-off, use a very soft wire brush to get off the worst stuff.

Go over normal brakedust/wheel surface with a red scotchbrite pad. Fine steel wool will work in a pinch as well. Use a regular OTC wheel cleaner as a solvent, and allow it to soak into the bust overnight the first time. Do both the wheel outer surface, as well as the inside, which may require going back to the wire brush method.

After the paint is clean of brakedust, begin sanding. I used the 3M automotive grade sanding paper that was goods for wet and dry sanding. Go from an 800 to a 1600 then finally a 2000 grit paper. Be sure to keep the paper very wet. The finished product will be a surface that is not scratchy, but rather very dull to the touch (if you drag your finger on it, there will be a lot of friction and itll feel kind of funny)

At this point you need to decide if youre going to paint the inside of the wheel. I dont see any reason to, although it is smart to get it as clean as possible anyway.

After sanding of the outer wheel surface is finished, wash the wheel down. My preferred method was to use a large 5 gallon bucket of water, and some paper towels. Wet a towel, and go over the surface. Dip the towel into the bucket to remove some dust, and vary the paper towel surface often. Youll see the very fine dust coming off as you do this. Repeat until a clean finger reveals no dust, then do it once more (youll probably go over it 3-4 times). Doing it this way ensures that every crevice is thuroughly cleaned.

Allow wheels to thuroughly dry

I chose duplicolor performance wheel coating. It seemed to be the best deal as a wheel paint, and a lot of people in the BMW circles werent all that impressed with the wurth wheel paint which is typically preferred for german wheels. Id suggest 2-3 cans of the silver, and 1-2 cans of the clear. Be sure to get the 'performance' wheel paint, as there is a very similar duplicolor product what is just 'wheel paint' and isnt as good.

Do the wheels, allowing 1 hour per coat. For my wheels, some of which were badly faded down to the basecoat, three coats of the silver worked great. Hold the can 12-16 inches from the wheel, move quickly but be sure that all surfaces get a light coat. For alternating coats, make sure the direction in which you spray is changed 90 degrees.

Follow the directions for the clearcoat (I believe it states that the clear needs to be done at 2 hours after your last paint coat). Two coats applied at 90 degrees to each other works fine.

Allow the wheels to sit, preferably at least a week, but at minimum two days. I have heard from the BMW circles that sometimes even after the paint is dry to the touch, there is enough dynamic force from riding on the wheels to cause the paint to start to crack or show stress lines. A nice long slow dry/cure is the only solution to this.

Mount tires, preferably have the wheels balanced from the rear

Mount onto the ar and enjoy.

I hope this helps, this method turned out really wonderfully on my BMW wheels, which are a much more complex surface to prep and paint. These should chome out even better.

JMH

[firstdiesel]

JHZ,

What can I say?! That information is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks

Todd