DIY: Painting Wheels

[986 Girl]

Originally Posted by shaman1204

Instead of masking the tires with tape and garbage bags, it is possible to stick over sized index cards that are overlapped in between the rim and the tire. Then just lay a towel or rag over the rubber to protect from any overspray. Just don't remove them until the paint is dry.

I have heard of the index card method, but didn't like it because... well... the card is straight and the tire curves. And I wanted a way to protect the tires that was a little more "stable" then just some stuck in cards. This way I could leave them outside, not worrying about if they moved or came out, etc.

And I suppose the towel/rag would work, but might as well use disposable garbage bags for a lower cost!

Edit: And yes, I already watch Jericho... GREAT series.

Edit #2: And as for my center caps... I didn't know HOW to go about painting those while still having them look nice (they aren't colored). So I opted to just run my wheels without, that way I don't have to paint them. Weight reduction

[shaman1204]

I have considered doing this for my winter wheels. Do you think that the filler primer would fill in the spaces where my clear coat has cracked off the rims? It's not a huge section, just a few square inch sections on like two wheels.

[986 Girl]

Originally Posted by shaman1204

I have considered doing this for my winter wheels. Do you think that the filler primer would fill in the spaces where my clear coat has cracked off the rims? It's not a huge section, just a few square inch sections on like two wheels.

Oh yeah, a couple coats of the primer should fill it in just fine based on what I've seen from this project.

Disclaimer: I make no guarantees about this though, and remember, this is my first time ever doing this!

[djomlas]

wow you did a good job, looks very nice, they would look so sweet if they were black or blue on the inside to match the car color.
you did a great job cleaning them.

btw, with index cards, when you stick them in between, they hold pretty damn good, they will definitely not move during the process, even under the pressure of air in the cans

i painted numerous sets of wheels, and the 1st time we did it we actually took off all the paint and clearcoat (will never do that in my life again, i think it took us 4 days of trying to get all that crap off with every kind of paint remover), and then we did some with blue tape like you did, worked great, but then just few moneths ago i did my sisters wheels in black on her eclipse, and used the oversized index cards (worked great, took about 2 minutes to line them all up) and protect the tires with a bag, and spray away.

[986 Girl]

Originally Posted by djomlas

wow you did a good job, looks very nice, they would look so sweet if they were black or blue on the inside to match the car color.
you did a great job cleaning them.

btw, with index cards, when you stick them in between, they hold pretty damn good, they will definitely not move during the process, even under the pressure of air in the cans

i painted numerous sets of wheels, and the 1st time we did it we actually took off all the paint and clearcoat (will never do that in my life again, i think it took us 4 days of trying to get all that crap off with every kind of paint remover), and then we did some with blue tape like you did, worked great, but then just few moneths ago i did my sisters wheels in black on her eclipse, and used the oversized index cards (worked great, took about 2 minutes to line them all up) and protect the tires with a bag, and spray away.

Thanks djomlas! I have started to consider painting the barrel pink... but I didn't have enough paint to do it this time around. Maybe later in the summer if I get the itch to do some more work, haha.

Good to know about index cards, especially from someone who has actually done it before!

[djomlas]

trust me, i painted BRAND SPANKING NEW wheels and tires with index cards, so thats as 'dangerous' as it kinda gets.
they turned out great tho.