Best Paint to Use on Wheels

[DeMaroE46]

Whats up! I have a set of Kosei K1's that I bought used, and the paint was shit. I cannot afford to have them powder coated or even painted, I'd prefer to do it myself, but I need to know what paint, primer, and clear to buy. I want it to look good and stay that way.

[rice4life]

I too have wondered this.

bump.

How do you plan on painting them, rattle can?

[DeMaroE46]

I too have wondered this.

bump.

How do you plan on painting them, rattle can?

That was the plan due to low budget haha

[Jesus Christ]

A lot of those baller wheels you see all over the internet are rattle canned. If you prep right, it will look good. Won't be as durable but will look good if you're good with paint.

[Oh Damn, it's Sam]

Like our lord and savior says, you can do a surprisingly good job painting something with rattle cans. If you're going for gloss, throw a few layers of clear on there and you can wet-sand it down until it looks like glass.

I did a set of VW 5-spokes a while back with just whatever Rustoleum wheel paint the local VatoZone had in stock, and they actually looked great. Shit, the right front fender on my Mercedes is rattle can from PaintScratch.com, and it looks every bit as glossy as the rest of the car.

[DeMaroE46]

A lot of those baller wheels you see all over the internet are rattle canned. If you prep right, it will look good. Won't be as durable but will look good if you're good with paint.

Yeah, I'm still sanding right now. Making them really smooth.

Like our lord and savior says, you can do a surprisingly good job painting something with rattle cans. If you're going for gloss, throw a few layers of clear on there and you can wet-sand it down until it looks like glass.

I did a set of VW 5-spokes a while back with just whatever Rustoleum wheel paint the local VatoZone had in stock, and they actually looked great. Shit, the right front fender on my Mercedes is rattle can from PaintScratch.com, and it looks every bit as glossy as the rest of the car.

From what I've read on various forums, VHT or Duplicolor are the way to go. I want to get good stuff though, because I want to do it right the first time

[rice4life]

You could try to use a two part urethane clear coat to give the wheel amazing gloss, UV protection, and a bit of rock protection too.

[KyleAnderson]

-Prep to 400 grit
-Use a quality primer. The DuPont aerosols are good
-Sand with 600 grit
-Paint. Custom-mixed or off-the-shelf, just get something quality
-2K aerosol clearcoat. It's a 2 part clear activated with a button on the bottom of the can. I've used SprayMax with good results.

So... prep and quality materials are the key here.

[DeMaroE46]

You could try to use a two part urethane clear coat to give the wheel amazing gloss, UV protection, and a bit of rock protection too.

hmm... I'll look into it. Thanks!

-Prep to 400 grit
-Use a quality primer. The DuPont aerosols are good
-Sand with 600 grit
-Paint. Custom-mixed or off-the-shelf, just get something quality
-2K aerosol clearcoat. It's a 2 part clear activated with a button on the bottom of the can. I've used SprayMax with good results.

So... prep and quality materials are the key here.

Yeah, I'm gonna paint them pretty soon. I have sanded with 320 grit then 400 grit, Next is primer than I'll sand with 600 grit. Thanks for the advice! I'm going to buy the primer, paint, and clear tomorrow.

[slocar]

I painted my DS2s with regular Duplicolor paint and then cleared them with Duplicolor wheel clear ... been about 4 years. One did get scuffed a little during a tire dismount, but it is a rattle can job so I never expected it to hold up perfect anyway.

[rice4life]

-Prep to 400 grit
-Use a quality primer. The DuPont aerosols are good
-Sand with 600 grit
-Paint. Custom-mixed or off-the-shelf, just get something quality
-2K aerosol clearcoat. It's a 2 part clear activated with a button on the bottom of the can. I've used SprayMax with good results.

So... prep and quality materials are the key here.

Will painting over powdercoat make a difference if I don't remove it all, and should I fill serious curb rash with bondo?

Sorry OP, I have questions like you do, and am collecting wheel refurbishing supplies too atm.

[DeMaroE46]

I painted my DS2s with regular Duplicolor paint and then cleared them with Duplicolor wheel clear ... been about 4 years. One did get scuffed a little during a tire dismount, but it is a rattle can job so I never expected it to hold up perfect anyway.

I've heard Duplicolor and VHT are the way to go.

Will painting over powdercoat make a difference if I don't remove it all, and should I fill serious curb rash with bondo?

Sorry OP, I have questions like you do, and am collecting wheel refurbishing supplies too atm.

It's all good! Pretty much what this thread is for.

[KyleAnderson]

Will painting over powdercoat make a difference if I don't remove it all, and should I fill serious curb rash with bondo?

Sorry OP, I have questions like you do, and am collecting wheel refurbishing supplies too atm.

As long as it isn't flaking off, it's fine. Powdercoat is plastic, so it won't cause any reactions with paint.

Don't use body filler to fill curb rash. It's brittle and likely to break off, especially when mounting a tire. JB Weld will hold up much better.

[Queef|Chief]

I personally have done this:

1. Sand wheels down to metal
2. spray a couple coats of etching primer
3. Automotive paint like Dupont and Nason works well and is strong
(Even rattle can works, but idk if it lasts.
4. Do about 3-4 coats
5. Few clear coats if you'd like
6. BAM! Painted wheels

Hope this helps lol