Problem painting wheels (duplicolor wheel paint)

[azzinine1]

I'm painting my stock 2gb gst wheels graphite with a polished lip. I took a lot of time preparing them, stripping the stock paint, and polishing. I applied the duplicolor wheel paint graphite in light coats. It came out very rough in texture and almost seemed to just rub off of the wheel. I then applied duplicolor wheel clear coat onto the wheel. The same texture resulted and still seemed to just rub off. Is there something I am doing wrong? Is primer really that important?

 

[ddavisaf]

sandblasting is. Rims are COVERED in all sorts of things better left unsaid. blast 'em and you'll notice a huge difference. Primer simply allows paint to stick better to something and helps with a uniform color coat.

 

[azzinine1]

well the color is fine. there was the stock silver paint on it before, and we stripped it off with aircraft stripped and a pressure washer, then wiped it down good. Why would the paint be such a grainy texture and seem to wipe off?

 

[mavisky]

I have a semi-rough finish on my dupli-color painted rims, but it doesn't rub off, that's for sure. I cleaned mine then scuffed every inch of each wheel with green dish washing pads to rough the surface up and get every last bit off.

 

[ddavisaf]

It's the stripper. That stuff is no joke. I used it on a valve cover then ran it through a parts washer a couple of times to make sure I got it all off.

 

[splattj]

Yeah, there has to be some chemical reaction from the stripper that is continuing to react with the paint. Read the stripper instructions to find out how to neutralize it. Even then, I would take the time to use a proper primer. Wurth makes a primer for wheels.

 

[Zero Bar]

Sounds like the stripper. I used the engine enamel paint for my wheels which works best applied in thick coats. Definiteley primer the wheels first, it fills in any imperfections on the wheel and the paint will stick better to it.

 

[scirio]

,,,polishing. I applied the duplicolor wheel paint

Theres your problem right there. Your're shooting a polished surface with paint. you should rough it out a bit then shoot primer then the color you want. sand the primer and the colored coat should be relatively smooth (for rattle can)

 

[96whgsx]

Theres your problem right there. Your're shooting a polished surface with paint. you should rough it out a bit then shoot primer then the color you want. sand the primer and the colored coat should be relatively smooth (for rattle can)

I think he was talking about the lip part, right? Also, if some of the stripper is still on the wheel, wouldn't the paint start to bubble up? I can see if there is a resedue left behind and how it can kind of kill the adhesion. Also, how long did you let it cure before you started to rub the paint off?

 

[AdoreGSX]

about 8 hours before I tried.

thanks guys...i'm gonna ride on them for a few days, then give it another go. I worked SOOO hard on these things.

Edit: How should I go about clear coating over the polished aluminum lip?

 

[96whgsx]

How hot was it when you sprayed the wheels? I read somewhere on duplicolor or some other site that it's possible that the paint actually dries midair before it hits the surface, leaving a textured feel. This could also kill the adhesion too.

Also, is the clearcoat coming off of the basecoat?

I think clear coats over a polished lip are not recommended because the surface will be very slick from the polishing and the paint will not adhere well. Besides, if you don't clear over it and if it gets tarnished, just bring out the polish.

 

[azzinine1]

the theory of it drying before it reached the rim might be true...it was really hot out when we sprayed them. They seem to be holding up fine, so far anyway, they are just flat looking instead of glossy and im afraid to try and wash them. If it doesnt hold up ill just strip them down and do it again, making sure to get all the stripper off and maybe not so hot out. Thanks for the help!

 

[Mike1992]

I did this about a year ago on a set of 2g 5-spokes and didnt have any problems. I used the aircraft stripper 2-3 times on each individual wheel to get all the paint off. I then went over the entire rim with S.O.S. pads and cleaned all the excess crap and residue off. Painted each rim twice with engine paint with the lip taped off then pulled the tape and clear coated the entire rim twice. I recommend not clearing the lip, i had a really nice chromelike lip but then clear coated it and it turned silverish and was only shiny in the right light.

SOS pads my friend they clean and scuff the surface at the same time. White car in my sig

 

[ddavisaf]

Alright, step by step.

1 Apply the stripper and follow directions accordingly.
2 After you've removed majority of the stripper then run the rims through some kind of pressure washer to make sure there is nothing left on the rims.
3. Sand the rims to scratch up the surface. Do not gouge the rims, just enough to make sure that paint will stick.
4 wash the rims again to make sure no foriegn material is still on the rims and let dry.
5 primer the rims
6 spray the rims. I won't go into detail about how to paint unless you post back telling me to.
7 allow enough time for the paint to dry minimum of 4 hours. Then spray clear coat on it if you so desire to (recommended)

 

[talonfromtenn]

A good idea to do after the paint has been sprayed...give it time to lose it's shine, and set the rims outside in the sun-the heat will help bake the paint. After you let them bake a few hours you will get a smoother look if you color sand before the clear. Then repeat for the clear coat. be sure to wet sand and buff the clear when done....the rims will look better than the paint on the car if you did it right!

 

[papapowder]

I painted my stock audi wheels and it turned out better than expected. Ive attatched some photos below but im not sure how to view them. please tell me what you think. The "before" wheel in the pictures is another wheel on the car I have not painted yet, but the damage was very similar on all the wheels so its still a good comparison.

I read a few other threads of ppl doing this and most of them said that the paint job is only as good as the prep work you do for it. So I sanded off all the old paint and then got all the dust off after the sanding. You want to be sure it has no dust left on it or the primer won't work as well. I then gave it a few thin coats of dupicolor sandable primer and used a P400 so get out all the little dings and dents to make an even surface and then i used a 2000 grit for clearcoats to really polish that surface down. I then used a dulpli color gunmetal or dark silver color wheel coating. When painting i would be sure to stay far enough away to lay down an even, thin coat and constantly move around the wheel to get every nook. I waited 15 min between coats. I did 3 or 4 coats of color but they say you only need 2 or 3. I then let the paint dry for a few days and then sanded with the 2000 clear coat paper lightly to make sure the surface was readyfor the clear coat. Again, before painting I made sure all the dust was off by using a clean microfiber cloth. I got all the dust off and started the clear coats. Same spray strokes as with the color except i did 4 regular coats and then sanded with the 2000 grit paper and then did one more heavy coat and let that dry for a few days then sanded one last time and the wheels are done. In some of the pics it looks gritty but thats just the color finish they are very smooth. and also you can see some orange peel texture in some too but still extremely smooth to the touch and looks perfectly smooth unless your really close.

 

[10fold]

I had the same exact problem last summer when I painted mine. I went with the satin black followed by a light coat of the graphite to give it a little something different. The saying "the paint job is only as good as the prep" definitely holds true, but wasn't the case. I prepped my wheels for 3 days before I started painting them and had that same powdery finish that flaked off when you touched it, even after I put clear coat on.

I think it had something to do with the paint itself honestly. I talked to the guy at the parts shop I bought the paint from and he game me some other black to use (forgot the name of the stuff but I think it was made by VHT which I believe is a branch of Dupli-Color). Anyway, the guy told me to re-strip the wheels and start over from bare metal again. Now, me being pissed off after all the hard work, didn't want to do that, so I just did a scuff and spray (making sure to get all the clear coat off of course) and they turned out much better. I did take some pictures of when my wheels were flaky, but you can't really tell just by looking at them. It was something you needed to see in person.

My advice is try a different brand of paint. Something about the Dupli-Color wheel paint just seems to not come out right.

 

[Calan]

My advice is try a different brand of paint. Something about the Dupli-Color wheel paint just seems to not come out right.

I have to disagree. I used Duplicolor satin black, with graphite for the lips. The plastic Eagle center caps were painted with the same graphite and the engraved eagle was then painted with Testors gloss black enamel. Once dry, everything was coated with 3 coats of Duplicolor clear.

I used at least 3-4 applications of Aircraft remover (does it really remove airplanes?), followed by several cycles of washing with Simple Green and rinsing thoroughly. I then used 2 coats of Duplicolor black sandable primer, sanding between each coat.

So far, the wheels look great and the finish seems to be rock hard.

And... holy thread revival!