I just purchased my 97 GSX and dont quite have the money right now for a new set of wheels so I decided to give the stock 17s a "face lift". Painting the factory wheels.
NOTE1: this can also be done with other factory wheels and aftermarket wheels.
NOTE2: do this on a warm day so the paint can try and give yourself plenty of time for the paint to dry.
MATERIALS:
-Your wheels of course
-Paint( I used the hi-temp wheel paint that is sold at autozones and walmarts)
-Clear coat(same hi-temp stuff but in clear)
-masking tape
-newspaper
-brillo pad
PROCIDURE:
1. Remove the wheels from the car and clean all the dirt off them using soap and water.
Note: some people like to use paint remover to take the factory paint off the wheels first but I decided not to go this route(you can do this by using aircraft paint remover and spraying it on and then powerwashing the paint flakes off)
2. Lay a bunch of newspaper down on the ground so you dont get paint on the floor and place the wheel on top of it.
3. Now take the masking tape and mask off the part being painted from the wheel, or in this case the polished lip by sliding the tape between the lip and rim.
4. Next cover the rest of the tire up with newspaper so that nothing is showing but the part of the rim which will be painted.
5. Now give the wheel a nice light coat of primer and let dry.
6. After the primer is dry you can begin coating the wheel with the actual paint. I chose the graphite but you can use any color you would like. I did 4 coats just to be safe but 3 should be enough.
7. After the 3 or 4 coats of the paint, grab the clear coat and put a coat of that on within 30 minutes of the last coat. I did 2 coats of clear and let dry.
8. After about 20 mins go ahead and remove the newspaper and tape as Ive found if you wait for the paint to dry, it tends to want to peel the paint back off the wheel with the newspaper so pull it off while the paint is still a little wet.
9. Now you are done, put the wheels back on the car and admire!
Yeh yeh, the car is extremely dirty and you can punch me for that wheelgap, but I assure you, it will get taken care of :)
Now you have a much better looking set of wheels for only about $20. Great for the winter or, if your like me, a poor college kid.
feel free to ask me questions or post comments
insaneryda86 at hotmail dot com
