Well not too long ago, after seeing another members stock 5 spoke rims painted, I decided I would take on the task. In order to do that, I had to private message the member since I didn't know the steps necessary, or the products I should use. Since I have taken on the task, I have recieved many private messages requesting the very same information I once asked. I figured it would be much easier and a great help to go ahead and list the information and steps here.

Products needed:

2 cans of Aircraft removerc (paint stripper)
Old shirts, or something to wipe with.
2 cans of Duplicolor primer paint.
2 cans of the color of your choice of Duplicolor paint.(Gold Engine Enamel, in my case.)
2 cans of clear coat.
Masking tape.

Step 1: Stripping the original finish



Spray the aircraft remover all over the wheel and let it sit. Give it about 5 minutes to eat away at the original finish of the wheel. Remember that the finish on the wheel has been there 5-10 years now, so it’s not going to come off too easy.

This wheel has been sprayed with aircraft remover. The paint is being eaten off of the surface.


Once the Aircraft Remover has set, go ahead and use whatever you have to wipe it off. You will have to repeat this process quite a few times to get all of the finish off. Like I said, it’s been baked on over the years.

When using the aircraft remover, or whatever paint stripper you use, be sure to cover any open wounds on your hands. If the stripper gets in them, it will burn. If any of the stripper gets on your hands and rests there it will begin to burn. DO NOT wash it off, that will only cause the burning to increase. Apply pressure with a dry rag.

Once the original finish is stripped off, go ahead and get some sand paper to get all of the rough edges out that you couldn’t get with the paint stripper. Don’t worry about scuffing up the shiny surface of the wheel, since you will be painting over it.

When through, it should look somewhat like this.



Step 2: Tape off the lip

Now that the wheel is all ready to be painted, you need to tape off the lip. This is one of the easiest yet time consuming processes. The hardest part in this step is getting it even across the edge of the lip. Just get some masking tape and do your thing.



Step 3: Paint

When painting, be sure to apply multiple light coats of paint. Otherwise you will end up with runs. And nobody likes having the runs!

Now that you’re all taped off and prepped, you’re ready for paint. First you want to apply a few coats of primer.

When applying the primer, do it in a few, light coats. Allow 2-3 minutes in between coats to allow the paint to become sort of tacky, so the next coat will stick better. I recommend applying 3 coats. Be sure to get the sides of the spokes with the primer as well.



Once you’re primed, go ahead and give the paint a good 30 minutes to dry.

When the 30 minutes has passed grab the can of paint of your choice. The same rules for applying primer apply here. 2-3 minutes in between coats, 30 minutes before adding the clear-coat. Again the same rules apply with clear coat. 2-3 minutes in between coats. However when finished. I recommend allowing the rims to sit over night so the paint can fully dry.

Here’s the finished product I came out with last night.




Goodluck to all who gives this a shot. It's not that hard, just takes time. I hope this write-up helps and provides alot of information other write-ups have lacked.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask me.