Another Wheel Painting Question

[jjgrizz73]

Hey guys, I know there are tons of threads but I want to get your opinion. I just bought 18" wheels w/ tires already balanced, they are very slightly used but the owner before me did a terrible job painting because the silver paint that existed before is underneath the black. I want to completely get both the black and silver paint off and repaint black (they already have the polished lip). All I'm going to do is sand down, prime, paint, and clear coat them with alot of coats of all. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[Flash]

Take the tires off before you start—if you want to do it the right way.

 

[xveganxcowboyx]

Use a good paint stripper. Life will be hell if you try to sand them as they are.

 

[jjgrizz73]

I think I'll try it with the tires on, obviously masked on a turn table. And I saw something on here about airplane stripper which everyone has seemed to support. So I figured I'd try that, since I'll have to take off two paint jobs.

 

[whiteflash]

get a good paint stripper and make sure to wear gloves.

 

[SikRacing97GST]

Aircraft paint stripper *not cheapfyi this stuff will burn the
piss out of you if you aren't careful.
Heavy duty chemical resistant gloves
I'd even reccomend a "mask"
-Get the tires taken off
-Spray on...wait...wipe/rinse off
-look up a local place that powdercoats in the
telephone book, around here it usually runs $50/ per wheel.

It's worth it. I've tried painting my old rh cp10s 18s with the tires on but instead used cheap materials(primer,glossblack paint, clearcoat).However it did look good for a little while but keep in mind Big wheels + stock rotors + cheap material = flaking/chipping from the heat in my case. If your trying to go the cheap way out atleast try the brand-name stuff , or I've also heard of using engine enamel paint(s). Consider the powdercoating, you'll thank me later..

 

[jjgrizz73]

Yea I figured if this didnt work I'd go for powder coating, basically I bought them mounted and balanced so I'm trying to avoid that bill again. Turns out I bought a set of 4 Maxxim wheels, whcih I didn't know Konig made, with tires mounted all new for 450$. The guy didn't know what they were so I guess his loss is my gain.

 

[SikRacing97GST]

One more thing, don't count on your tires still being balanced even if you do it with the tires on. The stripper will easily eat off the weights.

Depending on what kind of wheels you have, the bottom factory coat on my set was a pain to get off and I was using the pressure washer for rinsing. It may take a FEW cans of that stuff keep in mind so you don't have run back to the hardware store for more like I did.

 

[jjgrizz73]

It shouldnt bother the polished lip if some gets on right? I am going to mask them but in worst case senerio I want to know how strong that stuff really is.

 

[SikRacing97GST]

I could be wrong, but I think most polished lips have a clear coat on them. So Yes, It will eat that up too. Basically, It will just about eat any "coating" you throw at it. Just mask the lip reallly well I suppose?? I gave up painting mine and went with the powdercoat. Make sure if you do decide to do this that your doing this away from other vehicles in the driveway.

 

[VPrime]

I used sandpaper on my rims.. i didnt know of the paint stripper stuff before i started ... suuuuuuuch a painful process, my arms were about to fall off by the end of one rim.

I also painted mine with the tires on... I suggest taking them off for best results (i got paint on some bits of the tires, and the tires just get in the way.. would be much easier to spray it all with no worry)

Oh, and do whats said above, do it far from other cars. I did mine in my garage with my white talon parked beside.. Lets just say there are some "dusty" spots of bronze on my car now

 

[jjgrizz73]

Yeah thats def. good advice. Hmm, people always say powdercoat, i'm leaning toward that alot now since my dad's company always gets things powdercoated and the guy is a personal friend of my dad's. I was trying to get away from rebalancing the wheels since they were already done but I suppose its worth it to get the wheels to actually look good and keep from peeling. The powdercoating place should have no problem with the polished lip correct?