Another wheel painting guide

[AE092]

Disclaimer: The following is provided as a GUIDE ONLY and neither myself nor OzHonda take any responsibility for the outcomes of someones else doing. You hereby acknowledge these risks by undertaking this guide and do so at your own judgement.

Aim: To change/renew the look of your wheels with fresh paint.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs077.ash2/37196_153269618044696_100000849761867_242436_87673 1_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs137.snc4/37196_153269621378029_100000849761867_242437_43452 27_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs157.snc4/37196_153269628044695_100000849761867_242439_31151 77_n.jpg
1. What I initially began with: IMPUL RS's. 14 x 6.5 +15 PCD100. As you can see the dish part of the wheel had water mark stained into the metal but overall they were in good condition with minimal gutter rash and no buckles.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs157.snc4/37196_153269631378028_100000849761867_242440_56642 02_n.jpg
2. I started sanding with 600 grade wet/dry paper. The whole wheel will get painted so the entire thing gets sanded. The purpose is to smooth out the wheel to make the primer adhere better.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs157.snc4/37196_153269634711361_100000849761867_242441_75254 20_n.jpg
3. Valve removal. Pretty self explanatory

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs077.ash2/37196_153269638044694_100000849761867_242442_78669 15_n.jpg
4. Once complete with 600 grade, work on 800 grade next. You don't have to but I wanted a smoother finish.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs077.ash2/37196_153269641378027_100000849761867_242443_38182 13_n.jpg
5. Give the wheels a good wash, make sure you get into all the edges and corners.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs077.ash2/37196_153269644711360_100000849761867_242444_52369 70_n.jpg
6. Let the wheels air dry. You can see that the IMPUL RS decals have now been sanded away (that's ok, I'll get to that later ;)). Prep your area for painting, make sure it's somewhere free from wind and direct sun light.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs157.snc4/37196_153269648044693_100000849761867_242445_81806 94_n.jpg
7. The primer and paint cans I used. You can opt for a cheaper alternative really, but I wanted to test out how the 3M products would turn out. All up, the 3 cans set me back about $45, $15 a can. Add your sand paper and your looking at about $50.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs392.ash2/67084_153269748044683_100000849761867_242446_49531 94_n.jpg
8. Primering. I decided I wanted to paint the underside as well so if you intend on doing the same, do the underside first so you don't scratch the spoke side afterwards. I did 2 coats of primer before going on to painting.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs770.snc4/67084_153269758044682_100000849761867_242448_83730 03_n.jpg
9. After primering, get out your spray can and shake vigorously. The first coat should act as a "guide"/"base" coat, never over do it.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs392.ash2/67084_153269761378015_100000849761867_242449_69747 01_n.jpg
10. This is the subsequent second and last coat for the underside; I didn't need it done 100% as it's behind the spokes anyway.

[AE092]

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs790.snc4/67084_153269764711348_100000849761867_242450_11294 74_n.jpg
11. Down to the business end. Start with primering the hard to get bits; the lug nut holes, the centre and the corner of the spokes. After that, primer the entire wheel and even it out where needed. The wheel in the background has primer coat no.1, the other is onto no.2

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs790.snc4/67084_153269768044681_100000849761867_242451_17743 94_n.jpg
12. Both fully primered. Awaiting paint.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs770.snc4/67084_153269771378014_100000849761867_242452_21420 32_n.jpg
13. Coat no.1 of painting. It's quite thin and that's how you want it really, then again I'll leave that for you to judge.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs392.ash2/67084_153269774711347_100000849761867_242453_33250 93_n.jpg
14. To put into perspective after coat no.2. Really starting to take shape now!

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs392.ash2/67084_153269784711346_100000849761867_242455_53542 23_n.jpg
15. Ok, so I got lazy to take any photos of the following coats but you get the idea. Even coats at your own pace until fully covered. Then let air dry in the sun :D

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs786.snc4/66621_153269901378001_100000849761867_242456_10641 61_n.jpg
Close up of matte black finish.

[AE092]

OPTIONAL PARTS

I decided from the get-go I would not run the centre caps as they were easily nicked and so the centre would look quite bare.

http://i55.tinypic.com/aemtdi.jpg
Out came the centre caps with the screw on cap. The bottom two were punched out and had the double sided tape cleaned up. The top two are as per arrival-from-Japan. Only that the top right still retains the C clip. What I did was, took them all out and cleaned up the tape and then used Mothers' Plastic Polish on them.

http://i54.tinypic.com/2e5myw3.jpg
Got into contact with my custom vinyl cutter a few days before completion and placed an order for IMPUL RS's decals and some IMPUL RACING ones'. I didn't like the look of the IMPUL RACING on the dish so decided not to use them. Centre caps now buffed with plastic polish.

http://i51.tinypic.com/ndx5rl.jpg
Had them wrapped in some semi slicks, doing some track work in about 2 weeks.

http://i51.tinypic.com/bg1aj6.jpg

http://i52.tinypic.com/a0aplu.jpg

Thanks for looking and please take this as a guide only.

[ninzee]

man they look brand new
+1

[tiksie]

Good work on the sanding..Many people rush this step, but it's the most important one.

[talha.k]

I'm loving it. They look so new. Good guide. :)

[brandonek1]

looks great man good write up!
i know it's a bit early but how have you found the 3M paint so far?

[AE092]

looks great man good write up!
i know it's a bit early but how have you found the 3M paint so far?

Thanks guys,

Thinking about it now, I probably should have used an ETCH primer like I did previously on other wheels I painted but so far so good. I don't mind if they chip, they are my race wheels anyway. How they look on the car (no, I don't own a Honda lol)

http://i55.tinypic.com/2zspd1z.jpg

http://i56.tinypic.com/9secqv.jpg

[Biz]

thats nice man! :D gonna do it myself for my stock EM1 wheels

[mikul]

the wheels turned out alright at the end man .. good job
im thinking of doing that for my wheels ..u've given me some ideas xD

[JJprelude]

They look mint. I should probably try this on my blades.