Spraypaint hubcaps or steelies

[charliebrown]

My car's stock as a rock right now and i just wanna make it a little bit different. The wheels for one look like balls, just stock '98 dc4.

As the title says, should i spraypaint the hubcaps (not sure what colour, black?) or just run without them at all. I've heard rust is an issue with steelies as well.

[Bulbasaur]

paint the hub caps first. if you dont like them take the dam things off and paint the steelies. here are some examples

http://i39.tinypic.com/2wgc18z.jpg
http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_images/1/3386/4561/8464780173_large.jpg
http://media.photobucket.com/image/painted%20steelies%20on%20integra/willy_mccoy/egthedalles3.jpg
http://media.photobucket.com/image/painted%20steelies%20on%20integra/92civic104/95%20civic%20ex/055.jpg

[charliebrown]

Painting the steelies with the red on the outer rim looks pretty sick, but does that require jacking the car up, taking off the wheels and then taking the wheels off them? I can't do any of those nor do i have the equipment lol i wouldn't even know how to go about spraypainting the wheel covers :/

[Bulbasaur]

ok charlie brown listen... your car should have a set of crappy jacks which can jack your car up. if you dont know how to use it place it under the car in a good strong spot which wont break and spin the little nob on the end of it. it should start folding out into a diamond shape the more u spin it, once it gets too hard to spin use a screwdriver or socket and rachet. the wheels only have to be abit off the ground so there is room to pull it out and put it back in. there should also be a crowbar or some "x" shaped thing you can use to take off the nuts on these wheels. repeat with all wheels and what do u know? all the wheels are off. i also suggest you spray and take them off/on one at a time since those crappy jacks arnt very trusty. best use a stand if you got one. for painting you can put up an electric sprayer from w.e hardware shop or just use rattle cans. suggest you get the rattle cans since the electric ones need maintainence and cleaning since crap gets jammed in them if they dry. for the colour you can go to a paint shop and get a custom colour or just pick from a range of stock ones (paint shop can also put them in a spray can for you at an additional price. places like autobarn do this aswell but you get like some noob doing it in the back) or just buy them already in a coloured can. if you want the paint to last your going to have to sand, paint with primer, sand smooth the primer and then paint with colour of choice, you can also pray a layer of clear if you want. good luck

[charliebrown]

Thanks bulbasaur, would i have to leave them to dry for a few days? or can i just put them straight back on the car since i'm only spraying the outer rim. I don't have a spare set of wheels to chuck on if it's the former.

[Bulbasaur]

if your not putting on a clear coat it should take no less than an hour in the sun to dry, if your putting a coat of clear on it will take a few hours but if you dont really mind it wont do much. suggest you not to drive if you spray clear since its still sticky and will pick up dust until totally dry. i reprayed my front bumber with a coat of clear and it rained like 30mins later but it was still fine in the end (or i just cant tell because of my crappy paint job)

[charliebrown]

What is the advantage of having clear coat vs. not having it?

[Bulbasaur]

clear coat is a protective layer which add's to your cars colour/shine. clear coats arnt necessary for colours like white which dont have metalics in it because these metalics can rust. im not sure about this one but i think products like polish work as a compliment of the clear coat (in other words it wont work or wont work aswell without it). those cars you see with peeling and faded bonnets are ones which have lost these clear coat over time.

[charliebrown]

Would you use clearcoat for painting both hubcaps and the outer rim of steelies?
And when spray painting the steelies, how do you make sure you only get the rim that you want?
With spraying hubcaps, just spray it all?

[Bulbasaur]

hub cap is easy, pop it out and spray the crap out of it. if you going to spray the steelie follow this guide http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?136857-Painting-your-rims-steelies-in-a-ghetto-cheapo-style-for-15-no-tape-newspaper!!!

suggest you not to clear coat if your not going to sand primer and sand rims before painting orelse theyll just flake out once something scratches it or w.e

[charliebrown]

I've heard hubcaps are quite cheap, would you recommend buying a set that looks better and sand > primer > spray > put them on?
where would i find some nice looking ones for honda?

that DIY article looks pretty tempting as well, however i'm uneasy about jacking my car up and leaving it like that for a few hours.

The best look i think is to paint the steelies black, with a red outer rim? i wouldn't have a clue how to get the red part on without it looking like balls though

[dougie_504]

I'd get a cheap set of rims man lol. Get $300-400 and find a set of fat fives or EM1s :)

[Zilli]

i wouldnt spray the hubcaps.... theyre getting old now and a fresh set of hubcaps keeps value if youre ever going to return to original and sell... unsure what your intentions are though...

[charliebrown]

Yeah im thinking spray the steelies, and worst case is i screw it up and it turns out bad i can always just chuck the hubcaps back on and it'll look the same as before. Just need to wait for a sunny day wiht minimal wind. Don't want it to start raining and blowing wind everywhere while my car is sitting on a cheap ass jack

[Bludger]

your car is going to look like a nugget either way you go.

[dougie_504]

Painting the steelies with the red on the outer rim looks pretty sick, but does that require jacking the car up, taking off the wheels and then taking the wheels off them? I can't do any of those nor do i have the equipment lol i wouldn't even know how to go about spraypainting the wheel covers :/


Problem with not removing your wheels in the first place to do the spray is that you'll probably end up getting a little paint on your brake setup through the little holes, right?

[Bulbasaur]

ive seen someone do the lip thing with the steelies using some lid off a plastic bucket, but itll be hard to find one to fit perfectly lol

[charliebrown]

Hahah I wouldnt wanna risk looking like a nugget now eh. Maybe I should just leave my wheel covers on... :(

[Bludger]

Just save up 50 bux a week till you can get some wheels and tires.

You'll have new look in no time.

Seriously if i saw a car with sprayed hubcaps or steelies, I would prbably have an accident from too much laughter.

[charliebrown]

Should i just wait until my current tires need changing? And then just buy a new set of rims + tires all in one go? Then take to mechanic for him to put them in and all?

[Bludger]

do what you like.

your car, your life, your money.

I've already given a suggestion.

[Bludger]

I once almost had an accident when i saw this Camry with a wing, double the size of the type R wing and the rear suspension raised a whole half foot over standard height.
Try to picturre it.

You'll LOL

[charliebrown]

Nah i mean like, if you buy a set of rims... they'll have tires on them? So that means if i change to the new rims, i'll have a set of working tires sitting there doing nothing. No room to put them, so yeah get what i mean?

[Bludger]

you get what I mean?

do what you want, you can work it out.

if i tell you to blow up your car, will you?

[charliebrown]

hahah i wouldnt know how to blow my car up :(

[act_gooner]

Depends on how much longer they'll last and how long it will take you to save your money. Shouldn't take you too long now that its the christmas holidays.

[charliebrown]

Current wheels will last upwards of 6 months... so a very long time away. Money isn't an issue, i've saved enough for muffler, intake and some cheap rims. By cheap i'm talking <400

[act_gooner]

6 months isn't that long man. Just save your ass off, if you want it that much you will make sacrifices. That's what I did last summer to buy my car, saved something like 5k in 3 months working part time at a restaurant. The rest I already had saved.

[charliebrown]

Do rims retain value? As in when i sell my car, will i be able to sell the rims separately for a few hundred on top or add a few hundred to my price?

[Zilli]

no modifications to an already depreciating asset will retain value... if youve bought them for less tha 400 then you will be lukcy to get anything in the overall sale price... if you're selling them seperately you will be lucky to get theprice of the tyres

[androo]

Do this - Keep stockies and buy whatever rims you want. When you go to sell the car put the stockies back on and sell the rims separately (or whichever ends up being the best financially - You never know, maybe your hub caps will be worth something if you don't spray them).