How To Paint The Wheels Of Your Car Like A Pro?
Just as you learn to drive your car like a pro, you should also know how to paint your car wheels like a pro. It gives a good look and style to the overall setup of your car. At the same time, it adds to the longevity and functionalities of your car wheel. You need to give a little of your time and effort.
You save a good amount of money and get the satisfaction of doing it yourself. Below are the sequential methods that will make you a pro in painting wheels if you follow it religiously.
Method 1: Remove the Wheel
Loosen the lug nuts with a wrench and jack up your car. Put jack stands to stabilize the resting of the car. To lift the whole car, put two stands on each side near each corner. Now, your car is in the air. Get the lug nuts off by using a lug wrench and pull out the wheel. Repeat the same process for all four wheels and take them to a workplace.
Photo Credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-TNsO33eqQ
Method 2: Cleaning the Wheels
Clean the wheels with soap and water. While removing the dirt and grime from your wheel, you can identify the rust, dents, and chips on the wheels. Then, clean them with grease and wax remover, like mineral spirit. Use a wire brush to remove all rust. You can sandblast to remove old paint glued to the debris.
If you find any coarse scratches, clean the wheel first with 300 grit sandpaper, then with 500 grit sandpaper. Use a water hose to spray off the remaining debris. After that, dry the wheels with compressed air. You can use a chamois cloth to wipe out every trace of water.
Method 3: Preparation
Choose a dust-free workplace, or you may spray down the floor or walls to avoid the chances of dust stirring up while painting. If the place is well-ventilated, dust will not contaminate the painting. Moreover, free ventilation helps in removing excess paint and thinner from the room.
Put a mask respirator to protect your head and face from the paint. Moreover, if your body is covered, the chances of lint or hair falling into the paint surface will be minimized. Keep in mind that paint and thinners contain volatile compounds like VOCs that are extremely flammable and toxic. These can be absorbed through skin or eyes.
It may be a little tricky if you want to paint a specific area of your car wheel. You need to put tape around the perimeter of the desired surface to be painted, keeping it exposed for painting. Over- spraying or paints landing on the undesired area is an anti-pro performance. Moreover, you may have to spend a lot of time in cleaning it off, later. An effective process will be to trim out the center of the plastic with a razor and tape the outside of the cut circle.
Method 4: Priming & Painting
Photo Credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpAYCyTpgXY
Make a final wipe with wax and grease remover to remove any leftout dirt or dust on your wheel. Use a clean paper towel instead of allowing the cleaner to evaporate. Apply two or three coats of primer to ease the removal of dust and adherence of the paint.
Allow the coats to dry for the recommended time. After priming, inspect the primer coating and sand down if you find any blemishes or unevenness. Apply at least three coats of paint. Allow the recommended time after each coat. Paint back and forth the paint surface, keeping a reasonable distance to the surface and be slow but steady.
Spray your clear coat in case your paint is a single coat. Otherwise, you can skip it. Apply it in the same way as you did for priming and painting. You should keep in mind that clear coat runs easier that the prime or the base coat.
Method 5: Buffing & Polishing
After the painting, you may still observe tiny dirt spots in your paint job. You should send them out with a sand paper of 2000 grit or even a still milder one of 3000 grit. You need not use the buffing compound on the entire paint job unless it looks dull. Use it on the areas sanded.
Continue the process of buffing very slowly until the scratches made by the sandpaper are not visible. Take care to see that you don’t buff with very high speed otherwise it may lead to peeling or burning off the paint. After the buffing work is over, apply a mixture of water and isopropyl alcohol and clean off the excess buffing solution.
Finally, unmask the wheel, and if you find any overspray elsewhere on your wheel, remove the same by using a clay bar or lubricant. And as an ultimate step for getting the desired shining on your car, apply the polish with a buffer with soft foam by adopting low speed.
Photo Credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPIq5vgdb8A
Lastly, wipe it off with a clean microfiber cloth. One last caution: never use the traditional silicon or wax on the fresh paint. By sealing the paint, the paint cannot vent properly and may show bubbling and cloudiness on your paint job.
In this context, you may be required to know how to buy the best wheel. Below are the tips for your guidance.
The first and foremost thing to know is the names of the reputed brands of wheels that are available in the market. These are the Good Year, Bridgestone, Firestone, Continental, Yokohama, Michelin, and PIAA.
The next points for consideration are a rating of speed, quality of driving, safety, tread life, durability and resistance of the wheel.
When your car is exposed to open a place like parking, there is every possibility that steals parts of your car or even the car. Your best option, therefore, will be to go in for the best wheel locks. You can choose from any of the following wheel car locks available in the market.
- Subaru B321SF GOOO Wheel Lock Kit
- LCB 3L6HC-CH4 LK4, Chrome Wheel Lock, with DPA Accessories
- Chrome-Cone Seat Wheel Lock- Make Mc Gard 24538
- 00276-00900 Wheel Lock of Genuine Toyota Accessories
- Arcorn Gorilla Guard Locks, 61631; of Gorilla Automotive
Rims and wheels are not the same. Rim can be a part of the wheels or individually. Some wheels come with the rim, the center, and the spoke. Thus, the rims can be changed if damaged. While you are getting new rims, you must look into the broadness of the rim, so that it links best with the tires. Your car then has better grip and handling. Aluminum is lighter than steel and consumes less fuel. However, Chrome-based are most commonly used.
