Ok, so I have my stock 15" rims for my car complete withthe scratches and peeled off paint. I tried to spray paint them, and the paint beaded off, so i sanded them a little thinking that might help, nope. Any tips?
(please don't bash, im new at all of this..)

 

Well welcome to (Fu*king with the tib!!!) as to painting there is a few people that can hellp with the paint....sand>>>> prime>>>> paint is all I can say !!!!...and with the beers tonight with the problrms I've had this day I can't find the Screenname but there area few with stock rim's painted they will help....Just wait untill they see the post and you should get some helpfull answers@@@ sry I could'nt help more

 

i think maybe monoxide just painted his, i'm sure when he sees this he will give ya tips

 

i painted my 17s.. heres what you do.. or what i did, and it has held up for ~3yrs..

get 4 cans duplicolor wheel paint in the color of your choice.
2 cans duplicolor wheel paint clear coat.

i sanded down my rims with 400 grit, then 600, and a lil 800 grit. i wanted them with a light texture for paint to stick the best..

best to paint your rims with the tires off, but if tires are still on, just tape em off. paint a BUNCH of thin coats, wait 10 min before each new coat. after the front and back of rims are coated, you can spray on some medium coats. after you are satisfied, throw another couple coats on the rims.. wait overnight, and then wetsand with like 1200-1500grit. and throw on a couple coats of clear, wait another 24 hrs, and voila.. you have painted rims that look professional, and will hold up a long time.

 

its not hard, but heres the trick.

the hard part about painting the rims, and making it look good and stick is in the prep work itself. i die grind to hell the rims so its a nice smooth surface, then i clean it all down with brake cleaner, take off anything u dont want painted, then paint in small layer's. dont cake it on, but do alopt of small layer's.

sadly, both my cars are rolling on painted rims i did, the probes are over 2 years old. still look great. both sets for the tibby are painted, the 17's, and the new winter 15's. but i havent tested out the 15's yet. but i have no worries.

 

If ur just using wheel paint... sand to 320 grit, use some alcohol or paint prep to remove all surface corrosion and junk from the rims. tape off the wheels. Spray 2 light coats. When i say light, i mean you want to see the paint specks and you want to still see the origonal color under it. Then spray a medium/filler coat. Use the 3rd to fill in the specks of paint. Basically, spray it until it shines. Wait for the paint to become tacky before reapplying. Then use some clear coat and repeat the process. You'll have some good looking rims.


Here's some pix of mine. And that's how i did it.

 

So to paint the center caps and rims, i just gotta sand down the center caps (plastic) with 320 grit, use prep all, and then paint lightly with rim paint?

 

ya, but after the 2 light coats, do a shiny one. wait for a bit and do a clear coat the same way. The clear coat will actually make it shiny.

If you want two tone like mine, Prep the whole thing. Tape areas to be painted. Paint. Dry. Tape off next areas. Paint. Dry. Clear coat the whole thing. You MUST be meticulous with the tape though.



Make sure you read the directions on the can though. I've done a bunch of spraycan painting. I'm pretty good. The guidelines i gave you should work on just about anything, but the manufacturer knows best.

 

Whats "wet sanding?"

 

Water keeps the sand paper clean and not filled with paint. Wet sanding takes longer but produces a much more even finish on the work piece. You just need to get wet or dry sandpaper. Keep it wet and you'll be wet-sanding the night away.