Rim painting woes :(

[AbuNigel]

Ugh. I felt like i put so much time into cleaning and prepping the aluminum alloys i got. Sanded em, cup brushed em, all that good stuff.

I did 1 layer of self etching primer, then one layer of filler primer, sanded a little, another layer of that. Then about 3 layers (3 cans altogether) of duplicolor black wheel coating, then 3 layers (2 cans) of clear.

Who knows if i left enough time in between coats or did them properly or what. I tried to keep em light and stuff. Maybe i needed to do more waiting.

I can basically take the paint off and see the filler primer with my nail if i give it some umph. And sitting in my trunk, i tried to wrap em in towels, but anywhere that got exposed was just chip central

I know if can be done right and be durable, not powdercoat status of course, but still durable...right?

Any advice?

[raymondlee]

im no expert on this subject but scratch the filler primer fro the equation.

or at the least the the process that i've used

the 3 times i've done i've had minimal chipping. chelsea rims being the best to date for me

[AbuNigel]

so paint right on the self etching primer? In that case, should i do a few layers of it? It seemed really runny when i put it on, a lot more viscous than the filler primer and paint

[raymondlee]

you didnt shake the etching primer up enough.

did that on chelsea when i painted hers

[AbuNigel]

mmm, good to know. But the paint sticks to it fine?
What paints/primers did you use anyway?
How about spray technique?
Anything special to know for the clear?

I'm thinking i'll cup brush em down again. Self etching prime them, get em mounted and balanced, then paint. If i do get the paint job right this time i don't wanna risk it with the tire shop =\

[raymondlee]

operation rim paint

[Volkswoman]

I am repairing my rims at present. Bought my NB with too much road rash for my liking.
I Googled "repair allow wheels" and found step by step instruction on how to do it. The self etching primer is the way to go. Also it stressed to wait overnight at least, to apply clear coat after color coat for good adhesion.

[kaiser]

temp is also very important, don't paint unless it's over 60, warmer the better, and low humidity.

[AbuNigel]

Originally Posted by raymondlee

operation rim paint

hmmm. Those were aluminum alloys? Probably not a big difference either way of course.
They look great, would you recommend that paint? I went for all duplicolor stuff, 'high performance wheel coating' etc. but i don't know if it really paid off =\

Originally Posted by kaiser

temp is also very important, don't paint unless it's over 60, warmer the better, and low humidity.

This probably wasn't too good on my part. We've had some warm days recently, but i don't think the days i painted were quite over 60 >_<

Also, any suggestions to get em smooth? If i'm gonna take em down again, i wanna get some of the less even areas. Bondo or anything? i feel like i've sanded a lot already. It's kinda mainly like large areas of just unevenness, like i hit different layers of the coatings on the wheel or something.

[raymondlee]

dude take pics

[AbuNigel]

Originally Posted by raymondlee

dude take pics

i'll try to tomorrow

[Volkswoman]

The tutorial that I read also said to use the silver paint that is stock for all german cars, which is WURTH. They have a website plus some auto body parts stores near you may carry it. It is standard on BMW, Porsche, Benz, VW. It will match perfectly if you aren't doing all wheels and need it to match. If you don't, then I guess another quality brand wheel paint will do. They also carry the clear cote.

[AbuNigel]

well i want to do them in black, so as long as they all match each other :P