respraying chrome rims.. the project..

by **541NTT** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 10:48 am

ok..

so as you all may know i got new wheels for my lib, there a 5spoke chrome design and i dont like chrome..

so after a few calls to a few people about respraying/ powder coating everyone quoted about $100 per wheel and at least 7 days turn around.

so i then went on youtube and scoured the interwebs looking for people who have sprayed over chrome, now back in the day it was a big no no as the paint couldnt stick to the chrome at all and would flake off within a week of application- these days there are better products for the job and i figure if it turns out shit then il just get them powdercoated anyways..

so i will post pics as i go (hoping to do it this weekend) but the steps should flow like so:
1. clean the rims with wax and grease remover
2. wirebrush the wheels to scuff up all the chrome
3. sand with 300 grit to really scuff them up good
4. mask up the tyres (yes im painting them with the tyres on).
5. wax and grease remove the surface again
6. apply a few coates of etch primer
7. sand with 1200 grit sand paper then clean again
8. apply multiple even coates of VHT Wheel paint
9. apply multiple even coates of VHT Wheel Clear Coat
10. finish.

the only difference will be if i go a matt colour- im not sure you can clear a matt colour without a matt clear which im not prepared to shell out for, so it may end up being a glossish gunmetal or maybe a mattblack without clear..

by **smythie** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 10:50 am

Interested to see how you go with it. Good luck

by **Jimmy S** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 11:12 am

hmmm... good luck man!

I would just pay someone to do it, and would definitely take the tyres off!

It will be ridiculously difficult to make sure that the paint will get in between the tyre and rim!? and the last thing you want is to go to all this effort and then start spotting shiny bits!

Its not an overly expensive excercise and I think you'll be much happier if you do it properly, at least get the tyres removed first!!

I have had a set of wheels powdercoated and my current set are painted and I would recommend painting although they weren't originally chrome!..

by **541NTT** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 11:20 am

haha cheers guys, my only issue with having the tyres removed is if i do it on the saturday its fine but to get the tyres put back on i would have to wait untill monday morning.

i think just masking them up well should be fine- any way see how i go- and know its not going to be some ghetto job where you can see all the overspray all over the tyres!! lol

by **Jimmy S** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 11:36 am

Overspray is not going to be the issue! It doesnt really matter if you get black paint on your black tyres?

The issue is that your not going to get adequate coverage of your wheels with the tyres still on! When you drive around, you will find that the tyres can move a little on the wheels, so even if you manage to paint every visible bit of the wheels now, after a short period of time driving, you are going to start seeing little bits of chrome!...

For the sake of borrowing another set of wheels from someone for a day or so or not having a car for a day so that you can get the tyres removed, you can at least know that you will have done the best job you can! Rather than spending all this effort to find that your not happy with the end result!

Its simple... there is not a single "professional" paint shop who would attempt to paint the wheels with the tyres on... so if you want a good "professional" looking result, do it properly!

by **GTSPECB STI** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 11:40 am

I'm with Jimmy on this one. Remove tyres before painting is the only way to go if you want a good job that will last and you will be proud to show off.

by **541NTT** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 11:43 am

OHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

fine il see borrow the girlfriends car for the weekend.. but jus so you guy know i will be driving a silver ford festiva with pink numberplates for this! :lol:

by **Jimmy S** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 11:53 am

hahah... It will be well worth it!... :lol:

by **GTSPECB STI** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 12:05 pm

mason_luke wrote:OHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

fine il see borrow the girlfriends car for the weekend.. but jus so you guy know i will be driving a silver ford festiva with pink numberplates for this!

borrow a wig and some big sun glasses and nobody will know this difference, problem solved :lol:

by **Arith** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 12:08 pm

Wow, that's a lot of effort! If that were me I'd just borrow a set of wheels like so many have done on this forum, and get your wheels powder coated by a commercial shop. Not only do you get a choice of good colours, long lasting durability, but if it starts to chip or peel you could take it back to get it re-done at no expense or time wasted on your part. But good luck!

by **swingn** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 12:58 pm

Good luck with it matie... Look forward to seeing the results

Remember, if you were to powder coat, you would probably drop some weight off those rims

by **smythie** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 1:21 pm

how much weight is in the chrome coating though really? Is it any more than powder coating?

by **541NTT** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 2:06 pm

well old coyote has a set of rims i can borrow while mine are in the works.. so now im undecided if i should do it myself or have them powdercoated now that i have wheels to trundle on for a week...

by **541NTT** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 2:07 pm

double post. :wink:

by **swingn** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 3:02 pm

smythie wrote:how much weight is in the chrome coating though really? Is it any more than powder coating?

Generally speaking chrome rims are fairly heavy... But unsure if that's because of the chrome plating they use or if they don't use the lighter weight materials found in the more performance based rims.

Technically, powder coating should weigh less then painting as it isn't as thick... But we would be talking grams difference, not Kg's...

I actually ment to weight my Prodrives before & after... But it didn't happen

respraying chrome rims.. the project..

respraying chrome rims.. the project..

Who is online