If you are unhappy with anything but perfect for your wheels, turn back now.
That being said, you CAN make some really nice wheels all by yourself. They wont be perfect, but damn near. This will be the 3rd set I've refinished, so I'm getting better. This DIY could help you sell your otherwise crappy-looking wheels for more monies! 8)
STEP 1: PREPPING FOR PAINT
In my case, the wheels I started with had many layers of old paint and someone had attempted to start stripping the paint off. The best thing to do in this scenario is to get the wheels media blasted. It will take many, many frustrating hours to get a nice surface with paint stripping, scrapers, sand paper, grinder, etc. I dropped my wheels off at the blaster and had them back in a few days all nice and stripped.
Finish before blasting: (This was the BEST of the 4 wheels. Notice the orange paint layer in the barrel.)
Sand blasted surface:
STEP 2: GATHERING SUPPLIES
What I used-
180 grit sandpaper
300 grit sandpaper
600 grit sandpaper
1000 grit sandpaper
0 coarseness steel wool
aluminum polish
clothes, rags, etc
power drill paint stripper attachment
clean metal primer (3 cans)
duplicolor wheel paint (4 cans)
duplicolor wheel clear (4 cans)
I think I spent about $100 in supplies.
STEP 3: POLISHING THE LIP
If you arent polishing anything, skip this step. But since you are a classy fellow, you probably are.
Basically, you'll work your way from course sand paper to the steel wool and finally a cloth to polish the wheel lips. If the blaster missed any primer (mine did, that bum) take your paint stripped wheel (power tools, huzzah!) and make quick work of it before starting. Also, if your wheel has any curb rash, try grinding it as smooth as possible without taking huge portions of metal off. I used a Dremel to smooth them.
180 - 300 - 600 - 1000 - steel wool with polish - cloth with polish - cloth dry
This is the hardest part of this DIY. Lots of sore shoulder breaks, quitting, etc. To avoid complete muscle failure, I tried to keep my polishing sessions to about an hour a day after work for a couple weeks whenever I had a chance.
Question
straight6pwr
Refinishing alloy wheels DIY by straight6pwr
You are not a professional painter.
You are not using high-quality paint.
If you are unhappy with anything but perfect for your wheels, turn back now.
That being said, you CAN make some really nice wheels all by yourself. They wont be perfect, but damn near. This will be the 3rd set I've refinished, so I'm getting better. This DIY could help you sell your otherwise crappy-looking wheels for more monies! 8)
STEP 1: PREPPING FOR PAINT
In my case, the wheels I started with had many layers of old paint and someone had attempted to start stripping the paint off. The best thing to do in this scenario is to get the wheels media blasted. It will take many, many frustrating hours to get a nice surface with paint stripping, scrapers, sand paper, grinder, etc. I dropped my wheels off at the blaster and had them back in a few days all nice and stripped.
Finish before blasting: (This was the BEST of the 4 wheels. Notice the orange paint layer in the barrel.)
Sand blasted surface:
STEP 2: GATHERING SUPPLIES
What I used-
180 grit sandpaper
300 grit sandpaper
600 grit sandpaper
1000 grit sandpaper
0 coarseness steel wool
aluminum polish
clothes, rags, etc
power drill paint stripper attachment
clean metal primer (3 cans)
duplicolor wheel paint (4 cans)
duplicolor wheel clear (4 cans)
I think I spent about $100 in supplies.
STEP 3: POLISHING THE LIP
If you arent polishing anything, skip this step. But since you are a classy fellow, you probably are.
Basically, you'll work your way from course sand paper to the steel wool and finally a cloth to polish the wheel lips. If the blaster missed any primer (mine did, that bum) take your paint stripped wheel (power tools, huzzah!) and make quick work of it before starting. Also, if your wheel has any curb rash, try grinding it as smooth as possible without taking huge portions of metal off. I used a Dremel to smooth them.
180 - 300 - 600 - 1000 - steel wool with polish - cloth with polish - cloth dry
This is the hardest part of this DIY. Lots of sore shoulder breaks, quitting, etc. To avoid complete muscle failure, I tried to keep my polishing sessions to about an hour a day after work for a couple weeks whenever I had a chance.
After 180 grit:
After 300 grit:
After 600 grit:
After 1000 grit:
Link to comment
Share on other sites
11 answers to this question
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.