I’ll admit it, I was hesitant to spray paint my rims the first time. There were a lot of “what ifs” and, quite frankly, some folks out there ripped on the idea before I could even get the first coat of paint on. That’s what I get for making a “gauging interest post” on a popular web forum. Let’s face it though, naysayers will always be amongst us.
I come from the “let actions speak louder than words” crowd. A nice set of rims, properly prepped and sprayed, can send Internet trolls scrambling for the “delete post” button at your favorite forum. I love it!
About to bite the bullet and spray my first set of rims - polished 16x7's
Simply put, messing with the prep steps of rim painting is the ideal way to get a “told you so” from the skeptics. Rim painting is really hard to screw up. You have to try to mess it up.
Some great ways to mess up your rim painting experience:
- Spray outside of the recommended temp and humidity zones
- Spray in windy conditions
- Don’t dry the rim properly / residual moisture
- Skip the sanding/wiping steps
- Get too close with primer, paint, clearcoat and cake it on
- Don’t allow adequate dry times between coats
- Don’t clear the spray head between coats per the label instructions (turn can upside down, spray until clear)
- Touch the rims between coats of paint
- Use cheap paint
Of all the bullets, rushing the prime/paint/clearcoat steps is the easiest to do. I mean, you want to get your rims finished and roll already, right? You can see, after the paint starts to go on, that it’s going to look tight. “Let’s get this done!” you think. Well, Mr. Trigger happy rim painter, you just created a run on an alloy 18 by rushing the process. Uh oh! Now you’re going to have to spend an hour sanding down the run and re-spraying the rim. Take your time. Please.
Look folks, you can do this. I speak from experience. And more encouraging to me are the thousands of enthusiasts out there, like you, that have sprayed their rims with phenomenal results. I mean, do a google image search on it. There are vehicles that went from B-O-R-I-N-G to dang! And it’s not just guys painting rims – women are taking on the rim painting challenge too.
Use products made for the job. Take your time. Prep thoroughly. Sit back and enjoy the new look of your ride. It’s going to turn out great - and it’s worth seeing the skeptics squirm.
Testing for durability in the AZ wilderness
- Christian
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Is that your Land Cruiser? Did you paint your stock rims, or are they not stock?
It’s actually a 4Runner…but yes, it’s mine. And yes, I painted the stock rims black. Thanks for your questions!
How long does the paint and clear coat you provide last even with wheel scrubbing, rocks, etc?
It’s surprisingly durable. When I lived in AZ, I wheeled my 4Runner in the desert all the time. Obviously direct impact or significant contact with hard objects will create damage to just about anything, but the beauty of the wheel paint kit is that the wheel can be easily touched up. In fact, the provided filler primer will even fill minor scratches. So, I can’t exactly put a time frame on it as it really depends on a lot of factors. My wheels have been painted for over 4 years now and people still look at them all the time.
Thanks for all the good advice on how to paint rims. You really seem to know what you’re doing. Thanks!
I am ocd when it comes to keeping my car clean, my only worrie is with pressure washer… does it hold up well?
Mark – Absolutely. And if it makes you feel any better, I am OCD too, lol. Prep is key for sure though; common sense as well. I mean, cranking up the pressure on the spray gun and blasting the wheel at point blank range could cause some problems. Then again, that would probably take the paint off your car too. The beauty of my kit is that in the event of a rock ding, scrape, or other mishap, touch-up is a breeze. I give you extra paint in each kit just in case. Thanks for the question. I hope to do business with you soon! -Christian