bulldog24

Thinking about painting my phone dials instead of laying out the cash for new black rims. Anyone ever use Dupli-color spray paint on phone dials? How did you prep them? Did it last and look good?

Van

I once sandblasted and painted a set white with a spray can. They came out quite nice and looked good on a red car.

KuHL 951

Search is your friend. There are numerous DIY wheel painting threads here on RL. Whatever you do don't use paint stripper unless you absolutely have to. The PD's had a thick filler primer under the silver top coat. If you strip the wheel too far they show the lumpy casting texture. A good sanding is all you need for surface prep unless they are in really bad shape.

bulldog24

Awesome. I tried to search but I guess I was being too specific. Thanks guys!!!

Should I do it with the tires on the rims like the Youtube Dupli-Color DIYs show?

75ohm

I pondered what it would take to do this right for the long haul and opted to have it professionally done versus spending the time. While many folks have pulled off some really nice work, I chose to have the tires removed and the whole rim redone...

Where's that old thread at...

75ohm

Ahhhh here we are...

LINK

WizPorsche944

I used the dupli-color wheel paint on old BMW wheels and its too sparkly. If you want a perfect OEM match go with Wurth Silver wheel paint.

drift a 944

I painted mine myself as a temporary thing... in Porsche factory color "Signal Green" using 2-stage automotive paint... decided I liked the color and then later on sold them and bought the Cup-I's as seen in my sig below.

Dougs951

My car came with the wheels painted graphite and I just redid them. This is a picture from when I bought my car.


I soda blasted my rims btw.

Arominus

I blasted my winters and then used the dupli color bronze, they turned out pretty well. I did have a problem with the paint building a ton of tiny points (like sandpaper) in the valley of the outer edge but they turned out pretty well for what they were. They were already pretty beat up so it was a definate improvement. I did finish with the clear and they held up well to my snowboarding trips.

EJnMN

I did the hammered texture duplicolor on cookies for track wheels. Worked great. tended to chip a little when the tires were mounted, but was easy to touch up.

Fractured

I repainted my phone dials about a year ago. To prep, sand, sand, sand. Get the rim very clean and use a degreaser, then a bit of rubbing alcohol on a clean, lint-free cloth. Paint, wet sand, paint, wet sand, paint, then wet sand again. Mine looked very nice at this stage, but here's where I messed up. When it comes to the clear coat, the spray nozzle was too far away. Make sure you're about 8 to 10 inches away from the rim. If you're farther than that, you'll end up with a pitted finish. Just use smooth motions and cover evenly and you'll be fine. Good luck.

Geldfalle 944

I used the duplicolor set up, wheel silver and clear. They also sell a prep spray to use prior to paint. I sanded them all down, prep spray, self etching primer, sand, paint, sand, paint, sand, clear, sand, clear, sand.. make sure to give them plenty of time to cure.

DEF recommend taking the tires off and give them at least a day to cure prior to mounting the tires back on. I have to redo my clear on the lips from the tire machine.

rgs944

I really like those Doug. As far as painting wheels I did mine last winter and they came out OK. I will try again this winter with what I learned the first time around. The most important thing I learned is that you do not paint untill the rim is absolutly perfect. A good test is the fingernail test. If you can feel any blemishies by scratching with your fingernail it will show through the paint. I will lightly sand blast next time as this time I just went through the hand sanding process.

Dougs951

When I blasted my rims, I used a mix of sand blasting abrasives and baking soda.

If I used straight abrasives it seemed to pit the metal a bit, and straight soda took to long.