Does anybody know what the pricing would be on painting the stock wheels black? Yet i have called around and tried to find out, they never called me back. Can someone help me out with an estimate

 

There have been some threads on painting and powerdcoating wheels on the Tires, Wheels, and Brakes forum here. You might find more info there, and get more responses.

From what I gather, people seem to think it best to strip or blast the wheels before painting, and clear coat over the black, so get a price on that if you do find someone.

There are companies that specialize in wheel repair and painting. http://www.wheeltechniques.com/ is one I visited in Silicon Valley to see about repairing some damaged wheels, but it would cost $150 to repair them, and they could be purchased new for that amount.

 

Great question.....I just spent the last week doing just that.
It was lots of work but well worth it.

1. I used red scotch brite to scuff the original finish, then cleaned the wheel/ tire very good to get all the brake dust and tire shine off. (yes I did it with the tires mounted to the rim, not my first choice but did not have any other eay at the time)
2. using VHT epoxy paint, I out a total of 6 coats of black ( that''s 3 coats for each spraying with several days of drying in between) remember to resand between each spraying

3. then re-sanded and applied three coats of dupli-color acrylic lacquer

I'm more that happy with the results....how well will the paint hold up... I have no idea but it looks awesome.

Prep. is the key you gotta get the surface ready and very clean and in a dust free (haa haa) area.

I used about 3 cans each of black and clear about $6 per can. Yes it would be better to have it professionally done but be ready fo pay big $$$, automotive paint and the associated materials are very expensive and then you got the labor on top of that.


HEY wait right there while I go out and take a couple of Pics.

OK I'm back:








Thats dust on the wheels, I cut the grass yesterday and.....well you know

 

sharp, very sharp indeed.

 

They do come that way from the factory now also,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/willsisti/3533233109/

-Will

 

We paint wheels at both my bodyshops. Depending on the wheel and color (basecoat/clearcoat or single stage) You'd have 100-150 per wheel.

For roughly the same amount of money, you could get them powdercoated and they would last longer.

Having said that... if I were painting them black, I would scuff and shoot them with a spraybomb.

Mark

 

Ok cool thanks Robin!

 

WOW! Those look professional! Great job dude thanks for the advice i might want to do it on my own now i just need to buy some new winter tires for them because their is no way i am driving these "Z" rated tires in the snow and messing up my new wheels.

 

And i mean i do detail cars for 80 bucks for Sedans, and for my friends grand dads BMW X5 uhh well 125. Lol so i think that money will help out thanks peps!

 

Powder coating would be my first choice, and the price of "professional type" work would keep me from that, so as you recommended I used spray bomb. They actually look better in person than the pic's. I hope the epoxy type paint is as good as it should be.

Also considered getting automotive paint and spray them with my HVLP gun but that to would be pricey with the clear coat and thinner, my whole job was about $35 to $40

 

One comment I noticed in the Tire, Wheel, and Brake forum was that while powdercoating might hold up better, if you curb it, it is more difficult (if not impossible) to retouch.

 

I agree. Obviously you'll get a better finish (smoother, glassier look) from spraying them professionally but the cost well exceeds what you have in your job.

I think for the time and money you have in your wheels, they look great.



Mark

 

Powercoating or or professionally painting wheels are obviously the best choices, but for stock wheels that aren't worth much, you could probably get away with just cleaning them really well and spraying them with a good spray paint.

My first car 10 years ago was a bmw 1602 with some mesh bbs's that were silver. I ended up spraying them with some matte wurth paint (which is what bbs uses I think) masking the lip with painters tape and they looked really good, considering it cost me like $25 total. I didn't sand or do any prep work except spraying them with simple green and cleaning with a toothbrush in the mesh. Not the best way, but good enough for cheapie wheels.

You could also wait for more people to sell their factory painted black wheels and sell your stock ones since I'm sure the market will get filled with them sooner than later.

 

Well cool thanks, what paint should i look for? And how many bottles would you say? I am looking for a flat black so im just wondering if i need to do it with krylon?

 

This paint is what I used, i'm sure you can shop around to see if you can find it cheaper.. I'm pretty sure a lot of the German wheel makers use this company's product. You'd want matte black (schwarz). I used just over 1 can for my bmw's 14's, so I'd say 2 cans *should* be good for you. This paint is no comparison to krylon, it's excellent paint.

 

Well im not doing my ASA's but im doing my stock wheels

 

15'' Five spoke wheels

 

I used VHT Epoxy gloss black paint from Advance auto parts 3 cans.
The clear was Dupli-color clear top coat (acrylic lacquer) 3 cans.
I used red scotch brite to prep,because thats what I had, then wiped them down with 54 thinner (got it from work) any type of thinner that evaporates quickly will do and dont forget the tack cloth.

I did 2 wheels at a time, because I could remove 2 by jacking up from the front jack pad, you can re install the wheels in about an hour after your last coat. Still gotta keep them dry and clean at least over night, allow 2 or 3 days in between paintings if you do more than one.