Wheel Paint

[packardjc]

Refurbing some wheels at the moment (BBS Solitudes to go on my Dragon Green mk3 GTI) and wanted to know how much and what kind of paint I need? Just going to go for a metallic silver I think but wanted to know any decent paint brands you'd recommend that wouldn't break the bank. And also how much I'd need.

[bullens]

cans or for spray gun?

for either find a local paint/bodyshop suppliers, paint quality sh!ts all over halfords rubbish tbh

[packardjc]

Spray cans

[Seanl]

I used halfords stuff and I'm pretty impressed with the finish if I do say so myself. 

You will need etch primer, normal primer (grey or white if your going silver on your alloys) then top coat, and clear lacquer. Guarantee you will need more than you think though. I did mine a few weeks ago and the first one wasnt great. I had a couple of runs but managed to flat them back, but then I put too much lacquer on and it went all dimply. If you dont think you have enough coverage for all parts of the wheel on every pass, dont worry just leave it to set for 15 mins, then come back and do the bits that were only lightly covered. I ended up doing about 8 or 9 passes on each coat (longbeaches are a b!tch and all angles!). Had to strip the first wheel back in the end but the end result was great. 

Oh and test each tin on a scrap bit of metal first. They always have different resistences and different pressures they spray at. You can then judge how far each tin will need to be away from the wheel at each pass. Hope this helps mate.

[bullens]

I used halfords stuff and I'm pretty impressed with the finish if I do say so myself. 

You will need etch primer, normal primer

you would be blown away by a paint/bodyshop suppliers paint then

also only need etch if you've gone down to bare metal

[packardjc]

only down to bare metal on tiny bits, doubt i'll need etch. I have hibuild primer and clear lacquer. What else will i need other than paint?

[bullens]

What else will i need other than paint?

some panel wipe is always handy to clean the wheels down before paint and remove any comtaminates

also need to wet and dry sand paper

[Seanl]

I used halfords stuff and I'm pretty impressed with the finish if I do say so myself. 

You will need etch primer, normal primer

you would be blown away by a paint/bodyshop suppliers paint then

also only need etch if you've gone down to bare metal

I did. 

Tbh, I did look into a bodyshop suppliers online that were local to me, but couldnt find any.

Like I said though, unless you want it to a show standard, which if your doing it from a rattle can you wont get anyway, halfords stuff is fine.

[packardjc]

I doubt I'll need etch primer cause I've just got it down to the dull grey apart from in tiny bits. As for spraying, how can I ensure I get both sides of spokes and wheel nut holes?

[Seanl]

Fair enough mate. Holes are tricky. I went over em quite a few times. You dont want to go too near and spray down as you risk it shooting onto the top and running. I just went slightly closer than normal from slightly different angles and shot down them in short sharp bursts. You will need to go over it a fair few times to get a decent layer, but it will come eventually. Same with the side of the spokes, just work you way round the wheels from different angles. Thats why I said you would need more paint than you would imagine as some places need going over and over. Like I said as well, it is quite time consuming as dont be tempted to try and get that little bit extra coverage in the tricky places. Let it cure a bit before attempting to try again. I made that mistake with the first wheel and had to re-do it.