Technical Painting Steel Rims with Rattle Cans

Hi All,

I have steel rims and am tired of seeing them red and with paint chipped/scratched off. I don't have a matching pair of steel rims so I'm thinking of doing a cheap paint job in deep burgundy to get me by a year or so when I can buy some better rims and new bias plys that all match.

For a deep burgundy would the indoor/outdoor Krylon stuff work? Would I likely be ok lightly scuffing up with scotchpad and just painting over or do I really need to sand and then use primer? I won't be driving the car but 20 miles every other Sunday at most for the next year.

I also saw duplicolor has stuff meant for rims but it is more expensive. The body shop that painted the car before I bought it said they could paint the rims for $250 but I don't want to spend that money on mismatched rims. I figure anything is better than the way they look now and burgundy should look better with the paint color of the car. Does anyone have any advice?

I already bought masking tape and masking paper and will take the wheels off to paint.

 

I use a lot of rattle can black....but not rattle can color. It's not so easy to make it look good with color, with a spray can.

 

Rim are fine with spraycans,I use Rustolem my self with good efect,it more about having then clean, smooth ,.so a little sanding is a good thing. Follow the info on the can and don't over do making runs. Color work great on rims cuz it can be coated all at one go,just don't try doing any polishing tell after 2x the full dryed time.
As far as how long it last,it may depen on were you are,but here in Fla. seems good for a few years if polished a few times a year

 

I sanded a wheel down smooth......put some rattle can primer on it then a coat of rattle can almond........came out real nice.

 

Krylon good scuff and paint good.

 

Worst case scenario you have to paint them every year, it would cost less than $20.00 each time and a day labor....
I've painted plenty of rims, needs to be sanded smooth. A spray primer for bare metal is used any time I have bare metal showing to ensure that the paint sticks. You can get etching primer in a can...
Sand prime and finish...good luck, post some pics when done.

 

Wheels are easy to get painted with a rattle can, preparation is the key. Clean and well scuffed.

 

If you are planning to buy new rims, I would say O.K. the new rims I would paint with good automotive paint. I recently repainted all the brackets with automotive paint from a gun, after painting them with rattle can paint when I built the car. The paint was Krylon, and it turned a dull black, looked like shit. Do it right the first time, and save yourself a lot of time later

 

I would make sure all the grease and grime is gone then scuff with a pad. You could prime them with etching primer or if your current paint is solid, paint over it. I did mine with duplicolor from the parts store. Rattle can color and rattle can clear, Barcelona red from a toyota. Tim

 

Paint appearance is always dependent on prep, whether you use cheap or expensive paint, so do good prep. The main issue with cheap paint is durability so as long as you understand that it probably won't last as long, it can be made to look pretty good.

 

My father rigged up an old meat rotisserie motor from a grill that went junk to paint wheels.
He could put on as much paint as he wanted and never got a run.

 

I recently repainted the rear wheels on my Comet and learned a great trick from Royalshifter to make it a whole lot easier. I had wanted to do it for quite a while but kept putting it off because of the hassle of having to dismount/mount/re-balance the tires. He told me to go to the local dollar store and get a couple packs of playing cards, deflate the tires and then slip the cards into the beads making sure to overlap them by about a third. After you shoot the new color on them they pull right out and as a bonus leave no sticky tape residue. Air them up, bolt them on and go. It couldn't be any easier. These were done with a can of Rustoleum Satin:

 

Mutt I like that idea. I have always used a cut piece of cardboard. that is easier than cutting the cardboard to the right shape and laying it over the tire.

 

Thanks im going to try that trick! I will probably use masking paper to go beyond the cards but tape to the cards and not the whitewalls.

 

Thanks, it looks nice! How many cans of duplicolor, how many cans of primer, and how many cans of clear did that take? I'm debating using krylon indoor/outdoor burgundy ($3.86 a can at walmart and bigger in size than the duplicolor).

I was hoping to spend less than $30 on the rattle cans. I already have sandpaper, scuff pads, masking paper, masking tape, and decks of cards.

 

When painting wheels I would cover my tires with Vasoline, no muss no fuss wipe em off you're finished.

 

I may combine Beaner's and Muttley's ideas. Meaning cut a hole in some poster board, then put the cards on top of it to eliminate the need of any further masking. I might have to try that this weekend.

 

Do as said above. Prep is the thing!

 

Tractor supply implement paint is great stuff. Not sure they have a burgundy though.

 

I shot some black implement enamel we got at TSC years ago, but I can't help regarding colors. Real good results with the enamel though. Three important things to remember; prep, prep and prep.

 

I recommend using an outdoor paint designed for use on metal. I painted my wheels with a coat of automotive primer, and about 10 coats of Design Master "Robin's Egg Blue" paint from Hobby Lobby back in 2006. This picture is from today. I have never retouched them, either

 

Rub down with scotch brite or steel wool and paint with 3 thin wet coats. Allow to dry for a few minutes between coats to prevent runs.

I use damp rags for masking but the card idea is good too. If you get a bit of paint on the tire wipe it off with a rag and lacquer thinner.

 

you sound like Tonto

 

If you use good paint like Duplicolor. Sand first. Prime. Shoot paint. 1 can primer. If you are good 1 can paint. I usually like to get the second can of paint because the first half sprays better. I use all the first can to color and then the second can smooths out everything. A little clearcoat from the can will also be a plus but not really needed. I have done 100's of steel wheels that way. I sold a lot of used trucks in the 70's and 80's.

 

Well I'm is kemosavay. LOL

Well I have use vasoline to keep the paint from sticking to my palms, well come to think of it we didn't call that painting.

 

Thanks, 1 can of primer for all four, and 1 can of duplicolor for all four? Or is that per rim?

 

A trick to make it easier

No need to take the tire off the rim in order to paint it I use thin aluminum roof flashing about 6 inches wide ,lay it around the bead ,tape the ends and paint away works great Gene

 

Id double that, 2 cans should do it, maybe. Depends how thick you hose it on

 

I usually figure 2 cans of paint to paint a set of wheels. If I already had red wheels and was going back with a color on the red category I would not primer, I would spot primer the bare metal and then hit those places once with color, then shoot color.

 

I use rattle cans all the time - as mentioned many times prep is the key to success. Another trick I use so you don't have to break down the wheels/ tires--get a 3 ft. long piece of 12" aluminum roll flashing ( from one of your carpenter buddies).Make a cylinder/ hoop with it that stands up in the space between the rim and tire. Get it as tight as possible , and hold the overlap together with masking tape( Only problem getting it tight sometimes is weights in the way) Then cover the tire with shop rags and spray away. I make them up and keep them ( a 15" for Chevy rims, and a 16" for wire wheels).Even works with whitewalls if you're careful. If you're going from red to a lighter color, primer's not a bad idea. Easier to cover light colors with dark than vice versa. Good luck.