Painting stock wheels! Help!

[mattilude]

Hey guys i'm a newbie on here. I just bought me a nice white 93' Prelude Si 5-speed.. Fell in love w/ it when i test drove it. Anyway it has some ugly stock silver wheels on it (maybe their dirty) but anyway I think they'd look sweet if they were painted flat black.. Anybody ever done this, pics?? I would buy some new black rims but I just poured 3400 into buying the car itself. But I did go ahead and order my CAI tonight.

[AcesHigh]

I personally think that's silly... Black rims usually remind me of someone who just popped the plastic hubcaps off their Civic. I haven't seen any that has been done well.

[mattilude]

Well, I dont want to just leave them stock silver.. kind of ugly on the white prelude.. they're the same as whats on your black prelude. Maybe they just need cleaned up.. i haven't picked the car up yet.. loan wont be approved until monday

[510prelude]

well, i agree with Ace on this one its looks stupid. I think most people do it for the "Spoon Look" , As for the actually process i say just clean the rims really well, fill in all the imperfections with the metal filler stuff (Home Depot, Ace hardware usually sells it) sand down the spots you filled with 40 grit sand paper i think, then just spray a couple coats of black paint on, i suggest putting Laquer on it tho. I remember coming across a tutorial on it if i find it ill post it

[wfot71]

if you have to paint them then start off by washing them very good then wetsand with 400 grit sandpaper then wetsand over it again with 600 grit sanpaper, then the same with 800. After that wash it again, then wipe it down with a wax and grease remover. make sure to dry it good. after that spray thin coats of adhesion promoter over the whole wheel. now youre ready to paint. spray three to four light coats over it letting them dry ten to fifteen minutes between coats. then wait till theyre completely dry and spray a couple coats of clear over it. now if you want the paint look like its ten feet deep then do all of that over again. anymore questions let me know

[510prelude]

Originally Posted by wfot71

if you have to paint them then start off by washing them very good then wetsand with 400 grit sandpaper then wetsand over it again with 600 grit sanpaper, then the same with 800. After that wash it again, then wipe it down with a wax and grease remover. make sure to dry it good. after that spray thin coats of adhesion promoter over the whole wheel. now youre ready to paint. spray three to four light coats over it letting them dry ten to fifteen minutes between coats. then wait till theyre completely dry and spray a couple coats of clear over it. now if you want the paint look like its ten feet deep then do all of that over again. anymore questions let me know

yeah.... what he said

[Prelewd]

I saw a lude with wheels of the idea you are suggesting, and it looked terrible..

[sofast]

You should bank your money and buy the wheels you like. The money you spend painting your stock wheels can be saved toward a new set. Here is a good cheap place to buy wheels If you are on a tight budget. [ur]www.wheelmax.com[url]

[510prelude]

or you could just buy refurnished wheels, ive seen sets of 17's and 18's go for 600 bucks W/ tires, or just buy used beat up rims and get them refurnished.

[Prelewd]

I have beat up rims for sale. $100 dollars + shipping. Silver RS Limited Ikari, 17", 4x114.3 or 4x100.

[sofast]

wheelmax.com has wheel and tire packages starting at $499.99.

[mattilude]

thanks guys i'll look into that website

[Prelewd]

Just be forewarned that most of the wheels sold on that site are of cheap quality relative to what you'd pay more for.