So I'm just about to paint my wheels. (Just the lip only) I was wondering if you guys had any tips/tricks/advice for me? The lip is bare metal right now, and I know I have to sand it nicely with 400 grit then finish with 600 grit. But any other tips I should use when I prep them? I bought Duplicolor prep spray and it says its super adhesive. So I hope it helps. Also I have Duplicolor Primer Sealer do I just spray it on and not have to worry about it? How many coats should I use for primer, paint, and clear coat? TIA guys.

 

Hello..

 

Everyone has their own methods... The sealer isn't necessary since you're already down to bare metal. I would use an etch primer on the bare metal first, you can get it in rattle cans by Duplicolor and other brands. Spray that first, then some regular primer for a build - about 3 good coats. Wet sand the primer lightly with 600-800, then spray your color (3 coats) then your clear (5 coats). You should turn out with a pretty smooth finish. Wet sand with 1500, then 2000 and buff it and you should be a super smooth finish.

 

^ Nice nice, well its Duplicolor Metal Cast and it requires a special primer to make the color pop. So should I just use the self etch primer (1 or 2 coats) then use the special primer? (2 coats) I hope I can find the self etching primer at my local Kragens or something..

 

I'm familiar with that paint, it's basically like a candy coat where you have to spray the ground coat down before the color. That ground coat is really meant for when you are painting plastic or an already painted surface. It allows it to look similar to anodized metal. If you have it down to bare metal and it's smooth, I would spray the color directly on without any primers. It will give it a true anodized look that by using the ground coat can't. But it all depends on what finish you are trying to achieve. You could test one that way to see how it looks.

 

^ Well I sprayed my shift **** with 2 coats of primer sealer, then 3 coats of ground clear, 3 coats of paint, and 3 coats of clear. I managed to chip some paint off twice. (I repainted it) I just want to paint my wheels the right way without paint chipping off. Thats basically my goal for painting these wheels. IDK if I will just paint without the ground coat, but I'm leaning more towards using the ground coat..

 

Oh and I should spray the wheels first with self etching primer, then spray another kind of primer over? Would Duplicolor sandable primer work? Also do I use 3 coats of each primer or just 3 coats of all primers in one? (ex. 2 coats of etching primer and 1 coat of sandable primer?) Thanks for your help btw!

 

Etching primer is usually applied with just one coat. The surface/filler primers are usually 3 coats because you are going to sand some away for a smooth finish. Then 3 coats of base color, and 3-5 coats of clear. Since you're going to use the ground coat you have to do that before the base color, I'd say 2 coats to get enough coverage.

 

^ Thank you for all your help. Now I just have one last question, I painted my wheels and it isn't that smooth.. The spray can says it takes 7 days for the paint to cure. So if I wait 7 days will it be okay to wet sand the clear coat from 1500 grit - 2000 grit? I'm going to be using an adjustable speed buffer and I was wondering if its okay to buff it with the speed of 1000rpm?

 

BUMP for my question!

 

Yes, you can color sand and buff after 7 days. Its better if your wheels were out in the sun for those 7 drying days. If the wheels still have no shine to them, I would re-clear them. You dont spray clear as you would other colored paints. Once you lay the tack coat, you can then spray it a bit more liberally to get a real smooth and wet shine.

 

^ Oh didn't know that. And yes I'm trying to bake the wheels right now, they're just sitting in the sun. I want to be safe and just buff them next Friday. Plus on the clear coat can it says "Clear coat will shine better with rubbing compound." So I should be good. I bought the clear coat from paintscratch.com.

 

Sounds like you got everything under control...

Oh, and dont sand the wheels immediately after being out in the sun....let it cool down first.

 

can we see some pics of how they came out?

 

^ Ehhh.. they look like shiet to be honest lol. I'll have some pics after sunday. Thanks for the tip Enjoytheride!