DIY: Rattle Canning Your Rims

[Rob.Vegan]

I'm not sure if this has been covered or not, but I haven't seen it. So since I took up the challenge this afternoon of painting my stockers on my 2.5 I thought I'd take some pics for anyone who was wondering.This is all pretty straightforward.

What you need:Tape (blue painters tape)Newspaper / Magazine paper / Construction paper (either or all is fine)2 cans of Wheel paint (I used VHT high temp Wheel Paint)Jack standsFloor JackTools to take off your wheels

First jack your car up and place jackstands under the frame (not the body)



Remove the Wheel

Clean/Degrease rim. (I only rinsed mine and wiped away all the dirt)



Take some sand paper and scruff up the rim. I was going to use 800grit but we didn't have any so I took 1000 grit and a few extra minutes.



Tape around the rim, there's a little groove in between the rim and tire where a piece of tape fits nicely. To save on tape you can tape the rim-tire border and use some thick paper to cover the tire from over spray.



Apply first coat of paint, I'm using Gloss BlackEven light coats work best so you don't get runs or heavy spots



Apply second coat about 10-15minutes after 1st

Apply third coat about 10-15minutes after 2nd

Apply final coat about 30minutes after 3rd



Let dry for about 30-45minutes

Be careful handling the wheel, if you think the paint is still went then don't touch it

Put the wheel back on the car



Take any paper you have left on there off



Lower car and tighten lugs



*We ran out of daylight so I only got the front two tires done.Tomorrow I will be doing the back two

That's about it, let me know if you have any questions

[mcheddadi]

CUSTOM TITLE GET!

[Coupeguy23]

looks good man what made u want to paint your rims ???

[Blackmobile]

no primer??

i've seen people use a deck of cards instead of newspaper and tape, but i think i'd trust the tape and newspaper more.

jose 3.5 has done this too i believe, looks way better than stock without the cost of new rims, but unfortunately they're still only 16's

[Rob.Vegan]

No primer.

Just seemed like a waste of money, If it flakes I'll add a little paint here and there. It looks wonderful finished off the rears today.

19's coming soon hopefully

[chiapetchua01]

well if this is just for a few weeks i'm sure it'll be finebut no primer + clear coats = all overjust throw on some clear coat while your at it so it'll atleast be able to withstand the streets a little etter

once i find some suitable rims gonna do something specialkeeping it under wrap till i find some rims for it

[Rob.Vegan]

I will give it a few weeks and if the paint isn't holding up then I will add some clear coat. But I love the and shine it gave with just the paint.

I will add some pictures of my car done on Sunday maybe, I'm going to be pretty busy this weekend

[xfactor0707]

Nice i like it. Miight do them to mine while i wait to get my wheels

[rcboy514]

dude, thats badass! Very cool. Hopefully it holds up

Oh yeah, I think thats worthy of custom title, I haven't seen anyone on here do that yet.

[BlackNWhite]

Wow Rob. Look pretty good. Make sure you add some tire shine when you post those pics.

Why did you take your fascia off to do this?

[rcboy514]

Why did you take your fascia off to do this?

That was my next question lol

BTW I like the painted engine cover Rob!

[chiapetchua01]

Yah don't want it to seem like i'm attacking you with m yprevious commentthey are pretty sweet lookingjust don't want you to if the paint starts chipping

maybe i'll do this with my stockers for kicks

[Rmuth25]

I have a dumb question. How do you jack up the car if you are putting the jackstand at the point where you are supposed to put the jack? I put them on part of the frame thats inside the wheel well towards the back of it. I dont even think my jackstands would work a that location anyway...the lip on them is huge. For some dumb reason I got the professional like 4ton jack stands so they are gigantic!

[Rob.Vegan]

Wow Rob. Look pretty good. Make sure you add some tire shine when you post those pics.

Why did you take your fascia off to do this?

Ya well I have a Yokohama tire on the front pass. side of my car and it doesn't like tire shine much The rest of them look real good, but with the other tires I haven't posted pics in daylight so in a couple days when I update this with my final results I will definitely have some shine on there

I took the fascia off because my led turn signals became disconnected. So I took the fascia off, recrimped the wires and connected them again. It was just a small cheap mod/fixing day for me

BTW I like the painted engine cover Rob!

Thank you

maybe i'll do this with my stockers for kicks

Ya this was just for kicks but I love the turnout

I have a dumb question. How do you jack up the car if you are putting the jackstand at the point where you are supposed to put the jack? I put them on part of the frame thats inside the wheel well towards the back of it. I dont even think my jackstands would work a that location anyway...the lip on them is huge. For some dumb reason I got the professional like 4ton jack stands so they are gigantic!

I put the jack right near where the jack stands are. My brother helps me out with this stuff (ex mechanic for Ford and Toyota, and UTI graduate) and he said it will be fine as long as it's on the frame and not the body

edit: Here is a phone pic of my rims finished, I was in a rush finishing up and forgot to put the center caps back on the rear word of advice to anyone attempting this, the center caps don't take well to sand paper and they weren't the easiest to paint


Modified by Rob.Vegan at 11:13 AM 5/16/2009

[BlackNWhite]

Came out looking really good Rob. As long as the paint holds up, I would roll on these for a good while, I wouldn't be in no rush to buy rims now.

I think some black lugs would finish the look.

[Blackmobile]

your car is a ninja altima. looks like it could dissapear into the night, it's truly blacked out

[Rob.Vegan]

Ya last night I was walking to my friends house after parking and the car is invisible The only part you can see is the headlights the radiator kind of, and like the reflection on the side of the car kind of

[PHENOMenalVinyl]

if i had these wheels i would of done this the first day i only wish i didnt have the hubcaps......i hate winter rims these would be perfect.....i wouldnt feel ashamed of my wheels

[Rob.Vegan]

Ya they look SOOOO much better black. A couple people actually thought I bought new rims...

Gives a completely different look to my car now.

[Jose3.5]

After the sand paper you should have used primer, then your paint, and then a clear coat. Looks good though. here are mine

Its a cheap way of getting a new look for your car and it makes a big difference. Do you have any plans on changing the colors? I'm thinking of maybe doing gold or bronze just for the fun of it.

[headhunt3r]

How about painting wheels that don't have tires on them yet? How would u suggest taping around for that?

[Curtieson]

What would you be taping off? You tape so you dont get paint on the tires...if there are no tires...you have a MUCH easier job!!!

I was JUST talking to the Mrs. about doing this, but I was going to Powder coat instead of paint. I like the look! I will have to steal a pic of yours and throw it on my car and see how it looks with the blue.

[Rob.Vegan]

Ya I know the proper way to paint, it's just that I was cheaping out and didn't want to buy six cans of paint. I got away with just buying two cans of paint and if they start chipping a touch up wouldn't be that hard at all.

I also love the shine it has without the clear coat.

I will put up a picture tonight of my car with all wheels done.Sorry it's taking so long they will be up real soon

[dangeris]

Very Nice Rob I guess you want me to make this into an article now huh? I'll get it article-ized soon

[Marisha]

D - maybe add bits about primer and clear coat? Wouldn't want someone to follow this exactly if they're not prepared as Rob for chipping.

[Rob.Vegan]

You don't have to make it into an article I don't really care muchAs Marisha said I didn't paint them "The right way" and we wouldn't want someone to take the easy road and expect it to turn out perfect.

[Marisha]

Rob, I wasn't trying to knock your work at all, sorry if it came out that way. In fact seeing the result has given me a few ideas. I was just hoping that little bit about primer and clear coat would be there so that someone who looks at the article without reading this thread would realize that you took a shortcut that you were OK with. Def think it would make a good article to have, but that's my .02.

[lilojoj]

nice! i kinda want to paint mine too but it will be a long time until i get new ones.

[Rob.Vegan]

Oh I totally understand you weren't trying to bash me. I was just furthering that and kind of bashing myself I guess.