What's a good wheel paint?

[Jim_A_B]

I suppose I need something that will not be "soft" and can stand the heat and harsh environment. I want something that is silver metallic.

[cnichols]

Powder coat...forget paint.

[Bobby_Wu]

what "cnichols" said

[cnichols]

I'd powder coat my whole damn car if possible....ok maybe not. But I love the stuff....it's great.

[Jim_A_B]

I have no intention of spending more than about $50 to paint these wheels. It would cost me $50 just for the labor or removing the tires and putting them back on after they were powder coated. I will let all the air out of the tires and put paper in between the tire and wheel to paint them. Someone put something on them before I got the car that caused the clearcoat to peel and get all cruddy looking. I used some strong paint remover to remove the clearcoat, but the wheel still looks like crap, although it feels smooth. What is "harder" and more durable... acylic enamel, eurathane enamel, acylic laquer, etc.?

[MainEvent212]

urethane sounds like it'd be strong...

[trpower7]

I use the wheel paint that DuPont makes, you can find it at most AutoZone's. Certainly not as good as powdercoating, but for $15 I got a set of wheels looking pretty good. It's all about $ to result ratio, and for the $$ it's worth the money.

[Jim_A_B]

Well, I picked up some metallic silver paint from Advance Auto. It actually started to look good, then the drips started . Let this serve as a lesson to others out there - The "flat fan" of paint from the nozzle started hitting the lip below the nozzle and started dripping point on the wheel! I twisted the nozzle where it no longer dripped, but the damage was done. I put on a heavy coat to try and smooth out the drips, but I just ruined the job. Now I must strip this coat of paint and start over. I plan on boxing the near empty can up and sending it back to the manufacturer. In my opinion, the orientation the nozzle is in from the factory is set to create a build up of paint, which leads to drips that ruin the paint job. All I want it another can that I can adjust the nozzle on prior to painting.

[pervytheclown]

man, tough break..you should post pics after you get done with that. Im kinda interested to see how it turns out.

[cnichols]

It's all about $ to result ratio, and for the $$ it's worth the money.

I"m going to have to disagree....sometimes it can be worthwhile, but in this case, IF he likes the wheels and plans on keeping them, it would be worth it to ME to have them powder coated. All the time and effort put into this project could instead have been used in working a second job or doing something to make money on the side that would easily have paid for powder coating, which will NOT run, will NOT chip or crack, and look 10 times better.

[trpower7]

Powdercoating runs in the area of $75 a wheel last time I checked. Not to mention the cost of having tires removed and re-mounted. The time is really a non-issue, it isn't as if taking time to paint his wheels would prevent him from getting a second job. The logic here is pretty simple. If you are experienced with using that cheap spray paint stuff you can yield a fairly good result, I've worked for a detail company and a dealership, every professional I've seen has used wheel paint to touch up or re-finish work factory work, as long as they keep the color the same.

On another note, if you want to strip off the bad job you have on there, Home Depot sells an industrial paint stripper in a big orange metal can, it's a brush on, and will NUKE anything on the wheels. Be careful with it, don't get it on your hands, and be sure to keep it ventilated. Who knows, you may be left with a bright aluminum surface you can polish, I've seen it happen before..............

[S14 Wannabe]

Hey man....

http://www.nissaninfiniticlub....inted

[Jim_A_B]

Kudos to Plasti-kote! I called their 1-800 number and told the lady that due to the orientation of the spray noozle from the factory, I ruined my paint job. She said she'd send out a replacement can today! I'm glad I didn't have to mail the original can back