How can you paint rims

Tips and Warnings. Things You'll Need. Related Articles. Article Summary. Method 1. Use a lug wrench or an impact to loosen the lug nuts. This is the safest way to loosen your lugs. While the car is still on the ground, it puts pressure on the wheels. This holds the wheels in place and allows you to loosen the lugs without the wheel spinning. Jack up the car.

Look in your service manual for recommended jacking points. This will help avoid any unnecessary damage to the vehicle. Place the jack under the jacking points and jack up the car. Use jack stands to stabilize the car.

Although you need a jack to get the car in the air, a car resting on a jack is not safe. Again, consult a service manual for jacking points and slide the jack stands under those points. Lower the car with the jack and rest the car on the jack stands. If you are lifting the front or back end there should be one on each side of the car.

If you are lifting the whole car, there should be two on each side near each corner. Remove the lug nuts. Now that the car is in the air and well supported, you can remove your lug nuts. They should be loose enough to remove by hand. If not, use a lug wrench or impact to get them off. Remove the wheel from the wheel base. Once the lugs are removed, you can simply pull the wheel away from the car.

Follow this same procedure for each of the four wheels. Move the wheels to a suitable workspace. Have the tires removed from your wheels. It's very difficult to do this safely without specialized equipment, so it's best to have this done by a mechanic or tire shop. While not strictly necessary, removing your tires reduces the time taken to mask off the rim, and eliminates the chance of overspray on your tires.

Removing the tires will also help ensure that you can paint all the way to the edge of the rim with no interference.

Remove your valve stem. This step, like removing the tires, is optional. Removing the valve stem from your rims allows you to paint without masking it off. It also eliminates the difficulty of trying to paint at different angles to avoid missing parts of the rim that may be slightly blocked by the valve stem. This allows a more natural spraying motion and can result in a better overall paint job.

Method 2. Clean your wheels with soap and water. This first step will remove most dirt and grime from your wheels. This will allow you to recognize any dents, chips, or rust on your wheels. It will also make sanding easier and more efficient. Clean your wheels with a wax and grease remover. A wax and grease remover is typically just a nonpolar solvent like mineral spirits unlike water, which is a polar solvent. This will dissolve things that water will not, such as oils.

Sand your wheels. At the very least, you will need a wire brush to remove all rust. Ideally, you would sandblast your wheels to remove rust and any old paint or stuck-on debris. This will give you the best starting surface. Next, sand the entire wheel with grit sandpaper and then grit sandpaper.

This will remove any coarse scratches and leave only a smooth surface with very fine scratches that the paint can adhere to and cover. There should be no rough patches or pits in the wheel. Spray the wheels with water. You want to spray off any debris from sanding. Remove as much dust as you possibly can. This will help ensure a clean paint job.

If you do not have a water hose, you can dump water over the wheels with a bucket. Dry the wheels. Use compressed air to get to any cracks or crevices that you cannot reach. Make sure that all water and the dust in it is wiped away. Again, we want the wheels absolutely clean for priming and painting. You can also dry with a chamois cloth, but be sure to leave no water on the surface at all. Method 3. Choose a place to paint. The ideal location will be as dust-free as possible.

Good ventilation is a must. It helps remove dust and other contaminants and also removes the excess paint and thinner from the room. Wear protective gear. This will protect yourself from toxic materials in the paint, as well as protect your paint job from anything falling off of your body. Having your head and body covered minimizes the risk of a hair or piece of lint falling onto the paint surface.

Paints and paint thinners also known as reducers contain volatile organic compounds VOCs. These VOCs are flammable and toxic. They are dangerous to inhale and are also absorbed through the skin and eyes. Put tape around the perimeter of your paint surface. The tape should outline the part of the rim you wish to paint without touching it. The part of the wheel that you want to paint should not have any tape on it. This can be a slow and tedious process depending on the design of your wheel and whether or not you opted to remove your tires and valve stem.

Cover the entire wheel in plastic or paper wrap. This will be the primary protection from overspray. By blocking the excess paint from landing on other surfaces of the wheel, you save yourself a lot of time trying to clean it off later. Any overspray that does end up in unwanted places will have to be carefully removed with lubricant and a clay bar. Cut the plastic with a razor. Trim out the center of the plastic. This will expose the section of the wheel you wish to paint.

Tape the outside of the circle you made the cut edges of the plastic and down to the first layer of tape that you laid. Tape the rest of the plastic edges down as well. This will seal off any entrance for overspray to get on the rest of your wheel.

Method 4. Wipe the paint surface down with wax and grease remover. You need a final wipe to remove any excess dirt or dust from the wheels. The wax and grease remover also removes any oils left from your hands or skin while working with the wheel. Use a clean paper towel to wipe the surface dry instead of letting the cleaner evaporate. Prime the wheels. The primer provides the ideal surface for your paint to adhere to and helps in rust prevention.

It also provides an even color across the paint surface and allows the paint to look the same across your wheel. You will need to spray on two to three coats of primer. Read the instructions on your primer and wait the recommended amount of time in between coats. This will help prevent running. Apply three coats of primer and paint, then voila! You've got a brand-new looking wheel and a ride you can be proud of. Type keyword s to search. Today's Top Stories.

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