DIY: Repainting Steel Rims

[Venom_5]

Disclaimer: If you do not own, or have an aversion to "steelies" then this thread is probably not for you...

For those of you that have steel rims, whether you use hubcaps or not, you might begin to notice some rust on them ... especially if you use them as your winter wheels. Some people dont care, which is fine - you can let them rust ... but others want to keep them looking fresh & black like their tires, and this was my solution:


Supplies
+ Bucket for Soapy Water
+ Abrasive Pad or Sponge
+ Dry Cloth or Shop Towels
+ Sand Paper (a medium grit like 150 or 220 should do)
+ Index Cards (one large pack, just to be safe)
+ Newspaper
+ Paint of Your Choice [discussed below]
+ All necessary tools to remove wheel from car


How-To

Step 1: Jack up corner and remove 1 wheel from car

Step 2: Clean steel rim with soapy water & abrasive pad


Step 2.5: Dry rim thoroughly with cloth or towels

Step 3: Sand rim until seemingly grey (doesnt take a lot of effort)


Step 4: Clean rim again to remove any debris from sanding process

Step 4.5: Dry rim again - make sure there is no water in any crevice or dimple

Step 5: Mask off tire area with index cards - they should stay fine if pressed in firmly, as long as you are not painting on a very windy day ... some people also say to use some duct tape to mask off the valve stem (which i did)


Step 6: Apply very light coats of your base paint - waiting a few minutes between coats


(Optional) Step 7: Apply 2 full coats of secondary paint [discussed below]

(Optional) Step 8: Apply 1 or 2 light coats of clearcoat

... and then youre done! Allow the wheel to dry while you work on the next 3 - and try to keep them out of wet areas for at least 24 hours!

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Optional Paint Ideas:

I painted my front wheels two different ways at first to experiment with finishes, and then decided and repainted them to be the same ... this way you wont have to worry about what it will look like if you try this!

Version 1:
Use Rustoleum High Heat black spray paint for Grilles - this will give a deep grey finish (dark gunmetal). If you apply clearcoat, it will give you a deep matte grey with somewhat of a sparkle due to the clearcoat.

Version 2:
Use the process above, but use Duplicolor Semi-gloss Black for the secondary coats (using the rustoleum high-heat almost like a primer). This will give you a true flat black color.

Version 3:
Use the aforementioned Duplicolor as the base paint, applying a light clearcoat afterwards. This will give you a finish that is almost exactly like the OEM paint on the steel rims.

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Before:


After (Version 2):

After (Version 3):


Paints Used:



Hope That Helps!

[ECale3]

[keisuke]

i presume this applies to any other color too

[Venom_5]

Originally Posted by keisuke

i presume this applies to any other color too

yes - if you want neon green steel rims then you can follow these steps

[keisuke]

i was thinking of taking my full 5th and turning it Neon Orange like they do for spares in japan

[cruisn76]

Venom, keep saving, you need alloys with the nicely lowered car!!!

[Venom_5]

Originally Posted by cruisn76

Venon, keep saving, you need alloys with the nicely lowered car!!!

1) Venom, not Venon
2) I dont need "alloys", but if i decide to get some i will put them on the car
3) thats not the topic of this thread, so please keep it on-topic for as long as possible

[cmjohnson]

You need to apply a quality primer coat to help prevent further rust.

QUALITY primer doesn't mean Rust-oleum or other low cost spray cans, it means the GOOD stuff, like
DuPont QuickPrime A-4260S.

The difference is night and day.

Then, use KRYLON black. (or whatever color...but use Krylon if you're going to use a spray can.)


Don't forget to do the BACK side of the wheels, too. Only doing the front side is of limited value.


CJ

[Venom_5]

rust-oleum makes high end paints too, actually ... and you wont see a difference between low-end and high-end unless you look at the two side-by-side in several years, at which point i will have a new car (as will most of us)

the back side of the wheels will be done tomorrow - forgot to mention that, so thanks for the reminder

[cruisn76]

Originally Posted by Venom_5

1) Venom, not Venon
2) I dont need "alloys", but if i decide to get some i will put them on the car
3) thats not the topic of this thread, so please keep it on-topic for as long as possible

1. N & M is very close, didn't realize the typo.
2. Personal preference
3. Sorry

[Venom_5]

NOT CLOSE ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! dont ever make a typo again or you will be smitten

anyways - forgot another thing:
if youre gonna use primer, get some sandable primer if you want to take the time to really get a smooth surface for the final coat

[REGGINASIMONEV]

to be honest, it looks like crap

waste of time.....too cheap to get rims eh lol

[m52go]

^^ first of all, venom noted at the top in big letters that if youre not fond of steelies then you should stay away from this thread ...

second of all, there are plenty of good reasons that one would want to keep steelies. most rims require low aspect ratio tires to look good, and in many areas, roads and climate make that impractical ... and anyway, rims are a pain in the ass to keep looking good, as anyone who has them and cares about them would know.

i myself will have bigger/aftermarket rims really soon, but i would never call someone who has steelies by choice 'cheap' and i dont think you should either ...

good writeup venom ... i might do this for my steelies. im gonna switch them on for winter time so i might as well have them looking fresh

[EEngineer]

nice, i think i just might paint my steelies light blue just to match my car for my winters hehe.


or white....

something drastic or stupid who knows. worst thing that can happen is that i'll have to coat it over LOL

[TheKevin]

nice write-up.