Scratched Wheels Self Repair ...

[Gachinto]

planning to repair my scratched and "uglied" oem rims of my 99 camry le ~ any tips / suggestions plz ? this is my plan:
- paint strip and sand to bare metal/alloy
- clean and stuff
- "heavy coats" of primer <--
- gentle sand till smooth <--
- color and clear coat and stuff

[Misctick]

to add another question , what kinda paint would you use , the high tempeture ressitant kind ?

[jackfrost1031]

The make wheel paint that they sell at autozone and walmart, similar places.

I really don't know much besides taht about wheel painting.

[eyeball96]

Are they alloy or steel?

[88 LE]

Originally Posted by Gachinto

- paint strip and sand to bare metal/alloy
- clean and stuff
- "heavy coats" of primer <--
- gentle sand till smooth <--
- color and clear coat and stuff

Sounds good.

Its better to do light coats then heavy coats. Heavy coats = chances for runs and drips, long drying time, etc...

1. Spray a few coats of primer, let it dry completely, then wetsand with 600 grit sandpaper.

Don't go crazy with the wetsanding, otherwise you'll remove all the paint.

2. Few more coats of primer, let it dry, then wetsand again.

3. Spray your color, let it dry, and wetsand. You can move up to 800 - 1000 grit sandpaper.

4. Repeat step 3.

5. Clear coat (few light coats), let it dry, and wetsand. Move up to 1500 - 2000 grit sandpaper.

6. Repeat step 5, except this time skip the wetsanding.

7. Once everything is done, you can use a fine cutting compound and polish.


P.S. Clean off and dry the wheels after each wetsanding session.

[amerikim]

Check into powder coating.

[Gachinto]

stock 99 camry le rim ... the one with a hub cap in middle (i lost one of those thingy) ... i believe it's alloy i dunno ~

[itzsteven]

$30 to buy a new cap