[njoker]

hey guys i have a 09 Metallic gray corolla S...i have read a bunch of threads on people wanting to paint their stock rims but cant find any pictures of the 16 inch Stock S rims painted if someone who either painted them on their own or got them powder coated could post pics and if it was worth it.
Also, i was thinking of going with painting them black or a gun metal gray to match more to the car any ideas?
Thanks

 

[FirstXrs]

Only painted wheels here so far are some XRS's, but the process would be the same. Rather than type it all out, I'll give you a link.

http://carbodywork.blogspot.com/2006/11/paint-your-car-rims.html

Remember to sand.

Oh, and I'd say go with gunmetal. Pick a good shade, though.

 

[njoker]

yea thats prob y i only could find the XRS ones painted.
Do you think the stock S ones would look good painted?

 

[FirstXrs]

Depends on how meticulous you are about the process. If you spend 4 hours preparing the surface and another 8 painting them, they'll come out looking nice. If you do it in 20 minutes...

 

[njoker]

yea im deff going to put the time and effort into sanding them and making them look nice its not something i plan on rushing thanks for the help

 

[joeylgarcia]

yea thats prob y i only could find the XRS ones painted.
Do you think the stock S ones would look good painted?

i have the same 09 corolla S. i also plan to paint the oem rims this summer if i get the chance to buy performance wheels and tires. i really have no idea what color will be good to match blue streak metallic. but for sure i have the time to change it from a metallic shade of blue (or exact body color) or bright red or bright yellow. im gonna try all those and find out the best match. but the wife wants bright metallic purple.

 

[Hamster Inspector]

Amateurs opinion.

I will give you my amateurs opinion, take it for what it is worth. I have never seen a do it yourself job done well nor have I ever met a person attempting this satisfied with the job. For the time and expense of painting your rims, check out what it will cost you for a body shop to do it. You will be much happier with the work if it is done well. I have also seen aftermarket mag rims at almost the cost of steel rims.

 

[sok]

and here's my 2 cents, too.... I have twice painted my own rims. if you're careful, you can get it to look really good... but not for long. it's impossible to avoid chips because of so much wear and tear, then it looks like garbage. then you're stuck putting all that work in to paint them again or living with ghetto rims. It really has to be heat-bonded or electrically bonded color, and if you're willing to pay for that you might as well just get some new ones.

 

[joeylgarcia]

all those options can be explored later on when time and financial budget permits. thanks for the advices.

 

[njoker]

if i get them done by a shop and get them powder coated will they still chip even though there done professionally?

 

[joeylgarcia]

if i get them done by a shop and get them powder coated will they still chip even though there done professionally?

no unless you roll your wheel and tire half under gravel. if u get it done professionally it will be like the condition of your unpainted rims right now.

 

[njoker]

any ideas on how much painting rims black would cost just a rough amount?

 

[joeylgarcia]

do it yourself rim painting could cost u like $50 more or less for all 4 rims.

 

[njoker]

would they still chip if i gave them a couple coats of clear coat at the end? i mean obv there not going to be perfect but i mean worth doing?

 

[sok]

definitely use clear coat, but the lifetime will still be pretty limited. i promise you if you can do it for $50 as suggested above it will not last long, and you are stuck with crappy wheels that have been sanded, primed, painted, and are now chipped, so good luck w/ resale/trade-in. (if not from gravel/sand/whatever goes flying across the interstate, then at least the next time you get tires mounted). this is all an opinion, of course, but i won't be doing it again on my own cars. a professional powdercoat should hold up pretty well (i looked into this too), but then you are paying $80-100 per wheel, which is almost enough to buy new wheels in whatever color you want. strictly opinion, i think it will look good for a little while if you do it right, but not in the long run.

let's hear from someone else who has actually painted their own and is still happy with it, before the guy goes thru with it.

 

[FirstXrs]

I will give you my amateurs opinion, take it for what it is worth. I have never seen a do it yourself job done well nor have I ever met a person attempting this satisfied with the job. For the time and expense of painting your rims, check out what it will cost you for a body shop to do it. You will be much happier with the work if it is done well. I have also seen aftermarket mag rims at almost the cost of steel rims.

and here's my 2 cents, too.... I have twice painted my own rims. if you're careful, you can get it to look really good... but not for long. it's impossible to avoid chips because of so much wear and tear, then it looks like garbage. then you're stuck putting all that work in to paint them again or living with ghetto rims. It really has to be heat-bonded or electrically bonded color, and if you're willing to pay for that you might as well just get some new ones.

Excellent points, and +1 on hearing from someone who's painted their wheels.

 

[sinnaever]

My Brother In Law painted his rim on his CRX, and they looked good for about 1 month. He did an excellent job on them, and spent an entire weekend doing it (sanding, priming, painting), but those rims chipped up pretty fast.

I'll go with the poster who said HeatBonded or Electrobonded... Regular spray paint cans (even if they are for rims) won't do a good enough job to keep them nice.

I'd say spend the $$ on a professional job who does it correctly, or buy new rims that are the colour you want. If you're not going to be racing, i'd suggest getting some rims that are $100-200 each. Enkei's and Konig's aren't terribly expensive and look pretty good, plus you can get them in almost any colour....

Just some ideas

 

[njoker]

Would getting HeatBonded or Electrobonded paint make them last or is that what was used on the people who say they chipped?
And if so where do i get something like that?

 

[sok]

Would getting HeatBonded or Electrobonded paint make them last or is that what was used on the people who say they chipped?
And if so where do i get something like that?

those are expensive professional paint jobs which would no doubt hold up longer than home-made. i don't have any experience with powdercoat/heat/electro-bond or whatever, i'd imagine you can get some kind of warranty against chipping from whoever does it. but you really have to specifically want painted stock rims, though, since it will probably cost the same as (or more than) new rims.

 

[njoker]

true any1 have any estimates on powder coating rims how much they would cost?
(the reason behind me wanting to keep my rims is not cause i love them that much its just there 17 in tires on them and i would want 18s and i couldn't afford getting new rims and tires)