I just bought new shoes for my Fit, but now i would like to paint them , i was thinking about gunmetal, or bronze... but now i don't know which paint i should use, i will probably be able to use a paint gun.
I want to keep costs to a minimal, but still by doing a good job... i called at one place today to ask how much it would cost and he told me it would be somewhere around 170$ for urethane paint (which does'nt use any primer)... that's a bit pricey for me... but my guess is that spray cans aren't cheap either and i think that it's way less durable...

so i just wanted to know how much i should pay for paint, and i don't mind if there are more steps (primer, paint, clear) and if you can recommend particular products...

 

get them powder coated. Looks better and will last longer

 

fwiw... (shameless self promotion) i have a full set of eastwood primer/paint/clear enough to paint a full set gunmetal... for 90...

the biggest deal with painting is the prep work... sand low grit, wetsand higher grit, clean, degrease, prime x2, paint x3, clear x2... if you've done your work correctly with prepping, the paint will stick nicely and won't chip easily... and if you take your time painting and doing light/medium coats, you won't get runs and it will look uniform...


powdercoating is more durable but is more costly as well...

good luck!

 

I did paint my old wheels with regular spray paint. apex is right though. As long as you take your time and prep it all properly, it should look really nice. Mine came out really well, and i was surprised on how well spray paint looked.

 

NEVER DO THIS!!!

Powder coating Wheels = BAD IDEA!!!!

http://www.rarerims.co.uk/rarerimsblog_ind.asp?id=34

 

okay. if you have a reputable person doing the powder coat, i see no harm. i have seen plenty of rims powder coated without this happening. Looks like they had someone that was extremely inexperienced and a complete idiot doing their wheels.

 

i'll not take the chance.. spray ftw!

 

lol... yeah i heard about the danger of powdercoating... i don't really want to take the risk...
just wondering apex, does 170$ of paint sound right to you? is that the kind of money i'll have to put? and score how much did it cost you to spray paint? painting with a gun will give better and
more durable results right?

 

just go at a bodyshop for car, they can do paint for wheel too

 

yeah, i know, point is that i don't want this to cost me too much, and i want do this myself... so i can learn from this!

 

170 for all four isnt bad...

i'm selling 2 cans of primer, 3 cans of gunmetal, and 2 cans of clear (enough to do all 4) for 90 + shipping obo...

a gun will make the mist finer, and can give more even look, but meh... as long as you prep well and do light/medium coats from 12" away, it'll look pretty good with spray paint... you can even buy those handles that go onto spray cans for $2... that's what i use...

more durable with a gun? no. that's in the prep and the type of paint.
better results with a gun? if done with the same person - yes. but i've seen sprayed wheels that have looked better than "gunned" wheels...


hope this helps... my fs thread is bumped in the fs section...

 

ummmm I've seen cars that are driven HARD get wheels powdercoated

 

def. didnt spend $170. Got wheel paint from autozone and clear coat. Your gonna go through a lot of prep stuff like stripper, sand paper and stuff to clean the wheel. Just remember to take your time, dont rush the prep, and nice even light coats.

Wheel before anything.


filling in holes with bondo and sanding



primer



final product



ended up not using the centercaps

 

lol good... but how much should i pay then??? for 170$ he did say it was professional stuff, the one thing i don't really like is that it's only 1 step... no primer, no clear... so probably automatically more pricey.
I know that preping is pretty much everything and i think that for the process i know what to do... but i'm still undecided can vs. gun and just want to be sure i'm buying good quality products
btw thanks for the tips so far

 

i have no idea on price hahah. it was a couple cans of primer, couple color, couple clear. Thats not really a help i know, but i really have no idea. Plus i had clear at home from another project so i didnt need as much clear. i worked at a dealer too so i got a couple things under the table like sand paper and stripper.

As long as you take your time and remember small even coats, can should be fine.

 

Powder coating wheels comes in two ways... which you'll want to pay attention. PC doesn't literally means it's dangerous and OMG stay away from it.

One way they PC wheels is baking them. They put them in an oven or similar and cranks up the heat. And they go on from there... This I find the more danger way. Why? Because baking the wheels to certain temp IE: 900... will weaken the wheels. Thus why people out there tends to break their wheels after getting PC'ed.

Another way I've seen and a read about... Is the PC'ers sand blasts the wheels. I've read good things about this comparing to baking. In anyway I don't see how this will be weakening the wheels.

So if you're in the market for PCing your wheels... I'd ask the PCer what method they use. I'd stay away if they will bake your wheels.

 

If you do it own your own, prep time will take for EVAH!

 

yeah i think you're right Datfit... while i did my research, i came across powder coating guns made by Eastwood... the thing is as i said, i prefer to keep costs to a minimal... that way, i will also be able to paint my wheels differently in a few years...