so i have the 04 coupe laser red and current its rolling on 19" axis pentas. they are silver and chrome, so im wondering if anybody has experience with painting aftermarket rims. im thinking if done right: i.e. cleaned and sanded, possibly primed first, they could potentially be very sexy in flat black... any inputs? i love the red and black theme and defently would love my g looking this way!

what do you gents think?

 

If you're sure you want the red/black thing for your G it could be done. Take your time masking off everything you don't want painted. Spend hours sanding, chrome doesn't do well with paint unless it really scuffed up. You'll need "High Heat Primer" cause wheels do get hot! Rather than going with a flat black, consider semi gloss black doing several light coats. I will look way better than flat....I promise! It should be 70 degrees to do the job right, we won't see that temp in SoCal for at least a week. You also have the option of having them powder coated....Gary

 

yeah thats a good point, the semi probably will look better overall. as you can see in the picture the lip is mainly the chrome part, whereas the the spokes are more of a powdered silver. yeah over here in NC we are actually having decent 75+ weather so its possible. if i did choose to do this i would definitely sand it rough as possible just to guarantee a proper painting surface.

 

Lots of people have painted OEM and aftermarket wheels they need to be prepped properly and you're set.

 

+1^ I have painted 2 sect of 18s and never had any problems with them chipping or anything I just took my time on prep

 

where they aftermarket chrome or just stocked?

 

so i was doing some research and this may sound a little white trashy but im thinking about that plasti dip stuff for the rims. because its easier than traditional paint and if im not happy with the results i can always peel it off and basically start over. but does anyone know if it ruins the paint underneath or have any personal experience with this stuff and how well it holds up to say rock, debris, road salt in the winter etc..?

 

They were the stock 18 that I painted, if you look in my albums the one that's labeled first g those rims are plasti dipped I wasn't sure if I would like it so I tried plasti dip so I could remove it but I ended up loving it and just left them dipped they held up great, if you look at the other album with the black coupe those are painted with rust oleum bed liner and it came out very well also people will give you shot no matter what you do so just do what you want I have seen a few sets of wheels that were plasti dipped with blue or pink and it looks good and they were expensive wheels I wouldn't ruin them with paint especially if there is a reversible option

 

I have painted a couple of different sets of rims. Just make sure you don't use sand paper that is too gritty and most of all take your time to allow them to dry! It's hard to wait between coats, but it is worth it in the end. I have painted 2 sets of oem rims, sterns and varrstoens.

 

Try plasti dip first wont hurt.

 

There are tons of tutorials online that show how to repaint wheels if you're looking to attempt this yourself. I would recommend chemically stripping the wheel first, cleaning it to remove any sort of impurities, and then work on fixing any curb rash. If the rash isn't too bad you could probably just sand it smooth, but if your wheels have very deep gouges in them you probably will need to fill them in and sand them smooth. Then just prime, paint, and allow them time to dry.

If it doesn't come out so good, you could always have them powder coated.

 

Plastidip is idiot proof. Even if you have zero painting skills it will turn out good. The only downside is its hard to keep clean but you shoul definitely try that first. Don't prep the wheels at all if your gonna plastidip! It doesn't mess up the finish underneath and it adheres perfectly to chrome with no prep. That's the miracle of plastidip. It's not trashy lots of guys on here have different parts dipped. Wheels, trim, emblems, roof, grill, etc. and if you don't like it just peel it off just make sure you lay it on thick and put at least 3 coats or it won't peel off easily. Mineral spirits takes care of any unwanted overspray or residue.

 

I think you should try plastidip, even if it's just to see if you like the look of black wheels on your car. I'm pretty sure you're going to like it!
There was a member here who painted wheels somewhat similar to yours with plastidip and they came out great!
Forgot to mention, I painted mine with plastidip last March and they still look good. I just don't use a pressure washer when I wash my car!

 

Im in the same situation as you right now trying to figure out what to do with my rims they are black face with a polished lip that i would like the lip white to match the car. Most Powdercoaters wont do it because they say cant just do the lip they would have to strip the whole wheel and that gets pricey so im thinking painting is the way to go.

 

prep and proper outside conditions are a must. i refinished my stock 18s at the end of last month, and lets just say it was too cold and ill be repainting soon