Painted me wheels! Time attack style sdr's on aspen white. Yay or nay?

sonic03rex · 10-28-2006, 10:27 PM

Hey guys, well my gold sdr's were beyond scratched and scraped up.Also had brake fluid spray all over 2 of them so needless to say they were beat. Decided to paint them up untill I get something better. Took me about a day total, masking the lip off for the red pinstriping was fun. Oh well here's a few pics.

Yay or nay?

Hey everyone, sorry for taking a while to get back on here, anyway since there are a few people asking for a write up, I'll just put it here.

alright here goes,

Tools needed

Assorted grits of sandpaper (I bought 120 and 220 wet/dry)
- or steal wool
Wax stripper/remover. (I used 3M brand wax remover from pep boys, I imagine you could use acetone or something similar)
Index cards
Masking tape
Newspaper or something similar
4-6 cans of a good high temp paint for the wheels ( I used 1500 degree duplicolor manifold/engine paint) They sell actual wheel paint but I couldnt find any in black or red.
1-2 cans of the same paint but in your choice of color for the lip
clean microfiber towel or something nice and lint free.

I had to do this with my tires on which is probably what most people will have to do.

Prep.

1. once you get the wheel off you need to clean them up and sand them down. I bought 120 and 220 wet/dry sandpaper but ended up just using some rough steal wool after realizing the rota paint was pretty thin. I heard that you shouldn't sand down into the metal so I just roughed up the surfaces with the wool untill they had a dull finish. make sure you get all the surfaces that will get painted or the paint will probably give you problems down the road.

2. Spray the wheels down with water to remove the metal and paint dust etc.

3. dry the wheels completely with a chamois or cloth but be careful of lint etc.

4. after they are all dried up, go over all of the to be painted surfaces with a cloth and the wax remover to make sure there are no oils/waxes etc that will keep the paint from sticking. THis is very important, I have learned the hard way in the past with other non car related projects.

5. again make sure there is no dust or lint on the wheels. I always use microfiber cloths for stuff like this because they collect the lint and dust very well, better than terry and cotton IMO.

6. In order to keep the paint from getting on the tires, I picked up 50 or so index cards, and stuck them between the wheel and the tire, you do this so the cards create a barrier effect and you wont paint your tires. it will only take 20 or so but they get wet and it's eaier to start fresh after the first two wheels or so. I am sorry I don't have a pic of this process but it's been done by a lot of people on here so I'm sure you can find a pic or someone could psot one. Oh yeah, make sure you do this in the garage or at least somewhere that the cards wont get blown around in the wind. If one of those comes flying off and hits the lip where the paint is wet you'll want to kill someone haha.

7. I thought About this next step for a while. I was going to spray the red ofor the lip first and then mask over the red and spray the rest black but in my situation there was no way I could mask off the outter surface of the lip(the surface that is red in the pics) and keep the line nice and even around because the tape just wont make the turn like that without wanting to fold and crinkle. SO this will depend on your situation and your wheel design.

7b. I figured it would be best to spray the entire wheel black first so thats what I did.

Paint

8. I did about 3 coats of black on each wheel. which comes out to be a little over a can per wheel. Make sure you spray very light and dont worry about covering all the area on the first coat. If you get to heavy with the paint youre going to get runs and it's just not going to turn out good. I let the paint dry for 20 minutes or so between coats. and about 45 minutes or more after the 3rd and last coat.

9. if you are doing a colored lip, figure out how you want to go about masking off the areas you don’t want painted. It was easy for me because the sdr’s have that raised outside lip. So I simply taped of the iinside part of the raised lip, using the straight edge of the masking tape to follow the curve of the lip. I used ½ inch wide masking tape, the wider it is, the harder it will be to manipulate it around the turns, corners etc. you will have to tear it every few inches but make sure to keep that edge straight and even as possible. Then once you have it all taped up like you want. Grab some newspaper or whatever you have around and lay it out over the center of the wheel and use masking tape to over all the exposed wheel/spokes.

10. do the same thing as up above with the index cards and start spraying on the color. I used about 3 coats with this as well. One can should be fine for all 4 lips.

11. wait an hour or so after the last coat and carefully pull away the masking tape.

Hopefully yours turn out great. I’m not good at writing up tutorials but that’s the process I used. If anyone has anything to add please do! Also if you have any other questions just ask away. I can post some pics of examples of the index cards, and how I positioned my masking tape etc if anyone needs them. Just give me until tonight to get my camera from my buddy.

* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

fairladyz_gt-r · 10-28-2006, 10:30 PM

I like it~

Russell Rogers · 10-28-2006, 10:31 PM

they look good. the paint may not adhere properly to the wheels that were hit by the brake fluid though. brake fluid has a way of re emerging from a seemingly clean surface.

sonic03rex · 10-28-2006, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russell Rogers

they look good. the paint may not adhere properly to the wheels that were hit by the brake fluid though. brake fluid has a way of re emerging from a seemingly clean surface.

Thanks guys, well damn I hope I get lucky and it doesn't give me problems. I sanded them down pretty good but who knows. Luckily most of the damage to the paint was done behind the spokes inside there.

rice h8r · 10-28-2006, 10:42 PM

how did u mask the wheels for the red lip?
btw, uh... your front left tire is on backwards. look at the thread and then the sidewall....

Noeladams · 10-28-2006, 10:53 PM

I think they look good! damn nice job on the paint.

sonic03rex · 10-28-2006, 10:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rice h8r

how did u mask the wheels for the red lip?
btw, uh... your front left tire is on backwards. look at the thread and then the sidewall....

I sprayed the whole wheel black then once the final coat was plenty dry I then just masked off the inside part of the little lip, it's hard to explain but if you look closely you can tell...

Hey thanks for noticing the tire man, I must have gotten that front left and rear right mixed up when I was putting them back on the car, I had all 4 off at the same time. I never thought to check, thats what happens inhaling paint fumes all day. I'll have to fix that asap!

David Glasscock · 10-28-2006, 10:58 PM

not bad!

iyah_cure · 10-28-2006, 11:00 PM

can you pm me step by step of painting your wheels. where did you get your paint from? i am painting my wheels from bronze to burnt orange. thanks.

Silver571 · 10-28-2006, 11:02 PM

looks awesome! I did this with my stock BBS about 2 weeks ago, except I painted the lip, up to where it meets the spokes, red.

99subi · 10-28-2006, 11:02 PM

looks good, but i have a strange feeling in about a year red lip will be played out like polished lips

sonic03rex · 10-28-2006, 11:03 PM

thanks for the positive comments guys, all opinions welcome, even if you hate them! Just wanted to post some pics since I couldnt find much before I decided to do this, maybe this will give someone some ideas. I guess im gonna get outta here, i need some rest haha and need to rotate my tires lol

sonic03rex · 10-28-2006, 11:06 PM

to the person up top asking about the process, I'll write up a little something in a PM sometime tomorrow if thats ok.

kcook · 10-28-2006, 11:06 PM

that is sexy

bjorn240 · 10-28-2006, 11:16 PM

I'm typically an old school gold on blue rally style guy, but that looks really cool. Props!

phillepe · 10-28-2006, 11:16 PM

those look better then when sdr's are new!

boricuajr · 10-28-2006, 11:31 PM

wow that looks great man!!!!

eurospek · 10-28-2006, 11:33 PM

Those look effin' amazing man, WAY BETTER than any stock SDR!!! I'm loving the Time Attack paint scheme.

lugee · 10-28-2006, 11:33 PM

those look awesome.

What paint did you use and how did you do the pinstripe?

rice h8r · 10-28-2006, 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonic03rex

I sprayed the whole wheel black then once the final coat was plenty dry I then just masked off the inside part of the little lip, it's hard to explain but if you look closely you can tell...

Hey thanks for noticing the tire man, I must have gotten that front left and rear right mixed up when I was putting them back on the car, I had all 4 off at the same time. I never thought to check, thats what happens inhaling paint fumes all day. I'll have to fix that asap!

I'm saying how exactly did you mask off the wheel, did you use masking tape or...
I'm just curious how people mask it off so it's perfectly round...

Sub_Speed_Guy · 10-28-2006, 11:41 PM

Amazing. Love it.

iyah_cure · 10-28-2006, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonic03rex

to the person up top asking about the process, I'll write up a little something in a PM sometime tomorrow if thats ok.

that's cool with me..

and thanks for your help.

banjabi · 10-28-2006, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phillepe

those look better then when sdr's are new!

^^^

yep..

Stealth_RS · 10-28-2006, 11:50 PM

look really cool man good Job!

jubella2 · 10-28-2006, 11:54 PM

Wheels look hot! I also want to know how you got that red lip so straight.

On a side note how do you like those tires. I just picked up a set on friday. I've only logged about 50 miles on them so far.

10-28-2006, 10:27 PM	#1
sonic03rex Scooby Specialist Member#: 40534 Join Date: Jul 2003 Chapter/Region: South East Location: Asheville, NC // Palm Beach,FL Vehicle: 2008 STI M3, and more	Painted me wheels! Time attack style sdr's on aspen white. Yay or nay? Hey guys, well my gold sdr's were beyond scratched and scraped up.Also had brake fluid spray all over 2 of them so needless to say they were beat. Decided to paint them up untill I get something better. Took me about a day total, masking the lip off for the red pinstriping was fun. Oh well here's a few pics. Yay or nay? Hey everyone, sorry for taking a while to get back on here, anyway since there are a few people asking for a write up, I'll just put it here. alright here goes, Tools needed Assorted grits of sandpaper (I bought 120 and 220 wet/dry) - or steal wool Wax stripper/remover. (I used 3M brand wax remover from pep boys, I imagine you could use acetone or something similar) Index cards Masking tape Newspaper or something similar 4-6 cans of a good high temp paint for the wheels ( I used 1500 degree duplicolor manifold/engine paint) They sell actual wheel paint but I couldnt find any in black or red. 1-2 cans of the same paint but in your choice of color for the lip clean microfiber towel or something nice and lint free. I had to do this with my tires on which is probably what most people will have to do. Prep. 1. once you get the wheel off you need to clean them up and sand them down. I bought 120 and 220 wet/dry sandpaper but ended up just using some rough steal wool after realizing the rota paint was pretty thin. I heard that you shouldn't sand down into the metal so I just roughed up the surfaces with the wool untill they had a dull finish. make sure you get all the surfaces that will get painted or the paint will probably give you problems down the road. 2. Spray the wheels down with water to remove the metal and paint dust etc. 3. dry the wheels completely with a chamois or cloth but be careful of lint etc. 4. after they are all dried up, go over all of the to be painted surfaces with a cloth and the wax remover to make sure there are no oils/waxes etc that will keep the paint from sticking. THis is very important, I have learned the hard way in the past with other non car related projects. 5. again make sure there is no dust or lint on the wheels. I always use microfiber cloths for stuff like this because they collect the lint and dust very well, better than terry and cotton IMO. 6. In order to keep the paint from getting on the tires, I picked up 50 or so index cards, and stuck them between the wheel and the tire, you do this so the cards create a barrier effect and you wont paint your tires. it will only take 20 or so but they get wet and it's eaier to start fresh after the first two wheels or so. I am sorry I don't have a pic of this process but it's been done by a lot of people on here so I'm sure you can find a pic or someone could psot one. Oh yeah, make sure you do this in the garage or at least somewhere that the cards wont get blown around in the wind. If one of those comes flying off and hits the lip where the paint is wet you'll want to kill someone haha. 7. I thought About this next step for a while. I was going to spray the red ofor the lip first and then mask over the red and spray the rest black but in my situation there was no way I could mask off the outter surface of the lip(the surface that is red in the pics) and keep the line nice and even around because the tape just wont make the turn like that without wanting to fold and crinkle. SO this will depend on your situation and your wheel design. 7b. I figured it would be best to spray the entire wheel black first so thats what I did. Paint 8. I did about 3 coats of black on each wheel. which comes out to be a little over a can per wheel. Make sure you spray very light and dont worry about covering all the area on the first coat. If you get to heavy with the paint youre going to get runs and it's just not going to turn out good. I let the paint dry for 20 minutes or so between coats. and about 45 minutes or more after the 3rd and last coat. 9. if you are doing a colored lip, figure out how you want to go about masking off the areas you don’t want painted. It was easy for me because the sdr’s have that raised outside lip. So I simply taped of the iinside part of the raised lip, using the straight edge of the masking tape to follow the curve of the lip. I used ½ inch wide masking tape, the wider it is, the harder it will be to manipulate it around the turns, corners etc. you will have to tear it every few inches but make sure to keep that edge straight and even as possible. Then once you have it all taped up like you want. Grab some newspaper or whatever you have around and lay it out over the center of the wheel and use masking tape to over all the exposed wheel/spokes. 10. do the same thing as up above with the index cards and start spraying on the color. I used about 3 coats with this as well. One can should be fine for all 4 lips. 11. wait an hour or so after the last coat and carefully pull away the masking tape. Hopefully yours turn out great. I’m not good at writing up tutorials but that’s the process I used. If anyone has anything to add please do! Also if you have any other questions just ask away. I can post some pics of examples of the index cards, and how I positioned my masking tape etc if anyone needs them. Just give me until tonight to get my camera from my buddy. * Registered users of the site do not see these ads. Last edited by sonic03rex; 10-29-2006 at 12:44 PM.

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10-28-2006, 10:30 PM	#2
fairladyz_gt-r Scooby Newbie Member#: 127116 Join Date: Sep 2006	I like it~

10-28-2006, 10:31 PM	#3
Russell Rogers Scooby Specialist Member#: 27261 Join Date: Oct 2002 Chapter/Region: NWIC Location: Wa Vehicle: 1999 www.prjct1.com I'm Ron Burgundy?	they look good. the paint may not adhere properly to the wheels that were hit by the brake fluid though. brake fluid has a way of re emerging from a seemingly clean surface.

10-28-2006, 10:42 PM	#5
rice h8r Scooby Guru Member#: 94524 Join Date: Aug 2005 Chapter/Region: Tri-State Location: Eternity.	how did u mask the wheels for the red lip? btw, uh... your front left tire is on backwards. look at the thread and then the sidewall....

10-28-2006, 10:53 PM	#6
Noeladams Scooby Specialist Member#: 121517 Join Date: Jul 2006 Chapter/Region: South East Location: Greenville, SC Vehicle: 2003 WRB WRX & WHT 93L	I think they look good! damn nice job on the paint.

10-28-2006, 10:58 PM	#8
David Glasscock Scooby Specialist Member#: 25033 Join Date: Sep 2002 Chapter/Region: NWIC Location: lakewood wa Vehicle: 06 sti my $$ pit 05 xt my DD	not bad!

10-28-2006, 11:00 PM	#9
iyah_cure Scooby Newbie Member#: 129206 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: mt. zion	can you pm me step by step of painting your wheels. where did you get your paint from? i am painting my wheels from bronze to burnt orange. thanks.

10-28-2006, 11:02 PM	#10
Silver571 Scooby Specialist Member#: 88361 Join Date: Jun 2005 Chapter/Region: TXIC Location: FunkyTown Vehicle: '05 hYbrid	looks awesome! I did this with my stock BBS about 2 weeks ago, except I painted the lip, up to where it meets the spokes, red.

10-28-2006, 11:02 PM	#11
99subi Scooby Guru Member#: 78118 Join Date: Dec 2004 Chapter/Region: Tri-State Location: Westchester NY Vehicle: 2002 Corvette coupe 05 Legacy	looks good, but i have a strange feeling in about a year red lip will be played out like polished lips

10-28-2006, 11:03 PM	#12
sonic03rex Scooby Specialist Member#: 40534 Join Date: Jul 2003 Chapter/Region: South East Location: Asheville, NC // Palm Beach,FL Vehicle: 2008 STI M3, and more	thanks for the positive comments guys, all opinions welcome, even if you hate them! Just wanted to post some pics since I couldnt find much before I decided to do this, maybe this will give someone some ideas. I guess im gonna get outta here, i need some rest haha and need to rotate my tires lol

10-28-2006, 11:06 PM	#13
sonic03rex Scooby Specialist Member#: 40534 Join Date: Jul 2003 Chapter/Region: South East Location: Asheville, NC // Palm Beach,FL Vehicle: 2008 STI M3, and more	to the person up top asking about the process, I'll write up a little something in a PM sometime tomorrow if thats ok.

10-28-2006, 11:06 PM	#14
kcook Scooby Newbie Member#: 78074 Join Date: Dec 2004 Chapter/Region: MAIC Location: NoVA Vehicle: 2005 STi Aspen White	that is sexy

10-28-2006, 11:16 PM	#15
bjorn240 Scooby Specialist Member#: 17598 Join Date: Apr 2002 Chapter/Region: Tri-State Location: NYC Vehicle: 2009 Open Class Subaru WRX STi	I'm typically an old school gold on blue rally style guy, but that looks really cool. Props!

10-28-2006, 11:16 PM	#16
phillepe Scooby Specialist Member#: 88856 Join Date: Jun 2005 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: The cold north Vehicle: 2007 Sti on 36's.....	those look better then when sdr's are new!

10-28-2006, 11:31 PM	#17
boricuajr Scooby Specialist Member#: 62842 Join Date: May 2004 Chapter/Region: NESIC Location: Norwich CT on weekend/Worceste Vehicle: 05 STI\98LGT\97OBS AW White Grids - RED - WH	wow that looks great man!!!!

10-28-2006, 11:33 PM	#18
eurospek Scooby Guru Member#: 96944 Join Date: Sep 2005 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Hampshire, IL Vehicle: 2005 SAAB 9-2X AERO 4eat Stage 2 Protuned	Those look effin' amazing man, WAY BETTER than any stock SDR!!! I'm loving the Time Attack paint scheme.

10-28-2006, 11:33 PM	#19
lugee Scooby Specialist Member#: 86604 Join Date: May 2005 Chapter/Region: SCIC Location: Mission Viejo, CA Vehicle: 04 WRX 18G WFC 034 05 HCH	those look awesome. What paint did you use and how did you do the pinstripe?

10-28-2006, 11:41 PM	#21
Sub_Speed_Guy Scooby Specialist Member#: 25007 Join Date: Sep 2002 Chapter/Region: RMIC Location: Colorado Vehicle: 2004 WRX OEM +	Amazing. Love it.

10-28-2006, 11:50 PM	#24
Stealth_RS Scooby Specialist Member#: 95677 Join Date: Sep 2005 Chapter/Region: South East Location: FL Vehicle: 2004 WRX WRB	look really cool man good Job!

10-28-2006, 11:54 PM	#25
jubella2 Scooby Newbie Member#: 118088 Join Date: Jun 2006 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Vehicle: 99 Impreza RS Black	Wheels look hot! I also want to know how you got that red lip so straight. On a side note how do you like those tires. I just picked up a set on friday. I've only logged about 50 miles on them so far.