[Zernaff]

Hi all,
I was searching for DIYs to paint my rims and didn't find much, and definitely not one for painting them in the original color again. So, I'm painting mine the cheap (spray paint) way and thought I'd make a DIY so everyone else can (hopefully) benefit. Here it goes;
I know the paint is VW but it said "Reflex Silver" which is the BMW name for their rim color, and it is still German so I just went with it. It is also loads cheaper than any BMW paint and looks exactly the same (I think it is).

Materials:
I purchased this all from Lowes and Advance Auto Parts.
Duplicolor Filler Primer 11oz (1 can) - $8
Duplicolor Perfect Match VW Reflex Silver 8oz (3-4 cans) - $24-32
Duplicolor Perfect Match Clear Coat 8oz (2-3 cans) - $16-24
Simple Green or Duplicolor prep spray - $4-6
600 grit and 1200 grit sandpaper (5 pack sheets) - $10
Pictures 1-3

Prep work:
I had no curb rash but some scratches and one rim that was repainted a different silver. So, first job was to sand the clear to give the primer a good surface to stick to. You want to make sure every inch of the wheels is matte looking. It will feel perfectly smooth but look scratched. If there are ripples in the paint that are shiny (SEE PICTURES), keep on sanding. If you break through to the primer on the sharp edges, that is okay. I wet sanded and would recommend it to keep the sandpaper from getting old paint on it (making it less effective). Swap out pieces of sandpaper every 10 minutes or so to keep things moving along. This step took me about 5 hours (broke it up into two days).
When the sanding is done, clean all wheels thoroughly with simple green, mineral spirits, or prep spray.
Pictures 4-8

Primer:
(Shake can for a full minute and between wheels for 10 seconds)
Once the wheels have dried, and you have masked off anything you need to - I had the wheels off and no tires/center caps so I just put a sheet on the floor under them - spray your first light coat of primer. You'll still be able to see the finish underneath, so don't worry. Just spray for a good 20-25 seconds per wheel in a sweeping motion and then let them all dry for 10 minutes.
Do one more light coat, or more if you need to fill scratches.
Last, do a medium coat. The can should be near empty by the end of this. If it's got a lot left, I'd go ahead and spray some more, maybe doing a ring around the edge this time or touching up places that don't get a lot of primer when you spray - like the sides of spokes for example.
Let this dry for 45 minutes to an hour. We had a fan blowing the and it was 75 degrees with low humidity so they dried quickly.
Pictures 9-10

Prep (again):
Sand the wheels once they have dried with 1200 grit paper. I dry-sanded this time and they turned out pretty smooth. This shouldn't take more than 10 minutes per wheel. Again, if you break though in some spots it's okay but if your going though anywhere other than the sharp edges you should use less force.
Once done, use a clean cotton cloth or microfiber towel to get all the loose dust off of the wheels and get ready to paint.
Pictures 11-12

Painting:
Shake the can for at least one full minute prior to painting. This will ensure the paint is mixed thoroughly. I held the can at an angle (45 degrees or so) and propped up the rims on boxes and jack stands so that they were at this angle too.
I used each can for two coats. You can do more than this per coat but I wanted lots of light coats for durability. It will take around 10 minutes for each coat to dry in a well ventilated area. The last 1-2 coats can be a little heavier than your first 2-3.
I sanded the second to last coat with 1200 grit to make the final coat more smooth.
When you are finished with this step, let them all dry for at least an hour and a half.
- Thing I found out: if you hold the spray too far away the paint begins to dry before it hits the rim and doesn't lay down properly. Feels kind of like sandpaper. Remedy: hold the can 6-8 inches away.
- Another thing: If you notice something has gotten into the paint (I was in a garage and there was dust flying around) wait for the coat your on to dry for at least 45 minutes then you can rub at the dust/bug/whatever with your finger until it comes out of the paint. After this, re-clean and continue painting. Since your using lacquer paint there is no re-coat window - so if you wait a few hours and come back you can continue where you left off.
Pictures 13-14

Clear:
I sprayed this on the same as I did paint, only using fewer coats. I did two light coats and one heavy coat. The drying times are close to the same. I waited 20 minutes after each light coat and then waited 24 hours to do anything with the wheels after the last coat was sprayed on. For tire mounting, I'd wait at least 3 days.
Picture 15

(Extra Materials) Polishing:
I haven't done this but to get the wheels to be as "smooth as glass" you'll need to.
Steps: lightly wet sand with 1500-2000 grit. Will look dull now.
Apply Meguiars Ultimate Compound.
Buff until it is shiny again.
Apply Polish now.
Buff again.
Wax.
(I skipped this step because after all this painting I don't even want to look at sandpaper.)


Overall, I am very happy with the way they turned out. The picture doesn't show how shiny they are but its about 70% of the glossiness of the OEM finish. With some wet sanding/polishing they will get there. I'm going to leave them like they are for now though because I like the finish the way it is.

Good luck!


PICTURES:
1 - Materials
2 - Paint I used
3 - Sandpaper I used
4 - During sanding - keep going!
5 - Another showing incomplete sanding
6 - Fully sanded down wheel (600)
7 - Another of finished sanding
8 - What the sanded rim looks like next to a painted one
9 - Primer applied
10 - All wheels with primer
11 - Primed + Sanded (1200) wheel
12 - Another Primed + Sanded wheel
13 - After 4 coats of color
14 - Painted wheels - ready for clear
15 - After 1st 2 coats of clear
More to come of finished product + Pictures on car in a few weeks.

[guop]

[zero2sixtyZ]

Looks great! Good match to the OEM silver.

[Zernaff]

Originally Posted by zero2sixtyZ

Looks great! Good match to the OEM silver.

Thanks!

[e90ben]

Looks really good!

Did you happen to test spray: Reflex next to OEM? Would be nice to see if Reflex blends well with OEM

[boyerstyle]

Wow! Great job. Also curious about reflex next to OEM.

[Zernaff]

Thanks!

I'm going to take some comparison shots tomorrow hopefully. I have to wash the rims on my car (brake dust color right now).

Once I get the new ones on the car I'll sand and touch up a spot on the old rim to see how well it matches.

[Zernaff]

UPDATE:

I decided to go for more shine so I bought another two cans of clear and put two heavy coats on the wheels (still have half a can left) and couldn't be happier with the results. They are very shiny now.

There is no recoat window on this paint so you can add clear at any time (reasonable, not months later or anything). The only thing is, each time you do it, you risk something getting in it (a fly landed in mine and was stuck). Also, I wouldn't use a cleaner or anything in between coats. I just washed them with water and s MF towel this time.

They still won't be glass-like because I'm not sanding and buffing but they are good enough for my taste.

I'm mounting on the car Thursday, will post pictures.

[Zernaff]

So, tire mounting went okay - one rim has damaged paint on the lip - but the other three are fine and they look great. The damaged portion is between two spokes so I'm just going to sand and repaint that part. Overall, very pleased.

Also, I had the Bridgestone Turanza RFTs which were nightmarish on carolina roads on my old rims (16") and the switch to 18" Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3s was amazing. The ride is sublime, and they are super quiet too. I highly recommend these tires.

Let me know what you think!

[WinTheDay22]

Hey this post helped out a lot! Particularly the segment with the clear coat yellowing.

I applied the compound after sanding with 2000, but didn't wax nor polish as it came out great.

Since this post is old, I am curious on how the rims held up? Also, how did they get damaged during the installing? I myself is nervous about that too.

I just painted mine last week...

[Daniel08E93]

Hey OP how have these held up? I know it's an old thread but I'm thinking of doing this and wanted to know how these held up

[ramp]

I'm following your instructions. So far good. Great write up.

[Nel2014]

I know it's an old post but do you have any more photos of the alloys on the car. That was a great job. Some sort of electric sander would have been handy 🙂

[Run Silent]

I know we are bring back an old thread, but I followed this write up quite a while ago on a set of Miata wheels.

Bottom line is that the clear coat is nearly impossible to get to come out right if you are picky. Like the OP mentioned, the only way to get it so that they don't look semi-matte due to the rippling of the clear coat is to sand it down and then compound and polish it back out. This is extremely difficult to do on most wheels, since you can't get into the crevices. It would probably work on the wheels in the OP, but for most others it is not really possible.

Finally, due to the rippling of the spray can clear coat, over time dirt works its way into the tiny hills and valleys that doesn't want to come out so they begin looking worse and worse.

For those just looking to clean up some wheels on something like a winter driver, it is a great method and I recommend it - but for someone who wants the wheels to look great, it leaves a bit to be desired.

[ramp]

Good point.
I'm doing this just for the stated reason. In Connecticut and these are my winter wheels. They weren't in too bad shape but the previous owner went to a lot of car washes I presume and the inside of the wheel's paint was all coming off. Tires are brand new.
Clear coat today.