tires and wheels Painting/touch up of steel wheels

[Guest Anonymous]

Hi can this be done effectively while still on the car? I bought the wurth wheel paint and the clear. Also, do I have to sand the wheel or can I just spray? The wheels are in good condition only needing touchup in some dull spots. Thanks.

[Guest Anonymous]

Wipe off oil with Simple Green, mineral spirits, or some other solvent. Wet sand lightly with wet-or-dry 200; use lots of water. Dry. Cover car and mask tire. One or two coats of silver, one of clear; let dry between coats.

However, it's a LOT easier off the car.

[Guest Anonymous]

It would be much easier to pull the wheel off the car. You wouldn't have to mask as much for overspray then. -J

[Guest Anonymous]

Taking the wheels off the car will save you time in the long run. Follow the instructions that Curt suggested with the wheels on the ground. You'll probably have a little trouble masking on rubber, so I use a piece of paperboard, or cardboard (not corrugated) that's about 1.5 feet long (like a cereal box cut open). Then you can bend it around in the groove between the tire and rim far enough to get a decent spray without overspraying onto the rubber. If you do it right, you can slide the board around the wheel and keep it in the groove next the the steel without having to reposition every time. It works very well, but you need to be patient and work with it. After you're done you'll have traces of overspray here and there, but you can clean it up easily with enamel reducer.

[Guest Anonymous]

yes it can be done, just practice on a cardboard before you push the trigger, just to get a feel for the spray pattern and hand speed needed to paint, but not to run.

Michael

[Guest Anonymous]

1. remove from car. much easier and you won't paint the lug nuts (very tacky!)

2. mask valve stem with tinfoil...easier to remove than masking tape

3. mask off wheel weights with tape; then the wheel won't have that repainted look

4. If you can find an old offset litho plate (try a print shop) it's even better for shielding the tire than cardboard. It's very thin, but stiff aluminum sheet and can be cut with scissors.

5. sand the whole wheel lightly and primer any rusty spots after sanding.

Have fun.

Mike