Most aluminum wheels have a protective coating on them to help fight corrosion. 1600 grit(did you 1500?) is too fine. If the finish is in good shape sand with 600 and apply 2k epoxy primer.follow with the base and clear coats. Do not sand the base coat and make sure to leave ample time between coats to flash off. You can and should the primer with 800. Keep the clear coats thin.Start with a light tack coat and follow with 2/3 medium wet coats. You will have some orange peel which can be wet sanded with a progressive stage of 1000-1500-2000 wet/dry.Use warm soapy water to lube and prevent build up. Use EXTREME caution around edges. Follow the sanding with a fine cut compound such as 3M Finesse-It 2 ,then a machine polish(which in small area's can be done by hand. Top it with a nice glaze such as Mequiar's # 7. Do not apply any wax to freshly painted clear. The solvent release takes a while to complete..Wax will trap it and make it either bubble in small spots or haze

 

Wow, that looks like work. I would just pay a guy to powder coat them...

 

It's not really that hard. These are the steps used to achieve that "show"look. No painter or gun can lay paint perfectly flat. The flatter it is the more light is reflected back and increase the quality and depth of gloss. It's work but not really hard and the efforts more than out way the labor

 

Powder coating is the way to go if you are doing flat.

 

It's another option.While there is no doubt of the durability of powder coating( better than paint) it's not usually a do-it-yourself project. Although the gun can be had rather inexpensively,it's the oven that usually is the problem. Powder coat needs to be baked on at 350 to 400 degrees to achieve it's finished state. Again while more durable,it's a lot harder to repair and very hard to remove. Paint can easily be repaired and the color changed or accented just as easily. Clear coat does not have to be glossed either

 

lotso

we've painted LOTS of rims in our stable.

The stock SRT8 rims are painted in between the spokes and will require a lot of prep.

Paint is very durable if applied properly. That's a big "if".

 

Thanks a million yamabob. I'll take pictures and post after this weekend. i saw a guy use cup brush but i think that might do some serious damage the rims. I saw a nylon brush though. well what ever. i'm going to Home depot tonight to pick up some 600, 800 , and 2000 grit paper, paint primer. I don't want to put a clear coat because of the gloss that it will have. thanks for such a quick detailed response. i knew someone was going to say power coat them. whihc i would but money is too tight right now and i'd liek to do some work, lol. have a great weekend

 

After prepping the wheels all i used was some Canadian Tire aluminium wheel paint. Turned out rather well and very durable.


cheers from the sandbox

 

If you go to a paint jobber(check you local yellow pages) they sell items for this in rattle cans. Because it's clear coated doesn't mean it has to shine. When shot with a gun you add a flattner to it. They sell the satin finish urethane top coats as well. Prep and cleanliness is the key,take your time with these. Painting is very short. Follow the specs as far as flash off between coats. If it's colder than the temp the state,wait longer. If you run into trouble , ask me here instead of pm'ing me.Others may find what you come across usefull

 

don't forget...

Don't forget you can tint the clear, too.

We do amazing things with tailights and tinted clearcoat!

 

Thanks for all your help. My buddies and I did most of the work over the weekend. I'll post pictures in a couple of days to show my progress. they look great so far. We have laid 3 very light coats and will finish it up with two more light coats. Then we'll sand it down wit hthe 2000 wet sand like you said in a few days. i have ordered my tires and can't wait for these bad boys to go on. Thanks for all your help. I couldn't have done this without you (or my buddies)

 

When color sand the top coat,don't forget to use some soapy water and rinse very often. You'll know you've leveled it off properly when you wipe dry an area and see no shiny spots.If you see that,the coat is still high in that area.
Remember,it's easy to burn thru any edges or high spots. Run to just shy of the light for best precaution

 

Here are some pics so far
these are stock:twak:

 

primered with 3 light coats:biggrin:

 

i got about 4 coats of black down but no pictures yet. maybe tomorrow or thursday. god dam work...

 

Looking good so far!!

 

Ive always heard of powdercoating being the best choice but i may try to paint mine after seeing this thread...

 

Powder coating is a very durable baked on coating that for the most part is impervious to most things that would ruin paint. It's applied electrolytically as a fine powder than baked on to "liquefy " into the final product. Over the last several years the choices of colors and finishes has increased greatly.
In my opinion it is a much harder"do-it-yourself" project. It is very hard to remove(that's good and bad) and not easily repairable.
Paint can pretty much be done by anyone with some time on their hands. The options are boundless and less costly. Paint can be very durable as well. The key is knowing the products and doing your due diligence in the prep work. It's like house painting,90% prep-10% painting. Paint is easy to repair. I'm not a fan of rattle cans,but members here such as Navadann have done great work on their own.
My .02 cents

 

Please note it's electrostatically and liquify

 

Thanks for the info yamabob. Ill keep all of that in mind. I wont be doing for another month or so but when the time comes, ill decide if i want to try tackling it myself or just take the wheels off and have the tires removed so i can drop them off for powdercoating.

 

If you do decide to paint(besides the results -the satisfaction is priceless) I'm more than glad to help with any questions you may have. In any event-good luck

 

can't wait to see pics!!!

 

Chrome grill gone black

hear ya go !!!

if anyone is interested those rims are fro sale. and also i'll be posting pics of the pilot's real soon.

 

Black Rims SRT 8

this is the shot before i sanded it down with 1500 grit and before my friend painted the srt logo

 

the first shot was before the clear matte went on. all the ones after that are with it on. i'm going to let them sit for a week in my buddys garage and have them put on saturday. the grill came out real good and so did the paint on the rims. we have about 9 hours vested but my friend and i like be as close to perfect as possible so we took our time and made sure to give enough dry time and enough time devoted to prep. :scared:

 

i really appreciate yamabob and all his advice. as you all can see, i like to share and help as mush as i can also. so a special thanks goes to you!