Think I can paint my wheels with tires on it?

**Ewok_Fetus** · 05-07-2008 10:24 AM

As long as I mask the tires and get around the lip really good, do you think I could paint them? I don't want to have any problems later on with it chipping and peeling... But I really should sand down the scuffs (just paint not metal) and what not... Make the paint stick better... Any tips? Should I put a clear coat on it? Going flat black...

**phantom b6** · 05-07-2008 10:25 AM

Use index cards and line them between the tire and the wheel

**Mister2** · 05-07-2008 10:40 AM

^ What he said, its been done many times.

I would go a step further and cover the tires behind the cards with some newspaper.

**AWDios** · 05-07-2008 11:09 AM

Another for the index cards. Just buy a big pack and make sure you can have them overlap so you don't hit the tires.

**2fast4me** · 05-07-2008 11:31 AM

I did mine off of the tires, but flat black w/ a clear coat looks pretty cool.

**gotaudi** · 05-07-2008 12:53 PM

Originally Posted by 2fast4me

I did mine off of the tires, but flat black w/ a clear coat looks pretty cool.

Pictures? I would love to see this, I have been thinking about paining my 18" BBS RC's flat black or a gun metal.

**fred2ka4** · 05-07-2008 12:53 PM

You could always let the air out of the tire and paint them and then just air it back up. As long as you mark the tire before hand and make sure it doesn't move the balancing should be the same. Do you have a compressor or do you plan on using aerosol cans? If not you can rent one as it will give you a better finish with less wet sanding, and you can use it to air up the tires as well.

**onemoremile** · 05-07-2008 01:16 PM

^^^ Took the words right out of my mouth. Letting the air out lets you get more of the bead which will help make it look like the whole rim is painted and not just the face. It wouldn't be very pretty to have a black wheel with a sliver or bright silver around the lip's edge.

Prep depends on what you're doing and how you want it to turn out. For a full-on paint job you should sand with 80 grit to get the imperfections out and scuff the primer. Then spray a coat of primer or high quality wheel paint. Then wetsand, clear coat, wetsand, etc. as needed. Or you could just hit thme with 80-120 grit and spray with a few coats of Plasti-Dip spray which is what I almost did to my stock Swings over the winter.

**Ewok_Fetus** · 05-07-2008 01:55 PM

Well, I did this before but without the tires mounted. The paint I might be using is the BBQ grill black paint... It comes out looking VERY nice... Very sturdy and no need for wet sanding... Just need to sand to get the imperfections out of the surface.

**iin10ded** · 05-07-2008 03:18 PM

wurth makes a very good quality aerosol wheel paint in a few standard colors, as well as a clearcoat for wheels. not cheap but about as good as aerosol gets. i used their silver and clear on a set of wheels with good results.

**docurley** · 05-07-2008 05:29 PM

I did mine with tape and paper.

**JaVa** · 05-07-2008 07:07 PM

did tape and paper too. worked fine.

**Ewok_Fetus** · 05-07-2008 09:32 PM

I guess I will try the tape and paper method... Thing is, the tires have the thicker sidewall to protect the wheel lip, plus they are B6 sports which have no lip... So they are sunk in pretty good... I will see what I can do though! Like I said, the BBQ paint is rock solid when it cures... So I don't really see any problems...