Camaro 16 inch rim wheel aluminium (93 - 97) repaint DIY

First of all i'm just a hobbyist painter so these instructions just give you some hint. This is not complete how to "manual". I'm satisfied with these. After many washing procedures and 4 months driving they still look good.

Background:
I've got tired of these stock silver shade Camaro 16" aluminium wheels but didn't want to buy new ones at this point. I wanted to change the colour to full gloss black but preserve the original silver edge and center cap (which i will also modify little). There was also decision to use original lacquer/paint surface as a primer for the new paint and lacquer.

Pictures of completely ready wheels with custom center cap laminated "Firebird" stickers:
http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd254/casevanova/WheelRepaintProcess/
Project work steps were:
1. Removed all the grease, dirt and old wax off the wheels with heavy dissolvent (1L per 5 wheels)

2. Sand old lacquire to mat and remove all the hard dirt by sanding (600/1000 and finalization with 1350 sponge kind of rub clotch). I sanded each tire around 30 minutes (2,5 hours total). Note: If you got deep gaps and scratches you must fill them first.

3. Packed up tires and protected them inside plastic bag. Purpose was to paint the aluminium wheels not tires. (packing took around 1 hour per 5 tires). Remember to protect the outer silver edge if you want to keep it as silver after painting other areas.

4. Wash wheels with thinner to make it completely ready for surface paint

5. Spray the surface paint. If you are beginner in spray painting, use lots of thinner so you can paint by using multiple thin layers. It is easier to paint many times with little amount of paint each time than spraying a lot at once. Remember to move the spray gun always when spraying out paint. Other techniques you can only learn by doing.

6. (DO NOT DO THIS STEP IF THE PAINT IS STILL FRESH, FRESH PAINT FEELS GLUE LIKE STICKY. THIS STEP IS *NOT* NEEDED IF YOUR SURFACE PAINT WAS SUCCESSFULL WITHOUTH ANY DIRT ON THE SURFACE OR IF YOUR LACQUIRE IS STILL STICKY KIND OF FRESH (if you paint on fully dried surface paint the lacquire won't stay on properly) If there's been many hours since painting surface, it is good to sand surface paint very gently to mat (throughout) to get the lacquire "stick" on it properly. Sand carefully because you are working with very new and fragile paint! Gentle sanding till the mat (do not use much pressure) 1350 rubbing sponge will do it.

7. Clean away the sanding dust with lint-free cloth. You can also use very carefully thinner to little bit soften the paint.

8. Spray 2 component lacquer on the aluminium wheels (time per wheel depends the amount of thinner, three times was enough in my case)

9. Remove protective bags off the tires (do this couple of hours after lacquer spraying when the surface is still kind of fresh but surface dry. Do not leave tapes on for many days, because sticky tape can attach too heavily...

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• camaro
• 16
• inch
• wheels
• rim
• wheel
• spray
• paint
• repaint
• lacquer
• full
• gloss
• black
• spies
• hecker
• permacron
• sanding
• firebird
• di

[slaterfootball]

how much did this all cost?

[CasevaNova]

0,5 Liter of black Spies & Hecker surface paint was 50 eur ($70.00). Hardener price i can't remember. I have receipt somewhere. Lacquire was leftover from my friend. I assume that lacquire was around 35 eur ($49.00) 0,5L. Sanding paper / sponge was around 10 eur ($14.00).

Maybe Spies & Hecker was too '"hi-fi" for those old Camaro wheels... It is for industry use and it's not water soluble (thinner soluble). They sell dissolvent based paints in EU under "industry only" label...

[CasevaNova]

See full video info and you'll find link to pictures of completely ready wheels.

I ordered laminated firebird center stickers for center caps.

[Itafla]

i waited till i had old tires so i didnt cover them and i spray painted all over them since im getting new ones soon.

[Itafla]

idk if this was a good idea but i took out all the wheels off my honda accord laid them down and washed them with water and car wash cleaner with a sponge. then i washed them again and rinsed them. i waited till they dried and then got black rust-oleum and spray painted them with 3 thick coats. it turned out good. hopefully they will last. it looks pretty now. Costed me 10 bucks total. i recomend going with CasevaNova's way if your willing to get that stuff. i was lazy and didnt have time.

[ericg83z]

hah thats one way to keep the dust off the surface

[dopeboy202]

thats what i wanna do to mines!