A NEW Painting Wheels Question

[StevieB]

I know there are lots of similar questions, and I have seen/searched for them, but I have some new questions, and some old:

Got 17" wheels for my Mazda Protege5 (16's are stock). One of my 16" tires is in dire need of replacement, other three are not great, either, so I am going to go with the 17" this weekend. Thing is, the 17's are WHITE- quite ugly on my silver car. I'm thinking of:

-Removing only the white paint I need to, to clean up chips and such, skuffing the remaining white so the new paint can get it's "teeth" into the old, and painting them Dark Grey with the wheel paint you can get at the auto parts store. I know powercoating would be more chip resistant, but I dont have the time or money for that route.

Or should I remove ALL the white paint? I'm thinking that is too much work for too little return.

-Painting the INSIDE of the rims black, so brake dust does not show up. Would also be cheaper, as wheel paint is about five bux a can.

-Thinking of stripping/preping before tires are mounted, but painting after, so that tire machine does not scratch my new, soft paint.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Thanks!

[The CyberPoet]

If you are using aerosol paints, paint the wheels before install the tires. The VOC's in the paint that lets it harden can damage the rubber of the tires, accelerating their own VOC loss rate.

Check the manufacturer's site for the paint for instructions. Most will tell you to scuff the existing paint using a specific grit to get good adhesion, and whether you need to use a primer or self-etching primer to get good results. Make sure you rinse/wipe the post-sanded wheel down with xylene or some other stripper so there is no oil/grease/dust left -- that will be the most critical part of the prep work.

No clue what the temps are where you're at right now, but it's damn nippy here and too cold to paint outdoors today (at least if you expect good results). Again, pay attention to the manfacturer's guidelines on the painting temps & post-paint curing times (UV/IR lamps, heat sources may serve you well in improving the cure time for the paint).

Finally, don't rush yourself. If the paint won't be cured for a couple weeks, hold off on putting on the new tires for a couple weeks -- if you can (either that, or suck up the fact that the wheels are white and save your pennies for proper powdercoating).

And, if, for whatever reason, you insist on painting the wheels with the tires on, coat the tires with a layer of vasoline to act as a barrier for the paint (after the paint dries, you can wash the paint-over-vasoline back off).

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet