Your wheels suck!, so clean em up Options

[SlowCelica94]

Ok, I got some time at work, so I thought I'd share how to make your stock wheels look brand new. Maybe even better then new. Once I'm at home, I'll try to post some pics of how great wheels turn out when you do this. Us po folk are always on the prowl for modifying our whips 'n **** for next to nothing - well spray paint is your friend.

1. clean the wheels and dismount the tires and valves. you need to have the paint stick to something. personally i like wheel acid or for extreme measures i use Aircraft Stripper. Aircraft Stripper is basically paint stripper and highly caustic (use gloves and ventilation).
2. once the wheels are clean, clean them again. Ivory soap or a degreaser works well. knock off the loose paint or chemicals. don't forget the back side of the wheels either. paint won't stick to brake dust.
3. prep. i use a drill-mounted sanding pad. i'll use 80 grit pads for stubborn surfaces but if the stripper did it's job i'll only need to use 120 grit pads. i'll follow up with scotchbright pads.
4. clean up the lips of the rims. this is easier than you think. mount the wheel onto the hub of your car. the car is now on jack stands and SECURE. turn the car on, and put it in gear. let out on the clutch or off of the brake and the wheel will start to spin (it doesn't need to be going 60mph). now take your sanding disc to the rim and you are doing the equivalent of machining the surface. just as long as you hardly move the sanding disc, the spinning wheel is moving for you. after a few minutes of this you will now have a true and even surface.
5. paint them up. several light coats is much better than a few heavy coats. i use Duplicolor Wheel Paint, but most any high-quality spray paint will work. i usually put about 20 coats of paint on with at least 15-20min of drying time between coats. i also do this outside and in the sun. the sun will help "bake" the surface.
6. clear them up. WHATEVER BRAND OF PAINT YOU USED, USE THAT BRAND FOR CLEAR. or else you'll get a chemical rejection and the paint under the clear will look like snake skin. i ususally do about 10 coats with 15-20min of drying time between coats.
7. before you mount your tires, let the paint cure. i have never mounted tires with less than 2 weeks of curing time for the paint. tell the tire monkey to be careful and NOT TO USE RIM WEIGHTS when balancing. they can use the tape weights on the inside of the rim.
8. once they are mounted look over the rim for chips and just touch them up.

If done right, this will last as long as powercoat.

Oh, mods you can move this whereever

[ILuvMyCelica95]

its powdercoat not powercoat lol i know i know im an a$$

[SlowCelica94]

Opps, I knew that

[jgreening]

useful post slow - and the one regarding hp gains (although there are a few things that I take issue with in that one). However, these are not really "off topic" since they pertain to our cars.