2 dudes paint rims

[iheartfx]

2 dudes paint rims - PART II: evolution to powdercoat.

So loved how the painted semi-gloss black wheels turned out. Unfortunately, paint chips. Just sent them to a local powdercoating master. Pics to come, probably by saturday. Oh, and I took some "other" parts to get p'coated. :uhhh:

Alright guys, haven't posted much but my buddy and i are currently painting my Axis GTRs. Through the years, the finish has been beat to crap so it was a good opportunity for us to do some Friday Man-work. Taking the plunge and going semi-gloss black so i can fit in with the 'FinitiScene crowd!

Taking a short 2-beer-break right now, here's some pics of the wheels primed and ready for paint. Also, painting the Stillen STB mounts so i can get an idea of what the paint will look like.





Don't mind the neon orange and blue, side project so we can play washers at night and not lose them in the dirt.



Updates as they come. Literally watching paint dry.

 

[turbocad6]

....Literally watching paint dry.

haha, funny

looking good, you got primer on the tires though good luck with it bro

 

[iheartfx]

haha, funny

looking good, you got primer on the tires though good luck with it bro

Yo turbo! Yeah, my tires are literally bald so we got lazy and said fuq it. Gonna get new tires soon but worried the wrench-monkeys at Globo-Tire Inc. are gonna scuff up the rims. Definitely clear coating these badboys.

 

[turbocad6]

don't mean to but in with your work, but if your going to change the tires anyway I'd take them off before you finish painting these.. one benifit will be you can wrap the finish around the rim edge for more durability & the other benifit is, after there painted, a tire jockey only needs to install & not need to remove the old tires, reducing your chances of them damaging it after paint by at least 50%

 

[iheartfx]

Turbo, you will not be proud of me as i am hasty and did not take your advice! But I hope I did a good enough job and with 6 coats of black and 2 coats of clear, i may be ok. If not, these will be my winter wheels.

Low qual pics of 6 coats of semi-gloss black engine enamel. freaking panhandle texas wind, there's a good amount of particles that we had to deal with. But it's evened out after 6 coats.

Taking another 2-beer-break. Then low gloss clear coat time.



---------- Post added at 06:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:04 PM ----------

3x clear coat done. wind picked up and light is scarce. center caps finished too. now to let sit til tomorrow.
quick question to paint pros: how long do you usually let it sit to dry before you can mount and drive?

 

[asherchy]

what kinda paint did you use? you can put them on when dry to the touch but you run the risk of scratching the paint while its still soft when you put the lug nuts on... if you can wait till tomorrow ( i never can... impatient!!) that would be best... paint is fully cured after 72 hours.
btw... they look 500X better!!!

PS.. whats .washers.?? always up for a new game...

 

[StuLax18]

what kinda paint did you use? you can put them on when dry to the touch but you run the risk of scratching the paint while its still soft when you put the lug nuts on... if you can wait till tomorrow ( i never can... impatient!!) that would be best... paint is fully cured after 72 hours.
btw... they look 500X better!!!

PS.. whats .washers.?? always up for a new game...

I believe washers is like horseshoe basically. Either you are trying to throw them into a hole, or land on a stick. I see people playing alot at tailgates.

 

[iheartfx]

i used duplicolor semi-gloss black engine enamel. like 6 or 7 coats, followed by VHT semi gloss clear, 3 coats. I mean if you look close, you can see dust particles, so no one can get more than 3 feet to my car from now on.

WASHERS! you throw washers at a board and try to sink it in a hole, or just land it on the board. points awarded for different stuff. kinda like horseshoes.

what kinda paint did you use? you can put them on when dry to the touch but you run the risk of scratching the paint while its still soft when you put the lug nuts on... if you can wait till tomorrow ( i never can... impatient!!) that would be best... paint is fully cured after 72 hours.
btw... they look 500X better!!!

PS.. whats .washers.?? always up for a new game...

---------- Post added at 10:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:24 PM ----------

right on. texas thing? by the way, pretty much sure i've seen you in dallas. been on nw highway much?

I believe washers is like horseshoe basically. Either you are trying to throw them into a hole, or land on a stick. I see people playing alot at tailgates.

 

[StuLax18]

right on. texas thing? by the way, pretty much sure i've seen you in dallas. been on nw highway much?

Haha, I can almost see it from my window, I live like 2 blocks away. There are alot of FX's that look generally like mine, I have the UT sticker though. But ya, I'm on NW Hwy alot, especially between 75 and tollway. Most likely I was driving aggressively and in a hurry.

 

[turbocad6]

Turbo, you will not be proud of me as i am hasty and did not take your advice! But I hope I did a good enough job and with 6 coats of black and 2 coats of clear, i may be ok. If not, these will be my winter wheels.

nah, still proud, at least you got the ambition to do it, looks great from here

like ash said, try to give it time before you mount, it'll scratch really easy when it's fresh, you got a good amount of material on there too make it take even longer

 

[iheartfx]

Haha, I can almost see it from my window, I live like 2 blocks away. There are alot of FX's that look generally like mine, I have the UT sticker though. But ya, I'm on NW Hwy alot, especially between 75 and tollway. Most likely I was driving aggressively and in a hurry.

ok, i've for sure tried to keep up with you in traffic around the highland park moms.

---------- Post added at 11:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:38 PM ----------

nah, still proud, at least you got the ambition to do it, looks great from here

like ash said, try to give it time before you mount, it'll scratch really easy when it's fresh, you got a good amount of material on there too make it take even longer

ambition and beers we had plenty! i'll try to hold off til tomorrow afternoon/night. we ran into an incident when i took off the stb while the fx was on jack stands and no weight on the front suspension. pretty much extended the shock as far as it can go and it was a B!TCH to get back in line. you live and learn.

anyway, time for bed, just got home from the bars. Good day of Man-work.

 

[StuLax18]

Haha, that's hilarious. Are you in Dallas often? I will watch for you.

 

[iheartfx]

Haha, that's hilarious. Are you in Dallas often? I will watch for you.

In and out. My girlfriend lives in Dallas, off Meadow and 75. I was in Dallas for 3 months in the fall and I'll be there starting June.

---------- Post added at 02:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:30 PM ----------

DONE.

Iphone pictures don't do it justice.

More when the paint cures, I can wash/wax/clean. Oh, and I'll use a better camera.
I'm sitting at starbucks trying to do work and I can't stop but look outside and stare. It's like falling in love again with the fx all over again.





Time now to revise the headlights to semi-gloss black, maybe hit the grill, maybe hit the chrome trim.

Wheel spacers? yes no?

Matte black is the new gray.

 

[asherchy]

looking mean!
nice change from the black stockers everyone has now...

 

[iheartfx]

looking mean!
nice change from the black stockers everyone has now...

everything looks good in a matte black. plus, the slight imperfections in the painting is overlooked by the darkness and low-sheen.

I am worried about getting them scuffed at the tire place. Got about a month left on the rear tires, it wouldn't be super weird and anal if I took the wheels off and taped the lip of the rims and brought it to the tire shop to get the tires changed?

 

[sgvxcheese]

pretty shhhweeet!

 

[asherchy]

how would you get the tape off once the tire was on?? you can always touch up any scratch afterwards with a paint pen or spraying the paint into a small container and dry brushing it on...

like forrest gump said... chips happen

 

[iheartfx]

how would you get the tape off once the tire was on?? you can always touch up any scratch afterwards with a paint pen or spraying the paint into a small container and dry brushing it on...

like forrest gump said... chips happen

i guess i meant just putting some tape over the face of the rims, not like tucked under the tire bead. and some tape over the surrounding areas around the lug nuts so when they jam the torque wrench in and miss, they won't go metal to metal on it.

 

[StuLax18]

You could just ask them to be very careful, and watch them to make sure they do a clean job. One of my rims got a little chip when my tire were mounted, but I had some scratch-fix paint from an earlier rim scrape and just filled it in.

 

[iheartfx]

alright, had the chance to quickly wipe down the fx. here's a snap shot until i can find a cooler place to take some pics.



btw, i'm dropped on cut h&rs up front and regular h&r's out back (thanks fxlr8), no bump stop cutting. kinda like the racked look. rides like a champ.

now it's time for black grill and revised black headlights.