$10 Wheel Makeover





This is what my wheels looked like. 6 years of winter and road salt had been bad to them, and the clearcoat was chipping off in big pieces, leaving raw exposed metal below. I didn't want to shell out the $160 per wheel to have them re-machined, and I thought about having them sandblasted/repainted at a local shop but I procrastinated until it was about to snow and I HAD to put my winter tires on my car. So I sanded and repainted them myself in one weekend. This is how you can do it too.

Here is what you will need:
2 3M sanding sponges, one coarse/medium and one fine/extra-fine
1 spray can Rustoleum Clean Metal Primer
1 spray can Duplicolor wheel paint (comes in silver, graphite, bronze, white, or black)
masking tape
small wire brushes
a strong knife or suitable scraping device (I used the big blade from my Leatherman)
(I already had some of this stuff so it only cost me $10. Even if you have to buy everything, it shouldn't come to more than $25.)

Here's a closeup of the bad part before I started:


and the edge:


Obviously the wheels will need to be off your car. Pop the centercaps out so you don't accidentally damage them while you're working. Also, any balancing weights will need to come off. If you're not planning on having them professionally rebalanced, you can mark the position of the weights and replace them when you're done.

Basically, all you need to do is scrape off any of the loose clearcoat with the blade and/or wire brushes, and sand the rough areas with the coarse sponge. I had a LOT of loose clearcoat on mine. Eventually you will be able to get all the crap off. Any clearcoat that's not damaged can stay on the wheels, and you can paint over it.

Here, the bottom left side is finished, but the top right side still needs more sanding.


Sand everything (including any remaining clearcoat) with the medium, fine, and extra-fine sponges. Vacuum up the huge mess you made, and wipe down the wheels with a damp cloth to remove any dust. The scraping/sanding will take up most of your time, I spent about 8 hours on it while watching TV. You may finish faster if your wheels are in better shape.

Next, use masking tape to mask off the tires, the valve stems, and the inside of the centercap/lug nut holes.


I also cut a big cardboard donut to protect the tires from overspray.

Spray two coats of primer on any areas of bare metal, allowing it to dry between coats (about 10 minutes).


Next, apply several coats of the Duplicolor wheel paint, allowing it to dry between coats (about 10 minutes). The instructions on the can said to apply three coats, which I did, but I recommend more than that. I didn't get coverage quite as heavy as I would have liked, but I couldn't tell until the wheels were in direct sunlight, and back on my car. Now you know better.


Remove all the masking tape and replace the center caps.


Allow the paint to dry overnight before re-installing the wheels.


That's it, you're done! Stand back and admire your work.