Like many, I got sick of the paint chipping off my wheels, and figured since I have my winter wheels on, what better time to fix them! First I used some aircraft stipper to get the paint off, sanded the rim down so it was smooth. few coats of primer, and a bunch of light coats of paint. It's hard to tell from the pic (crappy cell phone pic) but it's a lot darker than stock, it's a dark gray, almost close to black. there's some nice metallic flake as well, but you can't really see it unless you get pretty close. so far i'm happy, and almost done with the first rim. here's the progress so far:



UPDATE:
just finished the last rim today, took a LONg time, and i got a lil lazy on the last one, didn't smooth it out enough. but all in all it came out better than i thought it would, especially considering how i did them. so, here's the pics. the rims look a little dirty, but that's just the flash reflecting off the specks in the paint.

here's a full on shot



here's a closeup, that shows the specs in the paint. it's a really cool color, in certain light looks black, and in certain light it looks gray.



shot of the center.

 

looks goldish to me. nice job though!

 

yea, the pic is not the right color at all like i said, it's pretty close to black. batteries in my camera are dead, so it was cell phone or nothing. i'll get some real pics up when i get batteries.

 

I'm thinking of doing the same thing. Do you need special paint for the wheels? because i want to color match mine, glossy black.

 

then buy the color matched dupli color. they r tiny cans and are expensive but they r worth it in the end. advanced auto has them.

 

i'm just using rustoleam metal paint. i still have a little touch up and sanding work before i do the final coats, then i'll do some clear coat. the paint by itself seems to be standing up pretty good, i tried scratching it and knicking it just to see how well it would do and so far so good. i'm sure with a few coats of clear it will be even better.

 

if you want to color match... GM has the proper color for it i wouldn't trust using other paint when color matching thats just my 2 cents
What was the type of paint you used?

 

I like it, What kind of paint should I use since i just want mine black. And does it still look good if its out of a can?

 

i'm using spray, and it looks great. after they're totally done, i don't think people would have any idea that they were sprayed. would probably think that's how the rims come.

 

Dude How have I still never met u! I'd like to see these bad boys in real life one day....

 

i know bro one of these days we'll finally hang out. let me know next time you're up this way if you want to stop by check them out.

 

The GM color match spray paint, is that ok to use on rims? (might be a stupid question)

 

i think the gm stuff works on metal, so it should be fine, you can double check that though they sell it at some of the stores, or at the dealer. if you're going for black, it's pretty easy to match it up though.

 

Will do dood

 

Awesome, thanks! I was just talking about doing this last night, and what better time to do it than when the winters are still on.

 

exactly, that's why i decided to do it now.

 

here's a better idea of the color. still needs to be sanded, add another coat, and then clear. but this rim is almost done, if it's nice out it sould be done before i go to work tomorrow. i don't have that great of a digital camera, and the rim is in my closet, so the flash bounced off the specs in the paint making the rim look a little dirty. that's just the way the flash is hitting it though. i'll try to get better pics when they're done using a real camera.

 

far from the gold-ish color. kudos. lookin good.

 

yea, i wanted to post that because in the first pic it does look very gold, almost STI'ish. i snapped that off, no focus, while the camera was shutting off

but thanks, i'll post more as it comes along. and when i'm totally done i'll have much better pics.

this is a great and easy thing to do for anyone that wants to paint their rims, or has the chips in the paint. but, it's freaking TEDIOUS, and you have to have a shitload of patience.

 

so here's some better update pics. also updated the first post.

just finished the last rim today, took a LONg time, and i got a lil lazy on the last one, didn't smooth it out enough. but all in all it came out better than i thought it would, especially considering how i did them. so, here's the pics. the rims look a little dirty, but that's just the flash reflecting off the specks in the paint.

here's a full on shot



here's a closeup, that shows the specs in the paint. it's a really cool color, in certain light looks black, and in certain light it looks gray.



shot of the center.

 

what color/type did you use? Rustoleum... got a part number?? thats a sweet color

 

yep, it was rustoleam, not sure what part # i don't have any botltles left, went through 3 of them though. i used 2 cans of aircraft stripper, lots of sanding, one can of primer, 3 cans of paint, and 1 can of clear. my right pointer finger is hurting like a **** now

i love the color. now it's time to see how long it lasts. if they start chipping again, i'll just strip and polish them.

i'll post some pics up when i get them on the car, most likely sometime this week.

 

thanks man.... i love that color... it'll look sweet on silver

 

i bet it will. if i have time before work i'll put them on in the morning.

 

very nice! I'm going to Lazer Blue inside the spokes of mine when i get back home.