Story behind the rims.
I’ve had a spare set of Sparco Racing rims sitting under my house for almost three years. The front and rear RHS rims were damaged when a kerb lost control around a roundabout and ran into my parked car......I was like ?? Anyway, the rims were staggered , 8” from and 9” rears, so I couldn’t do much with the undamaged LHS ones but just to hold on to the whole set. A few months back I got myself some track tires because the Federals I had were melting after two laps at QR and chunks the size of 5 cent coin were being torn off it! Which means I needed a set of track rims to accommodate!!!! Funding prevented me from getting a set of GL57s so was forced to resurrect the old faithful.
The rims were fixed by Mike Warner Wheels up the sunny coast. Very nice guys and always up for a good chat.
After Kerb running into me
Now, this is the first time I’ve ever tried painting rims and I only had a rough idea what I was doing. These are the steps which made sense to me so if anyone who knows better please let me and everyone else know.
Oh, another thing, this took me about 3-4 weekends and copious amounts of beer. Armthehomless can voucher for that..... Kept asking me whenever he came around “You still painting the bloody rims??”. So allow yourself plenty of time and to gain about 2-3 kgs around the gut area.
Cost : Off memory I spent close to $120 in paint...... can’t remember due to the amounts of beer and about $200 to fix the two rims.
Materials: I used VHT wheel paint. You can get it at the usual outlets. Etch primer, masking tape and sandpaper, from coarse to wet and dry.
STEP 1 : PERPETRATION
Perpetration is the MOST important part of the job. If you stuff this up, you’ll never get a good finish. You want it to be clean and free of dirt and grease. Metho or turps is good for this. You need to rough the surface for the prime to bite.
Sending back the clear coat.
STEP 2 : Prime
Make sure etch primer is used and not normal primer. I did about 3-4 coats, very thin coats every time. It also helps if the rim is hot. If your rim fits in your oven, give it a short bake, I just relied on the sun.
Follow the instruction on the can, i think waited around 2 beers in between coats. More beer is required if the suns not out or if the cricket is on.
STEP 3 : Paint
I chose mat black spokes and gloss black lip. All finishes can be bought in the VHT range. Also, grab a few cans of clear for the gloss, they turn up really good.
Again, 2 beers between coats.
Wash after wet and dry the lip to be gloss
Day turns to night very quickly. By now, your missus should be yelling at you because you haven’t spoken to her all day, haven’t stepped foot in the house except food or beer. Warning : this is not a good time to send her down to the shops to get you more beer!
Clear coat on the lip
STEP 4 : Rubber on rim
Cheap Federals back on and on the car
STEP 5 : Rim on car
I have to admit, it was a lot of work. But I’m the kind of person who can’t stand paying someone to do something that I can do myself.
Obviously you wouldn’t want to paint your own rims if you want a pro finish, but for a DIY, I think it came up alright. There are a couple of little sport that were a bit thin on the black, I’m kicking myself for not taking the time. You wouldn’t able to find them unless I point them out to you anyway.
Anyway, enjoy your creation if you’re attacking this yourself. I know I am.