Alloy wheel repair/refurb guide
Firstly I will start off with the materials you need.
1 can aerosol etch primer. This is IMPORTANT do not use any old normal primer it needs to be etch primer
2 cans 500ml grey primer [get white primer if your planning on painting wheels white]
3 cans 500ml colour. I used satin black this time.
2 cans lacquer [clear, pearl...choice is yours] OR if like me you choose to paint satin black use a good wax polish to seal the paint and protect it.
4 RED Scotchbrites [there like scouring pads]
1 sheet 80 grit paper
2 sheets 120 grit paper
1 sheet 240 grit paper
1 sheet 320 grit paper
I 85grm tube of chemical metal ONLY if you have deep kerb marks or damage you need to fill, you will not need this for light scratches.
1-2 rolls 2" masking tape
A box of tack rags, there are IMPORTANT for a good finish
1 bottle of panel wipe or similar
The above seems like quite a list but wont cost that much, the most expensive item will be can of etch primer [about £8-10] the primer and colour are very cheap I paid £3 per 500ml can from the BodyShop warehouse for good U-Pol stuff. [they sell on ebay to the general public]
The sheets of paper are only a few pence each so are the scothbrites.
Chemical metal is about £5 for a tube [with hardner and spreader]
Tack rags are under £5 for box of 10
Panel wipe is very cheap.
You ideally want some kind of fume mask if your going to be in close contact with the paint fumes [couple of quid]
The first thing to do is wipe over the wheels with panel wipe of a good cleaner to remove all the dirt and grease, this needs to be done well as you don't want anything that will react to the paint left on the rims, do the insides of the wheels to.
If you are planning a colour change and want the inside of the rims painted this should be done now rather than later, this is because the over spray from the inside will go on the outer rim a bit.......this is fine at this stage as you will be rubbing down the outer rim in a later stage.
If you are painting the inside you will need to do the following.
1 rub down all the inside surfaces with a red scotchbrite to give the paint/primer a good key.
2 thoroughly clean the inside surfaces with panel wipe
3 mask off the tyre using 2" masking tape against the rim [you can use newspaper or plastic sheet etc to cover the rest of the tyre]
4 if you are going to a lighter colour you may need to prime if not you can apply colour straight onto the inner rim. You should apply this in LIGHT EVEN coats and allow the paint to go 'tacky' before applying further coats, the amount of coats you apply will depend on the paint and the colour [in all honestly you prob can't see the inner rim whilst on the car so unless your going for colour change of your fussy you could just clean them and not worry about painting them......its up to you]
5 you can laquer over the paint if you really want......I never bother personally as its only the inside.
6 leave it to dry for hour or so.
That's the boring bit out of the way.....now the fun parts.
1 If you still have tyres on now is the time to mask them up to avoid them getting damaged and painted [I didn't actually mask my tyres up because mine were damaged and in need of replacement] Do this as you did with the back of the tyre.
2 Now you are ready to sort out any damage and do any repairs, take a bit of 80 grit paper and sand down any areas of heavy kerbing to BEAR METAL it must be bare metal for the filler to get a good key, you should take a area bigger than the damaged area down to bear metal.......as shown here. Its up to you weather your going to do 1,2,3 or all 4 wheels at the same time. I found it easier to do 2 at a time.
3 wipe over the bare metal areas with the panel wipe so they are 100% free from grease and dust.
Firstly I will start off with the materials you need.
1 can aerosol etch primer. This is IMPORTANT do not use any old normal primer it needs to be etch primer
2 cans 500ml grey primer [get white primer if your planning on painting wheels white]
3 cans 500ml colour. I used satin black this time.
2 cans lacquer [clear, pearl...choice is yours] OR if like me you choose to paint satin black use a good wax polish to seal the paint and protect it.
4 RED Scotchbrites [there like scouring pads]
1 sheet 80 grit paper
2 sheets 120 grit paper
1 sheet 240 grit paper
1 sheet 320 grit paper
I 85grm tube of chemical metal ONLY if you have deep kerb marks or damage you need to fill, you will not need this for light scratches.
1-2 rolls 2" masking tape
A box of tack rags, there are IMPORTANT for a good finish
1 bottle of panel wipe or similar
The above seems like quite a list but wont cost that much, the most expensive item will be can of etch primer [about £8-10] the primer and colour are very cheap I paid £3 per 500ml can from the BodyShop warehouse for good U-Pol stuff. [they sell on ebay to the general public]
The sheets of paper are only a few pence each so are the scothbrites.
Chemical metal is about £5 for a tube [with hardner and spreader]
Tack rags are under £5 for box of 10
Panel wipe is very cheap.
You ideally want some kind of fume mask if your going to be in close contact with the paint fumes [couple of quid]
The first thing to do is wipe over the wheels with panel wipe of a good cleaner to remove all the dirt and grease, this needs to be done well as you don't want anything that will react to the paint left on the rims, do the insides of the wheels to.
If you are planning a colour change and want the inside of the rims painted this should be done now rather than later, this is because the over spray from the inside will go on the outer rim a bit.......this is fine at this stage as you will be rubbing down the outer rim in a later stage.
If you are painting the inside you will need to do the following.
1 rub down all the inside surfaces with a red scotchbrite to give the paint/primer a good key.
2 thoroughly clean the inside surfaces with panel wipe
3 mask off the tyre using 2" masking tape against the rim [you can use newspaper or plastic sheet etc to cover the rest of the tyre]
4 if you are going to a lighter colour you may need to prime if not you can apply colour straight onto the inner rim. You should apply this in LIGHT EVEN coats and allow the paint to go 'tacky' before applying further coats, the amount of coats you apply will depend on the paint and the colour [in all honestly you prob can't see the inner rim whilst on the car so unless your going for colour change of your fussy you could just clean them and not worry about painting them......its up to you]
5 you can laquer over the paint if you really want......I never bother personally as its only the inside.
6 leave it to dry for hour or so.
That's the boring bit out of the way.....now the fun parts.
1 If you still have tyres on now is the time to mask them up to avoid them getting damaged and painted [I didn't actually mask my tyres up because mine were damaged and in need of replacement] Do this as you did with the back of the tyre.
2 Now you are ready to sort out any damage and do any repairs, take a bit of 80 grit paper and sand down any areas of heavy kerbing to BEAR METAL it must be bare metal for the filler to get a good key, you should take a area bigger than the damaged area down to bear metal.......as shown here. Its up to you weather your going to do 1,2,3 or all 4 wheels at the same time. I found it easier to do 2 at a time.
3 wipe over the bare metal areas with the panel wipe so they are 100% free from grease and dust.
apply 2 LIGHT coats of etch primer.......make sure they are light etch primer will react if you put it on heavily. Leave this 20mins to go off.
..........Thats really easy tho alot easier than doing the wheels 
