After winter the wheels had been looking a bit sorry for themselves and with me not being able to afford the wheels I want at the moment I thought that a re-spray could really help make the wheels a lot better and improve the general appearance of my car...

Currently sanding through the entire lot of wheels which is taking a lot of time to get right, but I have learnt in the past that the only real way of getting a good finish is taking the time in the preparation stages... I have sprayed the centre caps the final colour as a test piece and waiting for it to dry but will upload it as soon as I can take a picture... (BMW Sparkling Graphite Metallic)



and on a center cap..



It looks a bit dull due to no lacquer but just put a layer on now and it sparkles like mad... really hot colour!!



It will take me a good couple days to complete all the wheels as so far I have just finished sanding one and applied primer and has taken 7 hours, so 10 hours for a completed wheel...? Will update throughout though


Process:

120 grit
400 grit
600 grit
primer x 3
colour x 3
lacquer x 3

I am tempted to wet sand with 1800 between the colour and the laquer or inbetween each laquer but unsure if that would yield the best results... so ITT some opinions on the wet sand between applications would be appreciated.


Started off by lifting the car up and getting all the wheels off...




Some of the damage...








UPDATE - 9pm GMT

Trying to get the sparkle in the paint to show on camera... it's a 2nd coat so ignore the blotchy effect, it has been improved with a 3rd and final coat...




To help it last a bit long it was decided to have 3 coats of lacquer, this also helps bring out the shine in the colour making it look fantastic IMO.







From the last 2 pictures you can see the slight green tint from the sparkle but it just looks so good, close enough to the picture of the BMW shown above... For my first wheel and am MORE than happy with the result


UPDATE

I have finished the front 2 and currently completing a rear wheel... I put the 2 front wheels on the side of the car to see what it would be like... IMO it = awesome!





UPDATE

All finished now, will get some more pictures later, but this one should do...

 

Interested in updates. Color looks good on MCB.

 

nice color choice. can't wait to see it done

 

Cheers for the comments, within the next couple of hours 1 wheel will be complete and will post pics Coilovers will be coming next month, so this is in preparation for it...

Just 1 Q, I will be swapping out the indicators on the side with clear, but what about the S2000 badge... should I wait until it is lowered so it appears more modified prior to badge removal or whip them off soon as?

 

Trying to get the sparkle in the paint to show on camera... it's a 2nd coat so ignore the blotchy effect, it has been improved with a 3rd and final coat...




To help it last a bit long it was decided to have 3 coats of lacquer, this also helps bring out the shine in the colour making it look fantastic IMO.







From the last 2 pictures you can see the slight green tint from the sparkle but it just looks so good, close enough to the picture of the BMW shown above... For my first wheel and am MORE than happy with the result

 

looking good so far, can't wait to see them on the car

 

Wheel 2 is now finished (complete front pair) and will start the rears tomorrow... (it's now 1am and I have work at 7)... had a bit of trouble where the can ran out of paint and got splotchy on the centre cap and spitted a bit, but managed to wet sand down and respray a top colour coat, on with the clear and it seems to be fine (well saved)

 

If you soak your paint cans in hot water before spraying, it helps with the mixing of the paint, and it sprays smoother out of the tip.

 

cheers for the tip, good screen name

 

Looks very good. The final product is the nicest when you do things properly.