DIY wheel respray paint recomendation?

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AANDYY

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Location
Blackpool
Car
E300DT-W210-1997-Elegance-Azurite Metalic Blue. (Don't mention the rust, LOL) Running on WVO. 65k m
Hi, I'm going to respray my not so nice 10 hole 16" Alloys soon, so my question is can someone recommend a good quality spray tin silver paint and is it advisable to lacquer them as well?

Image074-2.jpg
 
Halfords do an Alloy Wheel Silver aerosol which I tried and was OK. Alternatively you could buy some cans of 744 brilliant silver from any motor factor. You will need to lacquer them too.
 
I'v used Halfords with ok results, its acrylic which doesn't tend to bubble like other makes (CarPlan), however, i'm not sure i like their lacquer,it tends to look yellowish on top of your silver.
 
I used plasti-kote 'projekt paint' radiator. #665 Satin Chrome from B&Q. No lacquer required.

Looks almost the same as Merc original.

Been on 18mths now and still as good as.....and touch-ups are easy-peasy.
 
They dont look too bad... remember the key is in the prep.. they really need to be rubbed down properly.
 
They don't look too bad... remember the key is in the prep.. they really need to be rubbed down properly.


It's the corner bits :doh:, where the brake dust sticks/bakes on? Can't get it off, I did touch then up temporary last year with some machine paint,(they were a lot worse before this) so I thought I'd do them semi proper this year.
 
Bite the bullet - get them done properly!!


Don't really want to spend to much as might change them soon anyway, so it's kinda temporary bit of sproose up.
 
Andy: what did you decide to do in the end? I'm curious as I'm thinking about doing the same myself and wondered what the technique was.

The question is really open to anyone that can give tips of DIY wheel painting. :)

Thanks.
 
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To be honest, it's one of those jobs that once you've started, you'll wish you hadn't :eek:

It's all in the prep, and for the DIY'er, this will take ages and be very hard work.

Ideally, for a top-quality refurb you need to strip the wheels professionally - media blasting/chemicals and start with bare metal.

DIY will probably only lend itself to a thorough clean up, some light filling of a few nicks and a thorough rub down/spot prime in places.

If the wheels have corrosion (flaking paint, water ingress etc) then it'll be difficult to strip them down far enough.

Once you have the wheels clean, filled, sanded flat etc then the painting part is quite pleasant and relatively quick/easy.

I did a set of wheels on a Lexus a good few years ago now, I think I must have spent a couple of hours on them each evening for most of a week, plus paint/materials. Makes the £200ish that most places seem like a bargain :cool:

Will
 
Thanks Will. From your post and reading similar accounts on other forums it does sound like a very labour intensive process. Though I'm not really after an A1 job, just something good enough to last a season or two.

Do you know if corroded polished wheels are safe to use during winter motoring? I wonder whether water ingress which then froze could cause structural failure, or am I being paranoid?
 
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Thanks Will. From your post and reading similar accounts on other forums it does sound like a very labour intensive process.

Do you know if corroded polished wheels are safe to use during winter motoring? I wonder whether water ingress which then froze could cause structural failure, or am I being paranoid?

I'm sure they'll be fine, there's loads of cars out there with cosmetically tatty wheels, I don't think it's a significant safety concern IMO.

The paint would surely lift before any damage to the metal could occur?

If you have the luxury of a 'spare' set of wheels, then it's perfectly possible to do them DIY if you like a challenge, just don't expect it to be a quick/easy job :eek:

Will
 
I used plasti-kote 'projekt paint' radiator. #665 Satin Chrome from B&Q. No lacquer required.

Looks almost the same as Merc original.

Does radiator paint have to be cured ? or did you just let it dry.
 
To be honest, it's one of those jobs that once you've started, you'll wish you hadn't :eek:



Will


Oh God yes! Took me about 2/3 days :crazy:.

I used Halfords wheel paint with the lacquer, the finnish was darker than the original paint, I'm not keen but another car knut thinks they look better.

I'll do a before and after soon.
 
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Before

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After

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