[dbphoto]

Sooo the stock wheels on the Foz are boring. I am thinking about sanding them down and painting them black and using them for my winter set with some good tires on there and keeping my 18's for summer weather.

So two and a half questions: Has anyone re painted their own wheels and have a good paint brand/ process they've come up with?

Annnd who has a good 16'' tire they use for winter driving (going to the mountains weekly, dealing with lots of rain)

Thanks everyone!

 

[sea-scooby]

I've repainted 7 sets of wheels. It is a pretty easy process, just time consuming to do it right. Duplicolor wheel paint is the best stuff to use. It comes in many colors including a nice gunmetal color that is nearly black. I can give you a hand if you want to paint the stockers. I need to redo my winter wheels anyway so we can do both sets at the same time.

For winter I run Hankook Winter iPike W409 on both Foresters. GREAT tire for the type of snow we get around here and they do great in the rain.

 

[Smooth]

I also used Duplicolor wheel paint on Chris' recommendation and it worked very well. To get the best adherence you might want to lightly sand and use their self-etching primer first.

Another nice thing about Duplicolor is that their silver is nearly identical to Subaru's stock silver color so it's a great match if you are just cleaning up some curb rash.

 

[acrossthesea]

i actually painted my rims black too. i would suggest first thoroughly washing them off with soap(the good heavy duty kind) and water.

then, after they are dry, get a scotch-brite pad and rub it over every surface of the outside of the wheel (requires some arm muscle strength :[ ).

once that is done, try and get a brush or other abrasive pad and scrub the wheels once more, until there are no more visible dirt spots.

i sprayed my wheels with some $3/can glossy black Rustoleum spraypaint from wal-mart. two even coatings of that stuff, and the wheels should be good to go after that. I know there are probably some better sprays out there specifically meant for rims, but for $10 the metal-approved rustoleum spraypaint did the job well and has stood up to the elements so far (though i've only had the paint on for 2 months now..). even though its not that costly, it looks pretty nice, and seems like a decent bargain way to go.

 

[NormSubie]

I've also painted several sets of wheels, and agree with the replies in here. I primarily use Duplicolor wheel spray paint, a primer, and clear coat.

As for my little method:
- Clean (with degreaser or soap)
- sand
- primer
- sand
- paint and let dry, paint and let dry, (and paint again if you wish)
- clear coat, clear coat

Also, if the tires are still mounted, use index cards (3x5's) and insert them (overlapping) between the rim and tire. This works easy and really well, so you should not need to un-mount the tires, or mask.

I don't have close-up pics, but they turned out really well. And clear coating helps with the unwanted chipping.

 

[dbphoto]

Thanks guys!

Chris I am gonna take you up on that... knock it out over a few days! I am moving next week down to Rolling Hills so after I get all settled in down there we will have to get together and paint away!

 

[sea-scooby]

I live in Rolling hills!

On a nice warm day you can complete the project in 3-5 hours depending on how much prep you do. It's best to let the paint harden a few weeks before mounting, so if you paint in August and mount in December they will definitely be ready to go.

Tight-N-Tidy racing is down the street near the 7-11, adn they mount tires for cheap, so you can hit them up when you pick some tires up.

 

[blackOnblack]

Good info in here. I'll be painting my stock 16"'s (winter wheels) either Caution cone Orange, or lime green before winter rolls around.

 

[dbphoto]

I live in Rolling hills!

On a nice warm day you can complete the project in 3-5 hours depending on how much prep you do. It's best to let the paint harden a few weeks before mounting, so if you paint in August and mount in December they will definitely be ready to go.

Tight-N-Tidy racing is down the street near the 7-11, adn they mount tires for cheap, so you can hit them up when you pick some tires up.

So we are in the Rolling Hills on the left side of Puget as you drive up the hill...you are in the neighborhood on the right aren't you? I will probably just have my shop guys at the dealership mount the tires for you but those ones you recommended seem to have pretty good reviews.

Probably going to be a nice little weekend project though with this warm weather we are finally having!