ok so, i've been using a very helpful writeup in order to paint my wheels. i had gray bulletts, but have trying to turn them black. if anybody out there has done this before, please help me out here!

after stripping, priming, sanding (all good so far) it's time to spray. i use duplicator gloss black paint. after spraying a couple thin layers (with 15 minutes between coats) i put on a couple thicker layers which really makes them look glossy and nice (still good so far).

now's the part where i ruin them EVERY TIME (i've stripped them down and tried doing this twice in the past week and i'm getting pretty frustrated). after giving the black a day to fully cure, i try to clear coat them (duplicolor clear coat wheel paint). but it always turns the nice gloss black to a hazy dark gray (at best). WTF am i doing wrong?! a few thin coats, then a few thicker coats....just like the can says! it is sooooo frustrating! i'm leery of wetsanding (never done it and not sure how it would turn out).

any help here would be greatly appreciated!!!! you guys rock!

 

i may be wrong about the duplicolor, but with clearcoat normally you do not want the paint to be fully cured, you have to check the flash time on the paint, you have a window of time to get the clearcoat on to get it to look right.

the ideal time to clearcoat i believe is while the paint is still slightly tacky, but you dont want to touch it to find out, so you need to know the flash time.

but then again, that is with stuff like HOK, im not sure about duplicolor.

 

Exactly what Jack said, you need that clearcoat to bond better to the black base coats. If you think of it on a molecular level, you want them to have a small layer where they are "as one". Also, how long do you let the clearcoat dry and cure before you decide that it is ruined? I've seen some rattle can clearcoats that when sparyed on a little too thick apear whiteish or grayish but after you let it dry for a while it appears normal. I'm planning on doing the same thing to my stock rims this summer.

 

dude, you guys rock. the worse part about my predicament wasn't that i was going to have to redo them...it was not knowing what went wrong!!

now i'll just do some sanding, hit it with some more black, then gloss. thanks guys...

 

here's another thing...i have another guy telling me i didn't let the paint cure enough?! to let it sit for 3-4 days, then wet sand/buff before i clear coat??

but honestly, you guys are making more sense....

 

well, like i said, i dont know about the duplicolor rattle cans, but in a paint booth you only let it dry 2-3 hours depending on the paint before you hit it up with the clear coats. you CAN do it later, but to get the best effect you dont want it 100% dry before clearcoating.

im not sure where your friend got his info...

 

well, they're done! and they look great!! that was the trick...not waiting so long.

here's the deal. there are spots on the wheels where it's not as glossy (got some over spray residue). what do yall think about letting it set up a couple days, then spot wet sanding, buff with compound, then wax the whole wheel? think that'll even it out? any other suggestions?

thanks a lot for you help so far guys!

 

You can try that. But make sure you let the paint have time to cure and dry completly before you start sanding on it again. Wait a week to be safe. Then spot repair.

 

what you do it wait a few hours for the paint to harden up a bit. Then wet sand with 800 grit to smooth them out more. Then after cleaning them up with soap and water and drying them only then do you shoot the clear coat on the wheel. I just painted my motorcycles tank and thats how you do it.

 

ok so, even after wet sanding it (now that it's a dull gray instead of a gleaming black)...then you shoot it with clear? the clear on top of the wet sand will bring the gloss back?! for now...they look good enough. maybe next summer i'll take the time to do them again, depending on how they hold up..

 

i painted my wheels bootleg didnt sand it or anything it came out alright..

 

Yes after you have applied the paint and let them dry for awhile you go back and lightly wet sand with 600-800 grit to smooth the paint out more then clean them off and then apply the next coat.

 

Its my write up he was going off of. And I'm the one Who told him to let the paint cure 1st, then wet sand, de-grease and use a tack cloth. I got those directions from a guy I worked with at the time. He painted cars as a side business, so I assume his advice was worth noting.

 

i'll have to post pics...they look awesome! if you ever plan on doing your wheels...check out his write up for sure! trust the wet sand....

 

I'm glad it worked out for, doing something like that yourself gives you a real sense of satisfaction. Especially when people ask where you bought them at, and you say......****....I did that myself.