Wheel painting HELP!!

[meicalnissyen]

So..I just tried to paint some rx8's with the gunmetal Duplicolor. The color is really uneven for some reason, even after I laid down coats of primer. I read up on 50 different "wheel painting" threads so I thought I knew what I was doing, but each spoke just has areas that are smooth and others that are rough, and of different shade. I thought maybe some clear coat would help it out but it didn't. I am thinking maybe wet sanding the clear and gunmetal paint would solve the problem, but I need some options for fixing it. That's where YOU come in! What can I do?

take a piece of 12" sq scap metal, and paint that

the results may answer some questions

 

[jv92red]

That actually makes a lot of sense...I guess the paint dried before hitting the surface. Also, I got a little confused when I bought paint thinner which says "100% mineral spirits" in small letters on the front. I know min spirits are a cleaner but I guess a thinner too?

Mineral spirits and paint thinner are good cleaners but they can leave a residue behind. Acetone or denatured alcohol won't leave a residue and they dry faster so those are much more preferred for initial surface prep.

 

[jflash]

Ok so I just repainted my wheels. I wet sanded them with 1000 grit. Wiped down with wax remover. Laid down 4 thin coats of graphite. Let it dry for about an hour or so then lightly sanded with 2000. Wiped down again with wax remover then sprayed 4 medium coats of clear.

It ended up WAY better than I thought it would. I'm still going to wet sand the clear with 2000 next week. Here are a few pics with the clear dry before I wet sand them.

 

[knokout5]

wow..jflash that looks really good!! glad you got them to look nice..yea i actually wetsanded mine with 600 grit just slightly but in some areas even the primer came off...which got me pretty upset haha..so i just stripped the paint and starting over with a different kind of primer.

 

[jv92red]

Very nice jflash! Is that Duplicolor wheel paint?

 

[jflash]

Hey thanks. I'm really happy with it too.
Yes it's the duplicolor wheel paint and clear. One thing I did differently this time was instead of trying to spray one spoke then moving on to the next one, I started at the top of the wheel and worked my way back and forth across the entire wheel working my way down. I would then turn the wheel a little and do the same so all angles would get covered.

 

[knokout5]

so i started repainting the wheels, and the outcome was MUCh better...i did the first two, one day..and then did a 3rd the second day...however the 3rd one came out much more darker and brilliant than the other two..and although i really like the color of the 3rd, now i have to go back and wetsand and re-coat the other two during night time =/ i feel maybe its because i did the last wheel while it was getting dark with no sunlight...

i guess time of day makes a difference in how the paint cures???

 

[martispeed]

huh... thats really weird

 

[knokout5]

the picture doesnt really show the true color, but here's how they came out when painting at NIGHT. you can see how the shade is a bit darker than a usual graphite. the right one is reflecting the color of my kitchen cabinets haha.

 

[Saskatchewan17]

Looks pretty damn good for a do-it-yourself job. I like the color. What color car are they going on?

 

[knokout5]

Cwp =)

 

[Saskatchewan17]

Very nice. That's what I was hoping you would say
They will look sick.