It’s amazing what a little Dupli color touch up paint can do! But why not learn how to paint rims black? Here’s a few simple steps to create that new hyper black look for your car wheels. Waxes and sealants are considered old technologies for car paint protection, as they are proven to have a low melting point.
Step #1: What is the Condition of Your Rims?
Your paint is only as good as the surface it is on. Therefore, it’s very important to make sure you assess the condition of your rims, then correct any issues before using your DupliColor spray paint. Generally, most issues occur from ill-treated rust or wheel imperfections.
Rust on Rims
Painting over rust is a huge mistake! Rust will continue to bloom through coatings that are ill-equipped to inhibit growth. This includes your sleek new black rim finish.
Use a product like Dupli-Color Rust Fix, which is a product designed to kill your wheel rust, converting it into a sand-able surface. Once sanded, your rust problem should be solved as long as your wheel is painted with a sealer.
Advice: For about $8, Rust Fix can treat any rust issues that you may have. Before you use the product, sand or scrape off any heavy rust areas. If there are any large imperfections, use a metal filler to create a smooth surface. Then, use the spray paint!
Another product that kills rust on the spot is Permatex Rust Treatment. With a chemically induced PH change, the rust on your rims will blacken and turn into a sand-able surface.
Step #2: Sand & Prime the Surface
Once you’ve corrected the issues, it’s time to make sure the surface is 100% consistent and ready for coatings. To do so, it is strongly recommended to sand the rims. The goal of sanding is to make sure a new surface profile is created. A new profile will give the primer and finish a substrate to bite onto. If your rims are glossy, they need to be deglossed! Sanding or chemically deglossing are the most effective ways to prepare the rims for a wheel coating. Here is a sanding chart to help you choose the right grit for the job:
Advice: Unless you have some serious imperfections or surface contaminants, a grit of 220-600 will do gently dull the metal substrate.
Time to Prime!
If you are getting ready to apply that sharp-looking black rim paint, STOP! Don’t think about using that car touch up paint over bare metal! Sure, the coating might hold for a few weeks – even a few months. However, you’ll have to touch up your rims again. Why not maximize the efficiency of your black wheel paint? To do so, it is strongly recommend to prime the surface with a rust-preventative, metal adhesion primer.
Before you spray, always make sure you have proper ventilation and are spraying away from fire or flammable objects. Use tape and masking paper to keep over spray from dusting other surfaces.
Dupli-Color offers the following primers:
Dupli-Color: Adhesion Promoter: You may have experienced coatings that did not “grab” onto the surface you are painting. Adhesion Promoter is a primer that strongly latches on to wheel surfaces that may be slick like, promoting a bond coat. Use this product if dulling the surface is hard to do. Dupli-Color: Primer Sealer: After sanding your wheels to a smooth finish, Dupli-Color offers a general-purpose primer that will promote adhesion, fill-in hairline cracks, and create a consistent surface for your finish coat. Dupli-Color: Rust Fix: Dupli-Color Rust Fix is a product designed to kill your wheel rust, converting it into a sand-able surface.
Advice: For about $6-10, you can buy Dupli-Color primers from big box stores, like Walmart, or retail auto stores. To help the coverage of your finish and to make the finish more aestically pleasing, use a Gray metal primer.
Step #3: Finish the Job by Applying a Black Wheel Coating to Your Rims
With a rust-free, primed surface your rims should be ready for the finish coat paint job. Get ready to do at least two coats of the top coat. Most products recommend at least two coats to create a paint film to product specification.
Before you can do anything, you need to buy the product. Dupli-Color offers the following paint for your wheels:
- Dupli-Color Premium Gloss Black Enamel: An excellent high-solids enamel that will cover great and dry to touch within 30 minutes. Be ready to spend about $6-10 for each can and it will take one can to do two coats, per rim. Get the Gloss Black Color #DA1600 to achieve that hyper gloss black look!
- Dupli-Color Wheel Coating: Finish your wheels with a track-tested Satin Black Enamel #HWP104 to make a sharp look, while getting optimal durability. This is Duplicolor’s premier wheel paint.
- Dupli-Color Shadow Chrome Black-Out Kit: Create an awesome black chrome finish by using Dupli-Color Shadow. This black-out chrome effect is created with a two-part system. One part is a translucent black base to create the desired shadow look, then a second clear gloss finish adds durability and dimension. This kit will cost about $15-20. You may need to have a few kits to complete a set of four wheels.