There has to be an easier way to do this?

I tried some blue masking tape and my sharpest knife to cut the tape along the spokes... but not only was it tedious, I wasnt able to get not ONE spoke completely done well enough to justify the work I've put into these already. I'd rather just leave it unpainted with red splotches in the grooves than paint it and deal with a crap masking job.

Anyway, I sanded 150-220-400-600, I didnt go any higher than that and I think that's why they dont quite have that chrome look to them, but I think they look pretty good.

 

wheels are looking good. I think the best thing you can do for the masking is the blue painters masking tape and an exacto knife. Take your time and be patient.

 

Yea its a very time consuming process. I did mine 3 years ago. It was well worth it. Here's a link:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/auto...g-results.html

 

With stuff like that I do not mask it off at all. I just spray the whole wheel and then I use paint thinner to remove the paint off of any top surface. As long as you do it within 5-10 min, you will never have a problem getting the paint off where you do not want it. I have never had a problem.

 

know how i did mine? smeared the shiny part with grease using a cutip for amall areas-sprayed the wheel untill done. then wiped grease off when paint was dry! looks awesome

 

Ive done this, easiest way I think.
scooterist50 has the right idea as well.
Forget masking....

 

im telling you just try grease it works so well and you only need a thin layer

 

I have also use the grease method. Works great.

 

lol just use a paint brush

 

As they say "Grease is the word" . Just finished my fronts on my 91 and I didnt remove the clearcoat . the red was getting pink. they are not the super shiny, but look ok. if yours are stripped you could clear coat them again, but do not use a spray bomb. use clear urethane with actiavtor. Spay as final coat wouls be at slightly higer pressure and dont go thick. I like the idea of washing the rims instead of having to maintain that bare aluminum. Just my 2 cents. Oh and I have the correct color if anyone is doing them red. I see red isnt that popular on these boards.

 

hey my stars are dark gray but my car is red.........just out of curiosity what color red did u use?? heres mine. . . . . . . .
----------
Thinking of painting the centers of these ones red or black. . . . . . . not sure yet what do u guys think???????? the star rims in the pic above are my other rims<----------these with red or black centers?

 

Yeah, I thought the same thing about masking. Buddy said get some rustoleum and use a paint brush. Comes right off the wheel as you wipe each section once you get done. Mine didn't turn out too bad either.

 

The easiest way to mask anything is by taking your time, and doing it over and over till it is perfect. Good luck, and remember, dont spray it till its masked perfectly!!!!!

 

I went the masking route and lemme tell you, it was such a pain, and so time consuming. I like the paint thinner idea. Do one wheel at a time this way and you should be alright. Just make sure you mask off the tire with tape and newspaper, that process isn't too lengthy.

 

Wheels are looking good man!

 

I just did my 92 style wheels and the trick to masking was getting a roll of 1/2" wide tape. Had to go to a paint store to get that width.

Not much cutting and trimming with the 1/2" tape. I did 5 wheels and got the masking time down to about 15 mins per wheel.

Also.......be sure and use a primer sealer first before applying color. I did one wheel without primer sealer and it took forever to get it looking good, used way more paint on the one wheel without primer than I did on the other three with a primer base. Came out much nicer looking using the primer also.

Your wheels look great by the way. Now I'm thinking of doing that to mine. Got and extra wheel and tire, so could do one at a time I guess. How much time do you have into each wheel??

 

well i just finished off my rims, finally got around to taping off the last 3 and painting them.. i will post some pics when im done for you, as far as tips... i actually liked the wider tape for the fact that i could use a razer knife and get real close to it and have some tape to pull on while the razer knife went down the edge of the lips. not sure if thats understandable but as of right now the best way i can describe it without taking a picture of me doing it. once you find your grouve it goes easy just very tedious! you will enjoy your final product when done! good luck and show pics of your progress!!

 

grease method ftw! quickest easiest and most effective!

 

You guys about have me convinced to try this grease thing... sounds reasonable enough!

And here they are, next to my car. Still havent repainted them or anything... but you can compare them to what I have. And my car has just been washed and waxed, that's as clean as those wheels on my car ever look. And that's why I bought these two wheels to go on the car. I wanted to see how they would turn out, but I think tehy look fantastic so now I have to do two more...


Notice they actually look fine with the stock center caps...

 

The grease method leaves way too much opportunity for mistakes. Get the grease anywhere near the area you want painted and the paint will be a disaster. Put the grease on too thin and the paint will soak through it. Wipe it off too soon and you'll smear the good paint. Too much crap to worry about.

Buy a good quality masking tape (not that blue stuff and not regular masking tape... the thin flexible stuff used for precise edges. This is the stuff you see guys like Foose put down when they're taping for stripes on a hood.) and carefully go along the surfaces to mask. You should never need to cut any of the tape along the edge. Just run the edge of the tape along the edge of where you want to mask. Once you get this thin stuff all the way around, then go back with regular masking tape to fill in the areas between. It shouldn't take you more than a half hour per wheel, and it's well worth it because you will have professional results insted of God knows what with grease. Save the grease for your wheel bearings.

 

 

Check with an automotive paint store, I know 3M makes a liquid brush on mask. Brush it on and after the painting is done wash it off with water.

http://www.detailandstripes.com/06847.html

 

Where do you find this stuff? Sounds like a winner...

 

Paint and thinner or 3M fineline tape then reg masking on the left over large areas. PITA either way. After you get the painting done, use a buff wheel on a mandrel for a drill and tripoli 1st to cut to a shine then a fine rogue to finish. This might help too --->http://www.englishcustompolishing.co...aluminum1.html

 

Well have you painted them? If so what did you use tape,grease?

 

Nope, been busy.

Im trying to get the parts together for a nice streetable 350 as we speak... my wheel projects ahve faded to the wayside for now. I'm just glad to know I've got some good looking wheels waiting for me whenever IG et around to buying some tires for them.

Im more and more leaning towards not painting them at all... But I'm going to give it some more thought before I get some rubber mounted on 'em.

 

I think the easiest way to mask a wheel would be to buy the GOOD quality masking tape and tape off the entire wheel and then take a very sharp razor blade and then cut out what you want to paint.

 

Any auto parts store should have an ample supply. If not, Eastwood has it:
http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?i...emType=PRODUCT

 

hows the progress going? i finished mine finally lol took forever! not trying to take over but heres the best pic i have of them as of right now