I had 4 2K3 wheels for my maxima just sitting around. 3 were silver, and 1 was titanium. So I decided I wanted to do something a little different. I painted them using duplicolor wheel paint last sunday. After sanding them down using 400 grit paper, i primered them using 2 coats duplicolor sandable primer. I then painted them with 5 thin coats of the graphite paint. after letting the paint set for about a day, I then put them in my homemade paint oven Each wheel got 6-8 hours in the oven with temps at about 175 degrees. after baking they sat for about a week to make sure the paint cured properly.

After taking all these careful steps i finally took the wheels to work to mount and balance them. THE TIRE MOUNTING MACHINE THEN PROCEEDED TO CUT A GROOVE IN THE PAINT ALL THE WAY AROUND EACH LIP!!! . After I stopped throwing up in the corner I put them on my car and they came out like this:








Here sometime soon I will remove the wheels and try to fix the paint. I'm thinking that I'll prolly just mask and paint them while the tire is mounted.

 

Those look nice. Good job.

 

Sounds like a lot of work...I'm not a big fan of the gun metal/dark colors myself...but it's your car so...well done.

 

I like it. Nice job. I've never painted rims before. Do you have to bake them or is it something you just decided to do? I mean, does it help the paint bond to the metal better?
Either way, it looks great.

 

You don't have to bake them but it helps cure the paint. if you don't bake them just make sure they're dry before you put them on your car.

 

You should have put a clear coat on top of the color.

 

those look hot man.. now i know what color wheels i'll be getting in the spring time.. btw check out the doofus on the bike checking you out taking the pics.. hahaha.

 

Yup, autozone has everything you need.

 

mmmm I like those too. Too bad the tire mounting machine felt like being an a$$ to you. Great job though.

 

Wow, those look really nice.. Sounds like you really put some effort into those wheels and it shows. Great job.

 

I was gonna do a clear coat, but the paint has ALOT of metal flake in it. I was afraid that the clear would bring out the flakes. However now that i've seen how soft the paint is after its dry, i'll put a clear coat on after i fix them.

Everyone else, thanks for the input.

 

Autozone is where I bought everything.

 

Those are sick looking.....The whole anthracite, gun metal color thing has been slowly growing on me lately....good job kid.

 

go BIG or go HOME

 

17's are big enough for me

 

 

very nice man. I think I will try that with my 16s just for fun

 

Yep, I just did the same thing this weekend. Except I have hubcaps. And the duplicolor stuff really works excellent; it made my car look new.

 

I to GunMetal. This makes me want to make my 2k2's GunMetal! I'm gonna see if a shop can Powdercoat them for me. (I'm lazy....buy again)

 

I guess I am the only person here who thinks they just look dirty?

 

Those look tyte I've been thinking of getting my 19's powdercoated that same color.

 

that looks great!!!

i would not have the ***** to do that with wheels unless i don't care about them at all..

only questionable thing is the finish.. will it hold up?

 

besides the reaming from the tire machine, i think they'll hold up OK. I will be puitting on a clearcoat in the near future though.

 

here are some other pics:



heres some pics of the wheels primered:

 

Just out of curiosity, did you have the tires mounted with one of the "touchless" tire mounters? I had Fikse FM/10s on my '98 Camaro ($1100 EACH WHEEL) so I called around to several tire shops until I found one that had one of the "touchless" tire mounters.

Were your tires mounted using one of these machines? If so, I believe it was operated improperly because no part of that machine even touches the wheel (except in the center of the wheel--obviously).

Justin

 

looks like it came out nice.

However, the darker wheels also make your car look darker. Personally i would have stayed titanium or picked a lighter color

 

we don't have a "touchless" tire mounter at work. I work at a dealership so i use what we have. however i'll keep that machine in mind when it comes time to swap tires.

 

those are sweet! I think the clearcoat would help them not to look as dark, and give a better shine, but nice work, when I get wheels I might have to try this with my 16's

 

HOT! Shave those emblems!

 

looks good...has anyone done this professionally and have them on the 5th gen??

 

Maybe you could remove the paint on the emblems so they're still chrome, I think that would give a sweet contrast. . .

 

How did you make your own paint oven? Can you shed soem light on the details?

 

You need 2 simple items:

1. Large tv box or any other THICK cardboard box. cheaper boxes will probably sag under the heat. Something like this:

2. You'll also need some sort of portable heater/blower. The one pictured was bought off a matco tool truck, and is used to keep me warm at work. heres some pics:


this heater/blower combo moves a HIGH volume of heated air, so shop accordingly.

Then you simply place the painted wheel into the box, turn on the heat, wait a few hours, then remove the wheel. Be careful the wheel should be HOT as he!! when you remove it. I baked the wheels for 5+ hours each, then I let them sit for 2-3 days. I would recommend mounting the tires before doing this because like I said above the tire machine will bite you. All you have to do is unseat the the tire from the wheel bead, then mask off the tire.

Let me know if you guys have any more questions

 

Hey slizan Ive seen your ride around sugar hill. Those wheels look sweet on there. I have a blue 5th gen with the axis se7en mods and tinted windows. You've probably seen me around whitehead road and peachtree industrial. What all have you done to your ride? Wouldn't mind checking it out sometime. I live in the abingdon subdivision with my bro , you may know him. His name is Marshall he has a 93 silvia conversion.

 

yeah I saw you the other night(friday?) sitting at the light at buford drive and PIB. You have a SWEET max!! My mom lives down in Silver Springs subdivision, so i'm down there quite a bit. Not to much done to the ride as of this time (i'm trying to get a degree and work full time). I have an Intake and Y-pipe, and exhaust. the 5speed is going in very soon. I wouldn't mind meeting up with you guys as well. Are you coming out to the dave and busters meet today?

 

Slizan,

My bro and some other people are planning on doing a mountain run this sunday the 2nd. You want to go? If so I 'll get all the details. So far I think he said theres about 20 people going, cars and bikes. If we get rained out were going to go to Andrettis.

 

I'd love to go but i'm very busy this weekend. let me know when you guys go again and i'll be in.

 

Keep the emblems. The point of fixing a Max up is not so that nobody can tell what it is. It is to brag on it and Slizzan definately has something to brag about.

Tight car, man!
Props!

 

thanks bro and I have no plans to shave the trunk.

 

Oh dang looks great man....................I'm thinking I might do this to some 2k1 wheels. There is a powder coat place right up the street from me...hmmmmmmmmm