Style 32 Repaint

hustler · 12-11-2009, 06:29 PM

I have some staggered style 32's that are in terrible condition. Apparently the PO had no pride in the appearance of his vehicle (but had all of the service done, with receipts, which is amazing). I am planning on using these just for winter rims, so they don't need to be perfect however I still want them to look nice. As far as I am concerned, anything would be an improvement over the current condition of the rims. The tires on them are almost totally bald cheapo summer tires, so I didn't even have to mask them off.

The process started with lots of scuffing/sanding and existing paint removal. The really curby areas needed a little sanding just to take the roughest part of the edges off. That made a big difference. I can't believe how little the factory paint was adhered to the rim - most of it just peeled off very easily. I mostly used a red 3M pad to rough up the surface for primer. The first coat of primer got sanded a bit to take down the big bumps, then a second coat to even it all out.

I went with Duplicolor black wheel paint. Started off with two light coats, then a heavier one. After letting the paint set up I went over again with a couple of coats of clear, to try to protect them as much as possible from salt. Duplicolor has a wide range of colours available for wheel refinishing. I have matte black on my Jeep, and it looks badass too. I think glossy suits this car better.

Total materials are in the $50 range, with about 3 or 4 hours of time. Way cheaper than buying new wheels, and also way cheaper than getting them powdercoated nicely. As far as I'm concerned a wheel refinishing-caliber project should be done really well, or really cheaply. If they were in better shape from the beginning I might have gone for really well.

I am letting them dry totally before I get my winter tires put on early in the week. Stay tuned for after pics!

Here are the before pics:

carjoe · 12-11-2009, 07:09 PM

Awesome project. I found some 32's locally and can't decide if I should buy them or stcik with the 5's...

Make sure you post the after pics!

Dado 540 · 12-11-2009, 07:45 PM

did you end up checking out that store?

JINT · 12-12-2009, 12:15 AM

niceee !!! you got a rare wheel there

hustler · 12-12-2009, 12:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JINT

niceee !!! you got a rare wheel there

I like how they look on the car too, I might even end up with them on in the summer.

blk3 · 12-12-2009, 01:00 AM

hey lets see some finished pics. curious to see how they look on the car.

hustler · 12-15-2009, 10:13 PM

Here's a really crappy pic, I will get more tomorrow once there's light and after I go to the tire shop. I took these freshly painted (unbalanced), summer tires
out for a spin around the block and it was not nice. Getting the winter tires on tomorrow will be a step up! The unbalanced part didn't seem to make the car shake ... weird, because there were definitely a few weights on there that I popped off for the repainting.

Dado 540 · 12-15-2009, 10:56 PM

Hustler, i just noticed your sig and by far the best! hahah

Rims looking good!

hustler · 12-16-2009, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dado 540

Hustler, i just noticed your sig and by far the best! hahah

Rims looking good!

Thanks! I will post a real photo in the next couple of days.

I bet I have some pretty interesting mods on my car - I see a lot of guys using only "BMW Factory Approved Techniques" to fix stuff.

rzrdxl · 12-17-2009, 02:50 AM

You've inspired me to refinish my winter set M5 Reps which look worse than your Style 32's before pics!

+1 on the best sig!

hustler · 12-17-2009, 12:02 PM

Do it! It's not that hard, and makes them look a lot better.

Blades · 12-17-2009, 12:26 PM

I did this a while back .. make sure you clear coat the shit out of them .. it prevents it from getting paint chipped off from road debris.