I'm highly considering picking up the wheels we WANT and painting them the color we want. I.E. HPR5 wheels in silver, center section painted black.

Now, my question is this: How durable is the paint going to be, and how glossy??? I'd like to get it looking like powdercoat, but I need to make sure that it's going to hold up to the elements. Would a brake caliper paint work possibly???

Also, what are the odds of the paint taking if I don't scuff the surface at all??? I REALLY have reservations about taking a brand new unmounted set of wheels and tearing them up.

TIA

I used engine enamel. Then a clear coat. Looks good. I needed to do something to make my primer stick better to the wheels cause the paint could be easily scrapped off before i put the clear coat on. I think if u sand the org. wheels down first and then primer it will work better. -John

I used engine enamel and engine clear coat as well... It's still holding up. Pics in my profile.

anyone with painted wheels that have lasted a long time even when use them in cold winter/snowy/salty weather every winter?

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That looks phenominal!!!! GREAT job! I think you just made up my mind. Did you do any sanding or anything, or just primer, paint, and clear?

Sand before primer so the primer sticks. And make sure u degrease them and clean them off well before u primer. Good Luck -John

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Actually I just degreased and scuffed them up a little... and sprayed the enamel right on. The engine enamel is made to stick to bare metal without the use of primer. But you can do what kid95 says... wouldn't hurt.

Well, my thing about sanding is that it's going to be a brand new set of wheels and I'm just not 100% sure about scuffing them all up, just in case I want to strip the paint back off.

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You won't need to scuff or sand them then... people usually sand because there's stuff that degreaser won't get off and/or road-rash.

Just spray the engine-enamel directly on, it will look fine trust me. Oh I would find some way to hang the wheels in the air or set them on a table so that they're sitting vertically. I sprayed mine on the ground and spray cans aren't really made for spraying horizontally.

Practice good spray can techniques for better results, if you don't know what that is, there are plenty of articles on the internet on how to properly spraypaint. Basically, make sure you do a lot of thin coats or it'll run and look gross.

http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=30863

i painted my stock wheels and i use them in the winter so i dont ruin my other ones. No problems so far with chipping and scratching. they still look brand new and im always getting compliments on them. if you have anymore questions on the how-to just post it up or pm me.

Dont paint new wheels...get them powder coated if you are going to do it to new wheels. Paint you old stockers

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Can't do powdercoating. The "bolts" around the perimeter are actually plastic with a chrome coating according to what I'm being told. They'd melt.

My rims were powdercoated gold from silver by the guy I bought them from. The center of the centercap on my wheels are plastic, but it was removed.

I would check about the fake bolts being plastic. If that is truly the case then I would say nay-nay, but if they aren't then have them powdercoated