Hello, i currently have one Zenith primered up ready to flatten for its coat of silver however shortly after spraying the primer bubbles started to appear in a few places, prior to painting i had washed the wheel with washing up liqued and rinsed with water, left it to dry then wiped down with paint preperation wipes left until i could see it was dry then hit it with 2 light coats of primer 10 mins apart, its now in my kitchen drying.

Please can somebody help, i plan to rub it back until flat then start with the silver basecoat.

I would suspect its had a refurb in the past and the solvent of the primer has reacted with the lacquer underneath. I would personally use thinners to get rid of the primer and the previous refurb. The other option is the have them paint stripped or blasted.

If the paint underneath was sound there is no need to prime, only if you have sanded and broken through a layer of paint or to the metal should you prime. Well keyed up substrate makes the new paint stick just fine.

Looks like it had been refurbed in the past.

Would thinners strip all the paint back to the metal? I have just sanded the whole wheel but the wrinkly bits just seemed to peel off rather than sand off, now im left with a lip i need to blend into the higher primer layer, nightmare considering the corners i need to get into.

How much do you think a wheel refurb place woud want for a strip

Wet and dry and dont worry

Its best then to wipe with Thinners or alcohol

Spray again with primer and it should be ok

Thinners will take everything off except the original paint. If the refurb paint has not been removed there is always a risk solvent will react with it, so its always best to remove it completely. A refurb place will charge to do the whole wheel, I should imagine the reason why your doing it yourself is to save some money so you'll want to avoid that!

If you can get the old paint off ok, leave it 24 hours after using thinners as it will still be quite soft under and use light coats, dont put it on heavy as this will trap the solvent and it will act like paint stripper to any old suspect paint

Ok guys, just been into my local wheel refurb shop and asked what my options were, he said the best thing would be strip and powdercoat to match existing 2 alloys, he was wanting £120 for the pair, reasonable but i dont have the cash so he said he could strip them for £30, i left him with my wheels and he told they will be ready tomorrow to pick up.

So i have picked up some etch primer, couldnt find less than 5litres of thinners, any ideas or do you think after being stripped they would be degreased and ok with a wipe down using a tac cloth, trying to do this as cheap as possible here hence the scrounging on thinners.

Thanks for your tips anyway guys, think its best i start from scratch

Celly thinners is always handy to have, especially starting a fire in damp weather!

If they leave them bare get etch on there quick but also bear in mind etch should also not be exposed to the elements too long, also 1k aerosol paints dont always like going over etch, it may have been better to bite the bullet and get them coated just to save hassle.

Unfortunately DIY jobs dont always go to plan despite the best intentions ! I've got an engine cover to paint tomorrow thats had a similar reaction, that should be fun!

Ok they will be bare metal for 1 day at the wheel shop, when i get them ill give them a few light coats if etch primer, then what.

Leave to dry for 24 hours or 20 mins according to instructions on etch primer tin then a few coats of grey primer. Then leave for 24 hours, sand with 400 grit then silver coats

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That's what I would do

Dont forget the pictures

Should i sand the etch primer 20 mins after i lay it then clean the wheel with thinners in preperation for the primer coat

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Etch primer really shouldnt be sanded, however you could lightly key it with grey scotchbrite with no ill effect.

Do not use thinners to clean, for obvious reasons it will melt the paint!

Here is how I would do it -

1) Apply 3 coats of aerosol 1k primer, one light dust coat, one medium, and one full coat, with a 10 minute flash off between coats.

2) Leave to dry overnight. Use wet and dry sandpaper 800-1000 grit with mild soapy water, sand the primer till any texture has gone. It needs to be perfectly smooth and satin/matt in appearance, silver will mirror the undercoat and show scratches very easily, 400 is too coarse.

3)Fully dry the wheel with paper towel. Use a fresh, dry grey scotchbrite pad over the whole wheel, this will be ideal for the parts you couldnt easily flat with the paper.

4)Use a solvent panelwipe and more paper towel, its now ready for paint after using a tack rag to remove any lint and dirt. If you do not use panelwipe, use window cleaner as an alternative, trust me it works.

5) 3-4 coats of silver, 5-6 minutes between coats, do not apply overly wet,it can make the silver pigment lay flatter and thus appear dark, and take longer to dry.

6)Leave for up to an hour to dry and allow the solvent from the basecoat to gas out. This is particularly crucial using a 1k lacquer afterwards, as this type of paint is air drying and prone to cracking 6 months later (in fact its crap but you cant use 2k

7) As per previous painting do not apply excessively heavy coats of lacquer, only on the last coat should you aim for a finish. 1k paint is not very durable, resistant to chemicals or high in gloss.

As you can see there is a lot that goes into painting properly, way beyond what people imagine the process to be, which is why wet painting can be just as expensive as sending wheels away to be powdercoated.

Are you using just the standard grey primer you buy out halfords straight onto the bare alloy, as in no etch primer.

Or are you just reffering to primer in the sense that it is etch primer.

Thanks for your help kidder, really struggling to find all the info i need, and its not all about saving costs, its about enjoying the process and hopefully having a great finished article.

Im a joiner all my jobs are done to a standard where i stand back when im finished and feel good about the finish/work i have done, im looking for that same feeling with my wheels and all you guys helping will get me there.

Are you using just the standard grey primer you buy out halfords straight onto the bare alloy, as in no etch primer.

Or are you just reffering to primer in the sense that it is etch primer.

Thanks for your help kidder, really struggling to find all the info i need, and its not all about saving costs, its about enjoying the process and hopefully having a great finished article.

Im a joiner all my jobs are done to a standard where i stand back when im finished and feel good about the finish/work i have done, im looking for that same feeling with my wheels and all you guys helping will get me there.

Just a generic grey primer, you can use 'high build' version but make sure again its not applied too heavy. Personally for me if a wheel needs a significant amount of primer i would use 2k primer, 2-3 coats and applied wet for minimal sanding, done this way is fine because it dries by chemical reaction so no fear of reactions or gloss drop.

There is so much crap info on the internet when it comes to paint. I do it for mobile paintwork for a living and take immense pride in what I do, like yourself as a joiner, I'm all up for helping people out, even if it means i lose out by not gaining work! But thats what I'm like. I believe people should give it a go, but sometimes the expense and hassle of doing it DIY isnt worth it, as you'll end up with a colour not matching the original, a low durability lacquer and risk of damage at tyre changing time, good luck with it though..

So when i asked my local paint shop and told him i have beadblasted alloy wheels he told me i need etch primer but your saying just use generic primer, what is 1K.

One or the other then i take it, im not trying to be awkward its just i have already spent more time and money than i originally wanted to and already messed up once, now ive got it back to metal i want to do it right, i will follow your steps above but just need to get my head round stage one.

I should of clarified, a standard grey primer on top of the etch, etch is designed to adhere strongly to bare metal/ally but ideally you need a primer on top, my instructions were based on you having already etched them.

Etch primer is very thin, some people go straight over the top with paint but I would prime over the top and flat the primer after drying before applying basecoat, this will ensure any nibs of dirt or texture are removed, its lots of work, but worth the effort.

Ok great! I was worrying about this for ages, so it says on the can of etch primer 3 coats 5 mins apart then 20 mins drying time, will i go straight into the grey primer after 20 mins.

Also to make things more confusing, when do i fill the kerb marks, before or after touching with any paint.

Ok great! I was worrying about this for ages, so it says on the can of etch primer 3 coats 5 mins apart then 20 mins drying time, will i go straight into the grey primer after 20 mins.

Also to make things more confusing, when do i fill the kerb marks, before or after touching with any paint.

Yep thats it, although I would go closer to an hour or more as the weather gets colder. Wheels always feel cold so give them longer to dry than a panel.

Damage should be removed before priming, I always linish/grind/smooth the damage out and rarely use filler, normally a 180grit disc on a D/A followed by 240 and 400, however If you want to fill, i would do this before any stage of primer, etch wont harm it. You'll only need to reprime afterwards if you sand through when flatting the filler.

There are some deep gouges so im not sure grinding them would work, ill take pics tomorrow once ive picked them up from wheel shop.

Really looking forward to getting on with these, need to work out how to hang them up so i can get paint round the back of the spokes at the same time, i was thinking broom handle through the centre hole attached to a bricky trestle so i can spin it, either that or just sit it on its rim vertically.

I owe you one kidder, thanks again

Ok update in my Zeniths, got them back from wheel shop to my surprise he smoothed out the dings and kerb marks!

So i got home today and decided it would be a great idea to spray paint in the wind, if anything it actually helped get the paint round the spokes a little better.

So i only managed 2 coats of etch primer with about 40 mins each wheel flash off in my warmish kitchen, then back outside under my gazebo for primer, again i only just managed 2 coats but its got a good coverage, i think my idea of light dusting is probably about the same as my middle coat.

However there are a few bits of lint stuck to the paint and im hoping with a little wet and dry with some 800 grit should sort this out.

I didnt get any pics of it bare so here are some pics of it primed ready for sanding after a good cure.

And some close ups of the lint, yes i did tack it down but maybe too windy. certainly not laying the silver and clear in this kind of wind.

Ill keep you posted

Ok for all interested i have another update, a little more than 24 hours since i layed the last primer coat the wheels have tried and i have wet sanded them with 800 grit wet and dry followed by a grey scuff pad from halfords, i have rid the finish of dust and lint and it feels a lot smoother however my wet and dry paper was disintegrating after a few rubs, also started to notice i had sanded through to metal on the acute edges, i hope its alright, i was sanding very light too.

I also noticed i has sanded a bit too much on one area and its quite a lot of metal showing, im going to leave it and prep it for paint as is.

Here are some close ups of the finish

Area of metal showing

Still wet from its rinse

Just to confirm i understand the next steps.

Clean with paint thinners, can out of halfords, wipe with tac cloth, 3 coats of silver, leave 1 hour then 3 coats of clear with touch dry in between and increasing level of paint application.

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Panel wipe, not paint thinners to clean, unless you want a reacted mess again!

Panel wipe, could you link me to a few shops that sell these, i have picked up paint prep wipes from Halfords but i suspected these caused my problems in the first place.

Im glad i asked again because i didnt like the idea of pouring thinners on them

Just use window cleaner as a cheap alternative.

Hmm you did mention that earlier, cheers again

Is 800 not a bit harsh?

Don't be to hard on yourself anyhow. Remember when they on the car you won't look in anywhere near the detail that you do as you are. When mounted they will look great.