The first thing to do is not to buy a new car when your car starts to look old, except you want to. You can refurbish the car to save you some money and last you for more time before you are financially ready to get a new car. One of the improvements to do is to give your car a complete makeover, including paying attention to the wheels. Cleaning the wheels is not enough, you have to paint them also. This is especially when the wheels are not due for changing. If you want to change them, you can check OnBuy Shop to see if they sell wheels that will fit your car. However, you should always remember to read reviews about shops to know if they are reliable and worthy of your patronage. You can do this yourself and it isn’t expensive. You will need degreaser, mild dish soap, sponge & cloths, steel wool, large plastic sheet, car wheel paint, paint sealer, protective clothing, etc. Here are tips on how to do it:
Remove the wheels
Before you repaint your car’s wheels, you have to remove them first. Don’t be tempted to paint the wheels while they are still attached to your car. If you want to do a good job, you need to place the car wheels on a flat surface so that you can easily manoeuvre them. All you need are lug wrench, jack lift, jack stand, and a tyre tool to remove the wheels.
Clean the wheels
Once you have removed all the wheels, the next thing is to clean them. Put the wheels on a plastic sheet and get wheel cleaning brushes to make them sparkly clean. This is not the stage to cut corners. You need to wash away the grime totally before you put any paint on them. Make a solution of mild soap and warm water and scrub both sides of each tyre. After you have rinsed the tyre, apply a degreaser on both sides and leave it to dry. Don’t skip this in the cleaning process.
Mask the wheels
You don’t have to remove the actual tyres from the wheels. Removing the hub from the tyres is no small job and requires a specialist to do that. If you are hiring a professional, you can do this. However, if you are painting the wheels yourself, you don’t have to remove the hub of the tyre. Get a generous amount of masking tape and apply to the surface next to the area you want to paint. Ensure you cover the actual tyre properly before priming the tyres.
Prime the wheels
After you have cleaned and wiped the wheels, put on protective clothing such as a respirator and clear glasses and use a wheel paint primer to prime your car’s wheels. A paint primer will do a good and even job of painting the wheels and also prevent them from rusting. However, ensure you read the instructions of the primer because every primer is different. While painting, don’t concentrate on an area. Spray in light even coats and you will get a better result this way. If your car wheels paint needs sealing, seal the paint after you have used the primer. Leave your wheels to dry for 24 hours before removing the masking tape.