Paint your car & truck rims for less then $20

Everyone likes to customize their car or truck, right? The most popular part to customize are the wheels. Teens and adults alike buy customize wheels for their vehicles. But not everyone can afford to buy new wheels, as they can get very expensive (some wheels cost more then a used car!) So I'm going to teach you how to paint your own rims; it's cheap and it's easy! Let's go!

Here are the wheels I will be painting, some stocker's on my Chevy S10 Blazer. The silver was all scratched up and rusty, and I wanted to give my truck a more custom look.

Note: Back when I painted my wheels, I didn't take many pictures of my progress. Because of this, I include some pictures of other wheels that I've painted for my truck since; so if you are confused why I have different pictures of different wheels, you now know why.

Here are some things you'll need.

1. Primer (spray can, recommended: Rustoleum "stops rust")
2. Spray Paint (spray can, recommended: Rustoleum "auto paint")
3. Sandpaper (200grit)
4. Painters Tape
5. Newspapers

You have two options: 1( paint the wheels on your car or 2( remove the wheels from your car.

Obviously, option 1 is more ideal if you use your car as a daily driver. No worries, this is what I did for my first set and it worked out. But it requires more masking then option 2. If you choose step 1, make sure to mask your brakes as best you can!!

First, you want to sand down your wheels using 200 grit sandpaper. If your wheels are extra rusty, try 60-90 grit to get that rust off, then go up to 200 to make it smooth. If your wheels are chrome, you want to sand the chrome down so it looks dull (paint won't stick to chrome).

Once your sanded down, you want to get some 2-3" wide painters tape (easy to remove afterwards). Start by adding one layer of tape on the tire, around the rim. Next, take some old newspaper lay it around the rim, covering the rest of the exposed tire (using masking tape to make sure it's secure). This uses less tape.

Next step is to lay on several coats of primer. Make sure you get good, anti-rust primer made for metal (Rustoleum makes good stuff) for a longer-lasting paint job. You might need 2-3 cans for all four wheels.

Lay on 3-4 light coats of primer (if your wheel is still on your car, the paint will run if it's to heavy) and wait about 10 minutes in-between (if it's a hot, sunny day. If it's cloudy and cool, wait 15-20 minutes). The primer is the important step, so make sure you don't skip it.

Tip: Hold your can of spray paint about a foot away from your wheel and coat the whole wheel evenly. Think about your hose: you have several settings like "Jet" and "Mist", you want to use a "Mist-like" setting when spray painting.

Next, you can apply what ever color you want. Same technique as the primer; 3-4 light coats, 10-20 minutes in-between. Make sure you allow the primer to dry an hour before starting the color (or overnight, depending on weather).

After the paint dries, it's up to you to apply a clear coat. I didn't, because I wanted my wheels to have more of a "matte" look (a.k.a flat black) and clear coat made it to glossy.

Remove the masking tape and snap a picture of your new wheels!

If you followed this tutorial, post a picture of the wheels! I'd love to see them.