[08SiREDLINEit]

Ok whats up 8th i know i'm a newbie technically on here lol but i've read some of the DIY posts and especially some of the ones on how to paint the "stripe" around the lip and 1 i saw it came out excellent but personally i dont know i tried it that way and i found it really difficult?.......Anyway....

for those that like alternative ways to do stuff (like myself) this is how i did mine....and i think its much easier but thats just me??? sorry the pix r from my blackberry there not the best!

Not that it matters but these are the rims i have on my coupe now....



STEP 1: i've seen people say use the "iron" brush thing that looks like a sponge or whatever... honestly you dont need too but to each its own? i'm just here to try and help out possibly a easier way maybe? ok so now.......



STEP 1 (for real) : Wash your rim with any kind of soap or anything to take out the excess tire shine you may have on it ...any grease , brake dust anything at all you want to touch your rim and it not be smooth it has to be squeeky clean!! ....

STEP 2: Gather your sand paper..... i used a regular painters sandpaper 150 grit you dont have to go heavy on it... jus scuff up the rim a lil for the primer to stick on better...

STEP 3: DO NOT PRIMER YET! ... Take a 300 - 500 grit sand paper and smooth out the some-what rough marks the 150 grit will leave behind... sand it untill your rim is pretty smooth again like stock... no biggie its easy just dont press down hard while using the 150 grit in the 1st place and you should be fine.

STEP 4: rinse the rim off make sure you dry it real good oh and please make sure you dont spray the primer with the rim and its a cold day... i've made this mistake before haha sucks... make sure its about 60+ not too humid either takes long to dry ..

STEP 5:here are my supplies..

Prime the entire rim

.... i use Plasti-kote... i honestly think its a great paint... kind of pricey but will last you LONG.. take my word for it!
NOTE: if your tire is still on use some tire gel and cover the tire with it leave it very wet and also use index cards for extra protection and wrap the wheel rim with it ( the tire gel wont let the over-spray sit on the tire... i have 1 tire all diff colors with over spray sucks but i'll fix it tomrrow.. just preventing you guys from going thru what i am going to have too lol

STEP 6: Let primer dry..usually drys instantly i'd give it a good 10 minutes..

STEP 7:

Lay down 1 coat of paint covering all of the primer you layed down.. let that dry for about 15-20 minutes. i used the blow dryer to help speed up the process a lil bit.

STEP 8:

Lay down another "GOOD" coat of paint try not to let the 1st coat dry too much... it can be still wet while your doing the 2nd good coat. I honestly think 2 GOOD coats of paint is good enough but if you want to lay down 3 its up to you. Thats how mine looked after 2 coats of paint.

STEP 9: now this is the part where you want to blow dry for 10 minutes about 5 inches away from the rim and try to dry out as much as you can... remember it doesnt have to be completely dry to the touch.. then what you will do is grab your can of clear coat give it one good heavy coat try not to get too close spray from about 10 - 11 inches away or so... give it 1 good coat let blow dry that for about 5 mins so that it's still not DRY.. you dont want this to dry!!! Then spray down another lighter coat focus more on the inner spokes so brake dust and stuff wont stick on and if it does it will be easily wiped off !!!.

STEP 10:
OK i forgot to take pics of what i did in this step but i'll explain

• What you see in the pic above is the following. Take a piece of paper or something and measure how big or skinny you want your "stripe" to be and mark that on the paper or index card(which i used) .
• Then go around your whole rim edge and make about 2 little markings in between the big spokes to give you a guide for your tape try to put the black guide dot a little higher then where you want your stripe to go because you want to be able to PRIME that dot off when painting the stripe!!!!
• Then you follow the "dots" around the rim keeping in mind to leave the dots ABOVE your tape. do NOT cover the dots!!
  
  STEP 11: Then you will notice you have "blue tape sticking up what you do then is take a garbage bag or something and put it and stick it to the tape to cover the WHITE part of the rim so no over spray will seep thru.
  
  STEP 12: SCUFF up the lip so you can get that clear coat off use the same grit as before try to stay away from the tape u dont want to ruin your tape job because its a pain in the ass!!!!! after you scuff it up clean it off no water just blow on it and get a rag or something its not that serious... lay down another coat of primer let it sit for 10 mins ...the lay down the color you want lay 2 coats of that .
  
  It should look something like this....
  
  
  STEP 13: CLEAR COAT IT ABOUT 2 OR 3 TIMES... bc remember it will be on the edge of the rim so u know it needs some extra love :-)
  
  STEP 14: AFTER THAT DRIES i honestly only let it sit for like 30 mins but with the blow drier on it... so prob 1-2 hours without the drier.. then you can begin to peal off the blue tape............... GO VERY SLOW AT THIS TIME THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART...
  
  THIS is how it should look:
  
  
  
  STEP 15: After you've got a great deal of the blue tape off you can remove the garbage bag only if you want you dont have too...
  
  This is how it should look:
  
  
  Okay sorry about talking so much but i hope i was helpful to everyone..... i hope i get a sticky or some rep points for a newbie!!!
  
  I havent got the center caps yet but i'm still looking when i put the wheels on my car i'm sure i'll keep everyone posted on how it looks.
  
  This is the finished product:
  
  Make sure after your done with your work and the rim is dry to the touch rinse it off to take off any excess over spray from the clear-coat and plus it helps keep the paint in-tact . As you can tell my rim is as smooth as you can see and it is in fact smooth to the touch like OEM.
  
  I hope i've been helpful again. Thanks!