Thread: Painting wheels and the best type of paint to use

I'm planning on painting my wheels. They are standard series 3 steel rims.

Is there a "best type of paint" to use for this and is it better to spray or brush on?

Reason I ask is that having just sprayed new paint onto my front bumper, which was killrust aluminium (silver) coloured paint, the colour is great but the depth is not (and by that I mean that compared to the black I brushed onto the chassis, the layer of paint seems "thin" despite using several decent coats). This is fine for a bumper bar and brush bar, soon to also be painted the same, but I'm worried it may look a bit flat on the wheels. Maybe it is a characteristic of the silver paints, but would the time taken to brush paint the wheels give a better result? Or is this flatness to the colour just one of the downsides of metallic silver paints when sprayed (I seem to remember the same with brush on silver killrust 20 years ago).

Obviously there are multiple layers of paint on the rims at present so the plan was to sand and smooth them back reasonably, but not completely strip them, thus leaving a good protection still there, but in places the paint is chipped so will a brush on finish give better coverage or is a darker colour a better way to go?

Any advice folks?

Either way do it now while its cooler so your not paiting over drying paint. My preference has always been brushing with a good (read exopensive) brush and enamels. Have the paint in a water bath to make it flow easier but not to warm either.