How to Paint Alloy Wheels at Home (Acura CL)
Introduction
This guide covers refinishing a set of alloy wheels with spray primer and paint at home, a low-cost way to change your wheel color or hide previous-owner damage for roughly the price of a couple of aerosol cans. It was written around a 1st-generation Acura CL five-spoke set, but the process applies to essentially any painted or clear-coated aluminum alloy wheel. Done carefully, the result holds up well and can always be re-sprayed later if it wears. Expect to spend two to three hours on a simple wheel design, and considerably longer on intricate multi-spoke wheels where prep is the slow part. Adapted from a community writeup by Anhedonia on AcuraZine (https://acurazine.com/forums/1g-cl-diy-faq-74/diy-painting-wheels-715924/), including corrections from the follow-up discussion.
Reference
Tools Required
- Garden hose or other running water supply
- 400 grit sandpaper
- Fine/high grit sandpaper for knocking down drips and wet-sanding
- 3M blue painter's tape (multi-surface type)
- Aircraft paint stripper (optional, for removing the old finish)
- Plastic putty knife (optional, for scraping stripped finish)
Parts Required
-
Wheel primer (a thick, scratch/dent-filling type works best)
-
Wheel paint in the color of your choice
-
Clear coat (optional, for a glossier finish)
Safety Warnings
- ⚠ Support the car on proper jack stands before removing any wheel; never rely on a jack alone.
- ⚠ Spray primer, paint and clear coat in a well-ventilated area and wear appropriate respiratory protection, as the fumes and overspray are hazardous.
- ⚠ Keep paint off the tire bead seat where the tire seals to the rim to avoid compromising the seal.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1 Remove the wheels from the vehicle
Jack the car up safely on stands and take each wheel off before doing any work. Painting the wheels off the car gives you full access to every spoke and the barrel, and keeps overspray away from the brakes and body. If your wheels are still mounted on tires you will have extra masking to do later; bare wheels with no tires mounted are far easier to finish.
2 Wash every surface thoroughly
Blast the wheels down with a hose to remove the bulk of the road grime, then scrub every surface you intend to paint until it is completely free of dirt, brake dust and buildup. Any contamination left behind will telegraph through the paint as bumps and will chip or flake later. Do not use a wheel cleaner that leaves a polish or protectant residue behind, because that film prevents the primer from bonding to the alloy.
3 Scuff or strip the existing finish
Lightly go over the whole wheel with 400 grit sandpaper. You do not need to sand the factory finish completely off; the goal is only to knock the gloss down so the surface is rough and porous enough for primer to grip. As a faster alternative on heavily coated wheels, brush on aircraft paint stripper, wait about five minutes until the finish bubbles up, then lift it off with a plastic putty knife and rinse; this leaves only minimal sanding to do afterward. To deal with scratches or gouges, sand the damaged spot smooth without pressing a dent into the metal so you can fill it with primer in the next stages.
4 Rinse again and let the wheels dry
Wash the wheels a second time to flush away any grit or old finish loosened during sanding or stripping. Let each wheel dry fully before going any further, since trapped water or damp spots will ruin primer adhesion.
5 Mask off the tires
If the wheels are still on their tires, tuck 3M blue painter's tape between the tire and the rim edge all the way around. Use the multi-surface version of the tape, which seals against rubber and prevents paint from bleeding onto the tire. Keep heavy paint buildup off the inner bead seat where the tire seals to the rim.
6 Lay down the primer
Apply an even coat of primer over the entire wheel, working the spray into the recesses without flooding any one area. A thicker filler-style primer helps level out minor dents, dings and sanded scratches. If a run or drip forms, let it set and then lightly sand it flat with fine sandpaper. Build the coverage up in light passes; about two coats is usually enough for a uniform base.
7 Apply the color coats
Spray the color on with slow, steady passes for even coverage. Allow at least fifteen minutes of drying time between coats so you are never spraying fresh paint over paint that is still wet, which is what causes runs. Add several coats rather than one heavy one; more layers give a more durable, chip-resistant finish. Wet-sanding lightly with very fine paper between coats helps smooth the spokes on detailed wheels.
8 Add clear coat if you want gloss (optional)
Left as color coats only, the finish tends to look matte. If you prefer a shinier, wet look, follow the color with a clear coat once it has flashed off. This step is purely cosmetic and can be skipped.
9 Cure and remount
Give the final coat plenty of time to harden before handling. Letting the wheels sit for about three hours after the last coat before mounting them back on the car reduces the chance of marring the fresh paint. In general, the longer you let them cure, the tougher and better the finish will be.
Pro Tips
- 💡 Aircraft stripper dramatically cuts down sanding time: spray it on, wait for the old finish to bubble, scrape with a plastic putty knife, then wash it off before a light final sand.
- 💡 On multi-spoke or intricate wheels, prep is by far the longest part of the job, so budget extra time well beyond the two to three hours a simple design takes.
- 💡 Fill deep scratches and gouges by sanding them smooth and building up several thin layers of primer rather than trying to hide them under color coats.
- 💡 Start with a coarser paper, then finish with a very fine paper used wet to smooth the spokes before priming.
- 💡 Gunmetal center caps (for example from an MDX) are a popular styling option if the stock caps clash with a freshly painted wheel.
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