Hi everyone,

I was driving around in the bay area the other day and saw a W203 just like mine...black ext /int, etc, however had the wheels in black.

I am assuming these were not available direct from MBUSA at the time, so I am wondering how he got them in black?

Do most of you recommend those painting kits?

I found some at rimpainter.com

I really want mine in black. Please help! is there a shop in CA that does this professionally? I really don't feel like buying new wheels. I like the ones that are on there. I just want them in black

Thanks for any advice

 

You can paint them yourself. Use Duplicolor wheel paint (i heard good stuff about them).

1) You will want to sand all of your rim or rims with a 150 grit sand paper. (Be sure to get all corners)
2) Spray with primer.
3) Repeat steps one and two 4-5 times.
4) Next, you will want to tape off your tire. Or you can go to a local tire shop and ask to get it dismounted from your rim.
6) Spray with your choice of spray paint.
7) Finish it off with clear coat. \
(Adding lines like time attack rims will have additoinal steps.)

You wont need clear coat with DupliColor wheel pain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0sl_...eature=related

 

my friend has a bimmer and he painted his stock wheels black himself and they look great, he had a sand blaster that he used first, and then pretty much what karo said with the paints

 

I just had mine powdercoated. $45 per wheel. Paint or powdercoat are your two options...

 

I'd say powdercoat because the paint will chip off if something hits it (like a small rock on the road). Plus, with powdercoating prices these days, it's definitely not $$ anymore like Glocati mentioned.

 

Check out Aho's pics. He powder coated his C32's wheels and IMO they look great.

 

it all depends on the value of your wheels... you wouldnt want to DIY on some HRE... if its your stocks and they arent in very good shape, then give it a DIY try, and if you fail go powdercoat for 200$

 

powder coat

 

I have the stock 5 spoke wheels that came originally on the wheel. I found the black center caps on eBay too.

So powder coating doesn't give me the option to have them look more on the glossy side, or am I wrong?

Also, does anyone know of a good place that powder coats in the Northern Cal area? I'm about an hour from the bay area.

 

can we see pics? are your wheels stock?

 

They can do it how ever you'd like. There's literally hundreds of colors / finishes. Most powder coaters will have color charts on their website.

 

jdsho, here's a quick pic. They are TSW "Crofts" 18x8 in front 18 x 9.5 in the rear. I have also included a before pic. I paid $45 per wheel and as C32guy says, you can get a pretty wide array of colors. i went with a semi-gloss black. The blacks ranged from really glossy to a full matte with a few options in between.

Also check out the "Wagons Ho..." thread. I am going to post a few more in that thread here in a few. Cheers, Greg