BMW Silver Wheel Paint for E53 Wheels

[rule1110]

Hi there
I recently painted 3 of my 4 wheels as they had a yellowish look to them. I think the previous owner has painted them but the clear coat he used wasn't a high temp wheel paint so its changed colour and gone a gold/yellow colour. I bought the silver VHT wheel paint and repainted them (then clear coated them) and it worked ok however the VHT silver looks a bit more dull than the BMW silver (on the one good wheel) The wheels are

2CC LT/ALY WHEELS STAR SPOKE 132
As the BMW silver is brighter and more shiney I was wondering if any knows a brand of wheel spray paint I can buy to try do them again.
Cheers
Nial

[bcredliner]

Easiest solution is to paint the remaining good wheel so there is no difference. I assume you used a high gloss paint in spray cans. It can be that you were too far away and have some orange peel that will make the silver look duller. If there is any orange peel there won't ever be as shiny as they would be if they did not unless the orange peel is only in the clear coat and you can use a fine polishing compound to get it out. It takes me about 3 coats of clear to get the depth and shine and I always have to buff out the primary color before going to clear coats. Can't recommend a paint but metallic in the paint will help. The best option is to have the wheels anodized.

[BabyCAP]

You could try Wurth Wheel Paint. Supposed to match German wheel paint perfectly. Good Luck.

[rule1110]

Originally Posted by bcredliner

Easiest solution is to paint the remaining good wheel so there is no difference. I assume you used a high gloss paint in spray cans. It can be that you were too far away and have some orange peel that will make the silver look duller. If there is any orange peel there won't ever be as shiny as they would be if they did not unless the orange peel is only in the clear coat and you can use a fine polishing compound to get it out. It takes me about 3 coats of clear to get the depth and shine and I always have to buff out the primary color before going to clear coats. Can't recommend a paint but metallic in the paint will help. The best option is to have the wheels anodized.

I might go buy some of the Wurth Silver paint and give it ago. Ant tips for avoiding orange peel? I did notice some parts of the rim would get a gritty texture like sand paper, while other parts were smooth. The first time I painted it was terrible because the brake dust got onto the gritty surface and because it wasn't smooth it was impossible to clean as the cloth would just stick on the rim when you tried to wipe it over. I did have some success with lightly sanding the surface between coats with some 800 gritt sand paper before the clear coat but its still not as good as I would like it so might have to try it again.

[blackbeast]

Originally Posted by rule1110

I might go buy some of the Wurth Silver paint and give it ago. Ant tips for avoiding orange peel? I did notice some parts of the rim would get a gritty texture like sand paper, while other parts were smooth. The first time I painted it was terrible because the brake dust got onto the gritty surface and because it wasn't smooth it was impossible to clean as the cloth would just stick on the rim when you tried to wipe it over. I did have some success with lightly sanding the surface between coats with some 800 gritt sand paper before the clear coat but its still not as good as I would like it so might have to try it again.

It sounds like you might be holding the can too far fom the rim while spraying.

It's about finding that fine line where you're not too far to produce orange peel/rough texture and not too close where it starts to run.

[we350z]

Will same apply to plastidip?

[blackbeast]

Yep for the most part, but it is slightly different because the paint is thicker. I recommend practicing on something first. There's a sweet spot with either type of paint where you're laying it on wet and smooth but not too much where it runs, that's where it comes out the best.

Originally Posted by we350z

Will same apply to plastidip?

[bcredliner]

Originally Posted by rule1110

I might go buy some of the Wurth Silver paint and give it ago. Ant tips for avoiding orange peel? I did notice some parts of the rim would get a gritty texture like sand paper, while other parts were smooth. The first time I painted it was terrible because the brake dust got onto the gritty surface and because it wasn't smooth it was impossible to clean as the cloth would just stick on the rim when you tried to wipe it over. I did have some success with lightly sanding the surface between coats with some 800 gritt sand paper before the clear coat but its still not as good as I would like it so might have to try it again.

Causes of orange peel can be moving too fast, too far away from what you are spraying or temperature. Orange peel coats usually look dry or porous immediately after you spray. They look kinda sand like as the paint is drying enough that it stays that way instead of bending together.

It's harder to do a good job when you are spraying something that is vertical than flat on the ground as far as runs but on flat surfaces you need to be careful not to cause puddling. If you do get some orange peel wet sand it off before applying another cost.

Rattle cans make it more difficult to do a good job because the the nozzles and mix are inconsistent. It helps a lot to shake the can 5-10 seconds often.

[admranger]

Würth silver is an exact match (to my old eyes) of BMW silver wheel paint. Now, if I actually had any talent I could paint my wheels...my painting skills ended abruptly during my finger painting period.

[itscoo2pyopants]

I have been working on refinishing a set of wheels using Wurth products. all i have left is to do the clear coat. i think it turned out pretty good: