DIY- painting S4 rims and stock calipers
 

i was gonna wait till tomorrow to get the rest of the pics off my digital camera (batteries died) but whatever, i think this is sufficient. i might add them tomorrow tho

Tools needed: [ul][*]17mm deep socket wrench[*]Breaker bar or cheater bar[*]Jack and jackstands[*]4 cans of duplicolor flat black wheel coating (or whichever paint you want to use, 1 can per wheel)[*]2-3 cans of primer[*]Duplicolor Caliper paint set (or heat resistant paint and brake cleaner)[*]Wire brush[*]400 grit sandpaper[*]Notecards[*]Masking tape[*]Beer (optional)[/ul]Attachment 63716


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Start off by loosening the bolts on the driver's side tires. Then jack it up and place it on jackstands and remove the 2 wheels
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Wash each wheel with some soap and water and get it nice and clean. Then sand it down with 400 grit sandpaper. You can use water to make the sandpaper last longer. After sanding wipe all the dust away with a dry towel.
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(previous owner sucked at taking corner)

Then either tape off the outside of the wheel or make it easier on yourself and put a bunch of notecards inbetween the tire and the rim (make sure its dry first tho cuz mine got all wet from water that was in the gap) and tape them together. if you dont tape them the wind will blow some away, and cause a huge headache.
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(note- doing the notecards horizontally is easier than doing it vertically)

Spray on ~3 layers on primer, you can lay it down pretty thick but give ~10 minutes in between coats. Then wait 25 minutes after last coat to make sure its dry and start spraying on layers of paint. Use a whole can for each wheel and there should be ~5 coats, leaving ~10-15 minutes in between coats.
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Do the same thing you did for the wheels for each of the centercaps. There is a rubber piece that comes off the centercaps that you can get off by taking a small screwdriver and pressing firmly on each tab on the back. I colormatched these to my calipers. At first i used duplicolor red caliper paint (in the spray can) thinkin it would be the same as their paint can and brush color but it wasn't, it turned out darker than the calipers so i just went over them with the paint brush and paint i used for the calipers and they match perfectly.
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There's a way to get the little rings out, i think by shoving a small rod into each of the plastic leg thingies attached to the back of the rings but i didn't even bother. I like them black anyways.

Now time to paint the calipers. You can do this in between coats of paint to save yourself time and keep yourself busy. First wash them down with soap and water. Then spray brake cleaner everywhere and start scrubbing with your wire brush. If your rotors have been getting rust covered nows a good time to clean them as well. After thoroughly cleaning them, time to start masking things off. If your using the paint caliper kit then you just need to tape off the brake pad, the part of the rotor closest to the caliper and the brake bleeder screw. Since you will be using a brush to apply the coats you can keep the caliper attached. But if your spraying them then you gotta remove the 2 bolts, let the caliper hang in the wheel well and mask off your ENITRE car and wheel well. Overspray will be all over your car if you don't and you will have to buff the hell out of it. Apply 2-3 thick coats and let dry for at least a 1/2 hour.

Front
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Rear
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Now mount the wheels, tighten them down, but wait till you remove the jacks and the car is sitting on the ground before giving it a final tighten. And remember to tighten them in a criss-cross star pattern. and repeat on the other side (or you can just do all 4 wheels at once) then stand back, finish your beer, and admire your work

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Tips

- Wait 15 minutes in between primer coats, 30 minutes in between paint coats. Come prepared with beer.
-Use Filler Primer if your wheels have any defects, and be sure to sand before paint with 320 grit or something similar
-Sand the wheels down completely before applying filler/paint, your final product will depend greatly on this, use your hands not your eyes
-Don't forget to clean the wheels after every time you sand
-If you choose to add clearcoat, wetsand with 2000 grit before applying the clearcoat. the paint will look duller, but once you apply the clearcoat it'll make it shine more
-Patience is the key. 1st coat is always the lightest and then they can get progressively heavier, but don't go overboard. You really don't want a drip after you've already applied 5 coats

RE: DIY- painting S4 rims and stock calipers
 

dude, thats a great idea you had with the note cards to mask off the wheels... seems a lot easier and more efficient than tring to use tape on armoralled wheels lol, looks very clean btw, its my style of car. gj

RE: DIY- painting S4 rims and stock calipers
 

yeah man looks good, just did that to my s4 wheels........ you think that guy was bad with curbs, you should of seen my when i got them

RE: DIY- painting S4 rims and stock calipers
 

Looks pretty good. For the calipers what paint kit did you use? I'm trying to do the same with my calipers but not sure which paint is gonna do the job the best. Also, how long does everyone think I should let the calipers dry before driving again?

RE: DIY- painting S4 rims and stock calipers
 

They can't possibly be worse than the wheels that came on my A4. The dumb twat who had it before me had a serious parking deficiency. All four wheels look like shit from an inability to parallel park, and the front bumper had been partially ripped off from hitting a high curb. The bumper part didn't bother me so much, I got it for well below book value as a result. I pulled into a parking lot on the way home from picking it up and popped it back in place, was tempted to do it right there in front of her house before I left.

Was there any dremeling/sanding of the wheels involved? I'll need to smooth over a few gouges before painting mine.

RE: DIY- painting S4 rims and stock calipers
 

looks sweet, nice work

RE: DIY- painting S4 rims and stock calipers
 

Great walkthrough, and it came out beautifully.

RE: DIY- painting S4 rims and stock calipers
 

Duplicolor Caliper Paint Set. I added a pic at the top showing exactly what it looks like. The spray on one is more work and came out darker. The brush applicated one is a very bright red

haha yeah thats just one of the wheels tho. One has some deep scratches and the top layer is coming off, and there is plenty of curb rash going around the outside trim. The black does a nice job of hiding most of this tho

yeah i went over the whole wheel with 400 grit sandpaper to smooth it down

RE: DIY- painting S4 rims and stock calipers
 

a couple of the wheels in spots were down to the bare metal below the factory paint, i literaly used a sander and 80 grit to take them down far enough to make them look good.....

then after i got it down to that i used finer sand paper and sander and went over wheels to make them smother(more uniform), then scuff sand and prime

i will have to get that caliper paint, but i am thinking doing the center ring a different color, might have to hit the hoby shop and take a center cap in with me...... i was thinking trying to get nargo but that might look ricey...... so i either paint it red like so many others or leave it black

oh and nice kegs

RE: DIY- painting S4 rims and stock calipers
 

this wasn't good enough to add to the DIY section:(:(:(:(:(:(