Painting 15" Focus Wheels

[Jimmy_Dean0]

OK, so I posted a similar thread in the wrong forum. My bad, and apologies to the mediators .

I have been considering this mod for a while, and finally got to it this weekend, after my son did a similar job on his car. We decided the stock 10 spoke Focus wheel (2000 - 2001) would look great with painted center spokes.

Here's a quick photo how to if any one's interested (and some additional pics of the finished job):

http://cid-5b2a6e30d8c06fda.spaces.l...0D8C06FDA!153/

What do you think?

Son's wagon, with black centers (he was the first, I copied ):





Dad's wagon, with charcoal centers (a little more subtle, I think - good for an old guy like me ):

[Jimmy_Dean0]

Be sure to review this thread for more (better) info regarding painting you wheels. Unfortunately it seems like the links to the photos are broken in this one .

http://forums.focaljet.com/exterior-...termarket.html

[o2_designs]

Father and Son Wagons!! AWESOME!!

[Jimmy_Dean0]

My son picked his up a couple of months ago. He needed something with more room than his old '93 Honda Civic Si, 2 dr coup (he has just made me a grandfather!!), and he liked the Focus.

They are both SE, 2.0, ZTEC, 5 speeds, but mine is a 2000, and his is a 2001. I like the ABS/traction control - wish mine had that. But the aftermarket fog lights on my car are much better than the stock fogs .

[greentengu]

Awesome looking rims in both black and grey.

This is a good idea I might roll with, after I get my media blasted 16" stockers back from Jet-Hot.

Again, really, REALLY cool looking. I'm going to show my best friend your page, as he has the same rims, and wants to do something with them (he might go the powerdercoat route, BUT that silver edge looks really cool and makes the black portion really stand out).

Cheers,

Scott

[glowboi87]

hm. i think i kniow my next mod. very clean looking. i like it!

[CheckMyVitals]

these 15s look much better (and could almost pass for aftermarket) without the center caps. Plus, if memory serves correct, these are decently lightweight wheels are they not?

[Jimmy_Dean0]

Thanks for the comments folks.

Glowboi87, if you do decide to do this, give yourself lots of time - a full day. Take your time and do it right . I started early on Sunday morning (8:00 am-ish), and after several interuptions, finished up Sunday evening, at about 6:00 PM. Several hours of that was just letting the wheels dry after thoroughly cleaning them. I used steel wool to scuff up the surfaces to be painted, and washed everything thoroughly with a good degreaser (dish detergent )

I masked and painted the first wheel, then let it dry while I masked the second wheel. I got it down to about 30 minutes per wheel to mask, plus about 10 minutes to paint.

When painting, I set the wheel down flat on the ground, with one set of spokes facing me. I painted the the top surfaces, and the insides of the spokes on the left and right. Then I turned the wheel 1/5th of a turn, so the next set of spokes were facing me, and repeated the above steps, making sure to cover the insides of the spokes that were visible on the left and right. I continued this process, turning the wheel 1/5th of a turn each time till all the spokes were done. This allowed me to be sure I got everything covered thoroughly, including in between the spokes.

Like I said, take your time, and do it carefully. This will help to ensure you get a good result.

CheckMyVitals, I agree that it looks more aftermarket without the center caps, but I'd need something to cover the center hole, and some chrome lug nuts to give it a more finished look. Looking at my rusty old steel lug nuts, and the bearing caps just does not do it for me . I may look and see what I can find for a center cap, and add the chrome lugs one of these days.

[MondoMan]

awesome job, good pictures also, I like when people take a decent amount of pictures so us noobies can see what to do. I have some paint and primer for my wheels I'm waiting for the weather to get alot warmer. I think the duplicolor wheel paint says to paint at 70-90 degrees. or should i just paint them in my garage?

[Jimmy_Dean0]

Thanks for the great feedback MondoMan . I'm glad to hear the pics helped. Regarding when to do the job, I did mine this past weekend (May 11). It was quite cool, and it actually rained a bit in the afternoon. I just worked in the garage, and then left the wheels for 24 hours to cure, before putting them back on the car. I used Dupli-Color wheel paint available at Canadian Tire.

I had considered going with the Bronze, but decided to go the more conservative route, and used the Graphite instead.

(http://www.duplicolor.com/products/wheel.html)

[MondoMan]

so you painted one, let that dry and started the second. at anypoint were all your wheels off or did you work two at a time?

[Jimmy_Dean0]

I actually had them all off, and put my winter wheels on for a day. This allowed me to continue to use the car during the day, and allowed time to let them cure for a day before reinstalling them. So I had my winter wheels on for 2 days in total.

My son did his 2 wheels at a time. He used jack stands to support the car whlie the wheels were off. If you do it this way, just be careful not to touch the freshly painted surfaces when re-installing them. Even though they may feel dry to the touch, the paint will still be soft, and you may end up with some ugly marks .

[RogeratTireRack]

Nice job guys!

[Jimmy_Dean0]

Thanks Roger! .

[streetfreaksfanatic]

very nice

[OmniFocus]

Excellent.

I want a wagon.

[ridindirtyzx3]

both wagons look really good. my parents have a wagon, and i would really like to convince them to let me do something things like painting the wheels like this, and tinting the taillights, sidemarkers, and grill lights

[Jimmy_Dean0]

Thanks folks, we appreciate the compliments . I'm going to start painting some of the underhood pieces - battery box, air cleaner box etc. I may take the valve cover off and paint that too . I'm sticking with the charcoal theme, so we'll see how that works out.

I'll post some pics over the weekend, after I get it done. I have a lot of underhood cleaning to do before I can get going on that project as I had the car oil sprayed before the winter. After better than 200,000 Km there's a bit of grime built up in there .