Right now I'm bordering on painting them gunmetal, however I do have two other options. If you have any other ideas, let me know below what it is.



I'm open to anything, post pics of a 1st gen RX-7 with the GXL rims on it if you can. I need 2nd genner's oppinions...



The rims were free with new tires on them, id much rather have GTUs spoke rims but what can you do! https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...#>/biggrin.png

Havent gotten the tires off yet, i took the shittiest rim and cleaned off all the flaked paint. I'm going to remove the tires from them all tomorrow and get all the paint off.

GUNMETAL!!!!!!!!!!

i always wondered if painting the center piece and then polishing the small lip part would look good.... or just make the rim look smaller than it is... either way good luck

I'd kill for some oldschool toyota rims right now, like the TE27 guys use or the AE86 guys. These rims dont have much of a lip to polish, but im curious too.

I did a little shitty photoshop and the results might be pretty sharp looking if its pulled off right.

id polish the lip and go gunmetal in the centre

I'm no fan of either S4 or S5 GXL wheels (which do you have?). If I had a 1st gen, and I was interested in OEM wheels, I'd be on the lookout for a set of the 1995 Miata M Edition BBS wheels. 15 by 6 and they weigh 11 pounds each. Weigh a GXL wheel tell us the results.

I know they arent the lightest things ever, they are S4 rims. These are just to keep the car off blocks when i get the spacers so i can find a set of rims i really want.

agreed, from the look of the pics it looks decent, but a lighter color paint should be used.... maybe a clear coat on top of it too https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...IR#>/happy.png

If its gunmetal than it would be a shinier greyer colour than in that pic.



I think I may just attempt it, if the polishing turns out and the paint doesnt look like a 3 year old did it, than i may do the three others the same way!

purple.



nah j/k



gunmetal/ polished lip

I don't really like the GXL rims altogether.



But I got no choice for the time being. I'm dumping all my cash into engine/drivetrain rather than wheels.



I would go with what Mike suggested.

I've always wondered how it would look if you painted the flat face, then had the sides of the spokes polished, if that makes sense. That would give more depth to the rim. I think. Maybe.

In a couple hours I'll show you what they look like with a clear coat and with the masking tape off covering up the rim.



Right now the center is in flat black, which looks...AMAZING when done correctly.

Looks pretty sweet https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...IR#>/bigok.gif

yeah i did mine flat black, mine is a really shitty paint job but its 1000000% better than stock

besides cleaning, what kind of prepping is needed? and does anybody think this would look good on a gold car?

That would be pretty "medium pimpin'" lol. Gunmetal with polished lip on gold sounds great to me https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...IR#>/bigok.gif



I think it would really bring out a wicked "Old School" look to your car, which I think is awesome.

good to know. I might half to reach for the krylon after all https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...IR#>/bigok.gif

That looks GREAT!

I'm about to get a set of those wheels for my T2. It would seem as though that guy's curb hated the T2 rims even more than I did...



I'm thinking of flat or satin black with a red lip. (just the small lip though, nothing inside the rim like the first photochop pic)

so are you going to try to polish the small lip or the insides of the vents on the rims? or just leave it all black?

I would polish just the outer lip.

who are you asking?

Sorry, I was just adding my $0.02 ... I'm too afraid to do anything like that lmao.

OMG...now im confused.



Fluke: I wasn't trying to be rude to you, I just wanted to know who BigTurbo's question was aimed at



BigTurbo: If you were asking me, then no, I wouldn't polish anything. I would first paint the small outer lip red to match my calipers, tape the rim off, and then paint the spokes and inside of the rim satin black.

lol I know you weren't being rude, I was actually trying to not "confuse" you ...

Mission Failed lol https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...DIR#>/cool.png

its cool....OJ and Tequila on a thursday afternoon often leads to confusion.

anyway, whats to be afraid of when painting GXL rims? Im gettin mine for $30 a piece. If i don't like em, I can always sandblast em and start over.

I'm just a very paranoid person when it comes to doing anything to anything lol. You should've seen me while I was modding my xbox.

did you put them on yet defprun?



post up some pics

Prepping?! I use a coarse wire brush in a electric drill to get off the paint, than, i use 80 grit to get the excess primer and **** off, and most of the pores and scratches out of the surface. From there ill move onto a lighter grit, from 150 to 220 than onto 400. For the lip...im going to have to do that by hand, like, it looks polished in the pics but, its really rough. I just used a fine wire brush on them, but it still looks great!!! I must've bought 75 bucks worth of useless junk trying to find a combination of drill accesories to get the job done. A dremel would work GREAT on the rim...if i had one, lol.



Here are some finished pics of the rim. The purpouse was to get a gunmetal finish with a polished rim. So i used primer, two coats of flat black, and than used a clear gloss finish coat for protection.



On these rims, so you dont get paint on the rim, you just tuck the masking tape under the lip...and after its all dry it just peels right off and your lip is un-painted. Looks like it was meant to be like this..

Unfortunately my car is still at the shop, so they wont be going on for about a month I guess. But I'll definately get pics when its done!!! I guess picture a red fb (with 5 lug conversion) lowered 2 1/2 inches with these rims on pirelli tires?!



https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...#>/biggrin.png



More pics...

Sweet merciful crap, that looks ******* amazing!



https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...DIR#>/ohmy.png https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...DIR#>/ohmy.png https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...DIR#>/ohmy.png

Thanks colin!



Here's what they look like before...i cleaned it up a bit, actually..lol

Doesnt look half bad :o

were they relatively smooth to begin with? Mine have a sort of texture on them. Are all GXL the same from the factory, or are some smooth and some textured?



And did you use paint from a rattle can, or did you use an actual sprayer?

omg that's hot definately do a right up man..

For a low budget upgrade that looks great. when i started reading this article i thought why bother but it has come up a treat.



I am also curious as to wherther you used a spray can or a professional gun

The rims have a texture to them, its all porous and ****. The 80 grit works great at getting rid of it.



I used spray paint. Yep. I'm reeeeaall good at using spray paint. There are no runs, bubbles, or inconsistencies in the coating of the paint. Just clean the surface using methyl alcohol, dries rather quick, usually buff it a bit with a paper cloth than go at it with the primer, coat of flat black, another coat of flat black than a coat of clear. Brake clean can be used too, but if it pools on the surface, say buh-bye to the paint https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...DIR#>/ohmy.png



Never touch the rim surface before painting. The methyl has worked great at getting rid of the grease left by my hands when im sanding it (even then try to avoid touching the rims) but if you touch the rim just before painting you might have a nice finger print right in the middle of your rim!



Make sure the clearcoat isnt a dull coat or it wont be shiny. Unless you like the dull look of the flat black...it does look pretty sweet after all...



The rims arent super-perfect, i mean, i did paint them outside, and the shed isnt exactly completely dust-free, so there are a couple of feint dust spots on them that you can barely see, lol.

Seriously those turned out figging amazing.



If you aren't taking your FB to rotorfest, let me roll on those puppies down there!



Wheels is the only thing I can't afford in time for rotorfest.. I'll have this blinging paintjob and amazing engine bay, and gay stocker bologna slicers with low-pro potenza SO2s