Repair And Fix it

Painting a cars wheels is one way to give it a unique look. You might also want to match the car color, hide chrome that has seen better days, or restore wheels to their original condition. Painting your wheels can be done in a couple of days.

Instructions

1

Clean the wheels thoroughly. Use soap and water and scrub them, making sure to get into the crevices to remove debris. Use a hose to rinse off the wheels.

2

Sand your wheels to remove the current finish, and help primer stick to the wheel. If your wheels are made of chrome, sand them until you get below the surface of the chrome. 120- to 320-grit sandpaper works well. If your wheels are knicked, try to sand down below the knick or sand the knick out. Remove final debris with a 600-grit sandpaper.

3

Tape around the outside of the wheel by placing tape on the tire. Trace and cut a moon-shaped piece of cardboard that can be placed at an angle between the wheel and wheel well. The moon shape should be no thicker than a half-moon. It will block paint from the spray.

4

Lay the wheel on a flat surface. Wear a mask to avoid inhaling the paint. Spray two to three coats of primer on the wheel and allow time to dry. Sand it using 600-grit sandpaper.

5

Spray two to three coats of the paint that you choose. If you have an area you are not happy with due to paint chips or dripping, you can correct it with fine sandpaper and a rubbing compound to restore shine. Allow time to dry, at least 24 hours.

6

Apply a clear coat. Two applications should suffice. Let it dry overnight.

Airless sprayers work by pumping out paint from a small tip on a spray gun. There are no air compressors, nor is air involved in any way to move the paint. Airless sprayers are very efficient and will apply paint very quickly over a large area. If you are using an airless sprayer to paint your car, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Instructions

1

Cover all areas of your car that are not to be painted. An airless sprayer is not as easy to control as a brush, so do not take any chances that you may accidently spray a mirror or glass. When spraying, the airless sprayer paint will create a cloud of paint that will settle. Wear a protective covering.

2

Keep the spray gun aimed at the area that you want to paint. Never point it towards yourself. Move your hand in a horizontal motion while spraying. Do not stop to spray as you will create a heavy concentration of paint in one area.

3

Begin moving your hand from side to side. Once you have a steady motion, begin to pull the trigger.

4

Release the trigger before stopping motion of your hands when you are ready to quit painting.

5

Clean the sprayer so that no paint builds up and dries up inside.

The nature of driving on roads anywhere in the United States has the issue of small bits of debris bouncing up and hitting the front bumper causing paint damage. The smallest of pebbles at 55 miles per hour can create a scratch or paint chip that will look ugly on a new car. This problem can easily be rectified with a trip to the auto store or dealer.

Instructions

1

Examine the damage to the bumper cover. if it is a large nick, more than 1 inch, you need to use the 200 grit sandpaper. If it is less, then use the 400 grit. You are not sanding a large surface. Hold the sandpaper between the thumb and forefinger and gently rub the damaged area. You are just trying to rough the surface.

2

Wipe the area clean. It is a good idea to use the damp cloth and wipe an area around eight inches around the damage, this will keep it from getting any excess dirt under the paint. Allow to dry.

3

Paint the damaged spot. The easiest way to do this is to carefully paint inside the damaged area first and try not to go outside the lines. The touch-up paint comes with a brush on the inside of the bottle connected to the cap. Allow the paint to dry.

Every car manufactured, including the Buick Rendezvous, has specific paint coding attributed to it. Subsequently, once a vehicle is purchased, the owner has a reference for what tint the touch up paint should be to match the original color.

Identification

The paint codes for a Buick Rendezvous are found on the service parts identification sticker. For this particular vehicle, the sticker can be found either in the left rear storage compartment inside door or inside the glove box.

Features

The paint codes inscribed on the sticker normally begin with BC/CC, or basecoat/clearcoat, or a U for upper body color. This lettering is then followed by a four-digit number, such as 8555 for black or 8624 for Olympic white.

Considerations

Aftermarket touch up paint may have a different lettering prefix, such as WA, but the numbers that follow should match with the manufacturers numbers for a correct paint tint. Make sure to verify that the paint number does correlate with the specific year, make and model of the vehicle if there are any discrepancies.