If you are looking for that one-of-a-kind look out of your wheels, here is an idea that may work for you. As a salesperson in the off road industry, I encounter people who want that one wheel that no one else has. When looking at wheels, there are so many to choose from. After hours of searching online, in catalogs, and on displays in your local 4 Wheel Parts stores, you still have not found that unique wheel you like. Here is an idea that may help you, like it did for me. I found that I liked the American Racing ATX 181 Artillery Teflon black wheel. I liked the style of this wheel, but it is a popular wheel and I wanted to have that one-off wheel. Here is how I did this with very little effort.

American Racing ATX 181 Wheels

American Racing ATX 181 Wheels

I purchased a set of American Racing ATX 181 Artillery Teflon black wheels from my 4 Wheel Parts store. I like the style of this wheel and I found that I use this as a selling tool when people are looking for wheels and the customer asks me, “Which wheel do you like?” I have found that I have sold a lot of my favorites, and I want that one-of-a-kind look just like my customers. I found an easy way to change the look of a wheel and not break the pocketbook doing it. I purchased my ATX wheels and took them home so I could change them up before I had my tires mounted on the wheels.

Step One

I called my local paint supply store for some automotive paint and had them mix a couple of cans of my favorite color. They put it in aerosol cans for me in a single stage paint. This is a paint that has the clear coat already mixed in. For my wheels, I had Speedway Blue (a Toyota color) and I also had them do a satin black. The blue paint cost me around $25.00 per can and the black was only around $15.00 per can. This is the same paint that your car is painted with from the factory. I purchased 4 cans of blue and 2 cans of the black, totaling me $130.00. The tape I used is automotive masking tape and it didn’t cost me any more than $5.00 for 3 rolls.

Step Two

Next, I had to tape off the wheels. I started by just taping the pieces that I wanted to not get scuffed, such as the little chrome bolts that are part of the wheels. I scuffed the rest of the wheel with some 320 grit sandpaper and cleaned the wheel so when I painted them, there would not be any imperfections. Now my wheels were ready for me to paint.

Step Three

I made sure the area I was going to paint in was clean and dust free. With this type of paint, you will need to make sure that your area has good ventilation and that it’s not going to get overspray on everything around you. You will also need to make sure that you’re not doing this in an area where the fumes will go into your house or into the neighbors’ houses. This could make your neighbors upset with you for sure. Now you’re ready to paint as long as you have a paint mask. I picked up a painters mask when I purchased my paint.

I laid down my first coat of paint on all my wheels, giving the wheels about 20 minutes between coats. I put 2 good thick coats on the wheels of the blue paint and let the wheels dry. I am lucky I have a heated garage to make the dry time go faster. I did still give the wheels 24 hours to dry.

Step Four

I had my wheels painted blue and they were dry enough for me to put tape on them. I taped off the areas that I didn’t want the black paint to get on, as I planned to paint the dipped areas of the wheel with the satin black. This is to give the wheels a different look than just painting them all blue. So after taping off these big areas, I gave them a scuff with a green scotch pad. This gives the paint something to grab onto and prevents the paint from flaking off. After a quick scuff, it’s important to make sure the area that’s getting the paint is clean. Repeat step two and step three. Then, I painted the satin black and let it dry again.

Step Five

24 hours later, I pulled all the tape off the wheels. They looked awesome! If I wanted to, I could have put tires on them and put them on the rig right away. Not me – I needed to do one more thing. I took some 1000 grit sandpaper and did some wet sanding on the wheels. This made them easier to keep clean and gave them a shiny look. After I wet sanded the wheels, I took some polish and a mother power ball for my drill and put a shine on the wheels. Now, they were ready for tires.

I had purchased a set of Pro Comp Xterrains in the 40s and it was time to mount them on my one-of-a-kind wheels.

This paint job gives me a look that no one else has, and I still have one of my favorite wheels. This is just an idea for those of you that want the coolest wheel on the shelf and don’t want to look like every other rig that has that same wheel. My neighbor has these same wheels and yet we are completely different. Now, I have people asking me, “Where did you get those wheels?”