Hey everyone,

Previous owners did not take great care of the wheels and they need to be refurbished. Where can I get the correct dark grey and flat clear as well as the red caliper paint? Thanks in advance!

 

rkkusse, almost any auto parts store should have the paint that you are after. Keep in mind that the wheels can be painted with just about anything. But, make sure that you cure it properly or it will chip really easily because the paint is very soft. As for the calipers, make sure to get high temp paint. Otherwise, a few hard brakes and the paint is going to start turning brown on you. I would also question the painting of the calipers from a performance perspective. paint is a good insulator. it is going to trap heat inside of the caliper (and therefore feed it back to the pads). Get calipers too hot and you start getting a spongy feeling to the brakes and the performance will diminish. Is this a problem for every day driving. Probably not. But, if you drive spiritedly, it can potentially be an issue. Just something to think about.

 

This is the color, but I'm trying to find a source state side:

JAGUAR TECHNICAL GREY MET (24-00-145) [WP-24-00-145] - $20.44 : Wheel Paints

 

rjkusse, would something like the below stuff be of interest?

https://www.grainger.com/product/54T...180821210148:s

Those two should be very close to what you are after. Otherwise, your next option is to go to a local automotive paint store and they can mix you up a quart of the exact color that you are after. Then you can use a spray gun to paint the rims. Some shops may even have the ability to put the paint into a spray can for you. You then have to decide if you want single stage or dual stage paint. The difference is the single stage has the clear built into the paint. So, as you paint, you are applying in short 2 layers of paint. Much more simple for the average person. Then you have the dual stage paint which will have you apply the color layer and then later apply a clear coat. The benefit of this is that if you mess up the color layer, you can lightly sand it and then clear over and all will be good. You can also get a "deeper" looking paint with the dual stage paint. Granted, dual stage paint costs a little more and involves more work.

 

Thanks for the input. I was hoping there was a factory pack somewhere in the states, but it doesn't look like it. Off to the paint shop to get some custom mixed!

 

IMHO I dont think painting these rims would be the best idea. You should look into having the wheels powder coated since the coating will last much longer and not chip. I had mine powder coated in matt black ($450 for blasting and coating and $100 for mount and balance) and i love it. As for the red caliper paint i used the brake caliper paint kit from por15. I had used a lot of their products in the past and they were amazing so i am not suprised with the results. The por15 kit uses primers and special degreasers that allow the paint to better bond to the metal. I painted mine a year ago and they still look new after a quick wipe off. Well that was my .02 cents on the subject hopefully that might help!

 

Why is powder coating more durable than painting? I thought all new wheels were painted. If powder coating was that much more durable wouldn't higher end cars do that instead of paint?

 

BritCars, we used to powder coat all sorts of stuff on the submarine for durability. I liken it to this, you are trying to compare a chevette to a corvette. Both are cars, but they are dramatically different in their abilities. The same is true of traditional paint and powder coating. In short, powder coating is a special paint that is a powder that you apply to a surface. Initially it is very weak and a gentle brushing will pull most of it off. But, once you have painted the item, you put the item in an over (at like 450F) and this melts the paint. This allows it to form a shell over the metal and also get into the pores of the metal, forming a tight bond. Because powder coating is not traditional paint, it forms a much harder coating which will resist chipping a lot better. Is it chip proof, by no means. But, it will take a lot more abuse.

 

Another vote for powder coating

Just had all 4 rims re-coated on my 2014 XJR. Had a few nicks and then scraped a curb with the front passenger side which looked like crap with the Technical Grey wheels.
Wanted to just fix the curbed rim but it would be tough to match exactly at this point since the car is several years old and the color has probably faded somewhat.
Went back with Sterling Black (A shade of metallic black) with a satin clear coat. Guy even saved the cool little "R" emblems on each rim.
Could not complain because I purchased 2 new Michelin front tires too (Pilot Sport PS4) so he did all 4 rims for $400.

Which for a complete strip and re coat is a deal!!
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My Matiava wheel were factory powder coated and have had them re coated many times since. As for color I have had to work with the my wheel refinisher (Wheel Wizard in Chamblee GA) to find the closest color and then refinish all my wheels (I have 6 and extra front and an extra rear) to match. My costs are a littl higher than come have mentioned @ $160/wheel, but they are flawless and look as good a color as the original color.

 

Powder coating is always an option. However, I can spray them myself and know the work is done correctly. Plus it'll cost a lot less.

 

Painted back in March of 2017 and still look new. I had to do a little touch-up after changing pads:

 

I had my Corvette Calipers powder coated. For my XJL. I opted for Caliper Covers in Factory Carnelian


Red and Jaguar Logos

 

Looks great but I had a problem with scratching the caliper paint when I did the brakes.
An tips for installing the outside metal clip or should I just paint the caliper AFTER I have the brakes serviced?
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Looks great! Where did you get the Jaguar decals from?

 

Thank you, I got them off eBay from Printgroup but it looks like they don't sell them anymore. You could probably contact them or find another seller.
The ones on the rear weren't included in the kit but they were able to get the correct ones after I provided measurements.
The rear sticker area is 2" from screw to screw.

Original rear stickers:

 

Thanks, that metal clip almost made me cry lol.
Getting it off was pretty easy. Most of the scratches came from installing it.
I had red from a previous job and it matched. Dupli-Color caliper paint kit.


1. Cover letters with painters tape just in case it flies on you.
2. Cover entire caliper with a towel
3. Use a large flat tip screw driver and pry it up and out from the center

After reinstalling clip:




After touch-up:

 

What about this "R" symbol?
Or stay with JAGUAR or the leaper?



Not sure how it would go with red calipers?
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I like to stay as close to original as possible so I'll go with the letters for now.

 

Well....the weather was perfect in Texas this weekend to tackle the project and I had all the supplies, so here it is. As reference, here is what it looked like before:






The wheels were grey, but not the correct color. This became much more evident later on. The calipers were faded at best.

If you look closely at the wheels, you can actually see they painted OVER the dirt:






After sanding, you could really see the color difference!




Now with the fresh paint:





On to the calipers. Badly faded probably from using the wrong chemicals to clean the wheels:






NOW, the car looks correct!!





Thanks for everyone's help!