I have a 2001 XKR. Does anyone know the paint code for the alloy wheels? I attempted to use Duplicolor Silver Wheel paint but it does not match. The dealership has the touch up bottle with small brush, but I am looking to repaint.

 

I do not, though I have had some experience getting my wheels refinished locally. Driver side and Passengers side were done separately. Each time, they were unable to get the color right, sometimes doing it 3 times to match the 'other' side. Last time, it took 2x, and the shop said that jaguar has two different wheel colors...but don't know if that is true or not, or they were just trying to make excuses. If you want it done correctly, do both on that side together, so at least they match.

 

No I don't know the code. I did all four wheels with the duplicolor silver and then clear. The silver was a little darker than the orginal paint. I used J-B weld to fill in the curb rash. I did one wheel a day and came out with better than average home job.

 

How did you get the paint off of the wheels? Did you bead blast them? Chemicals? I have a little bit of curb rash on a couple of wheels. I've considered refinishing them, but the thought of getting the existing paint off has prevented me from doing it.

 

I didn't remove the old paint from the wheels. I sanded them with 320 grit paper which roughed them up. Where I filled the curb rash I used 220 grit first and then the 320. I put on 3 coats of silver and then 3 coats of clear. I used acetone to clean the areas where I was applying the J-B weld. You apply each coat every 10 minutes and wait 4 hours and put the wheel back on the car. Duplicolor states that it takes 7 days for the paint to cure and driving the car allows the heat from using the brakes to help cure it. I botched up the first wheel with too much paint and had to do it over. I waited 2 weeks before resanding and repainting that wheel. So far the paint is fine. This is the first time I have used wheel paint and it will be interesting to see if it lasts. I know that the wheels look a lot better now then they did before. To help with the prep time, after I taped off around the rim I used a piece of cardboard that I cut a 20 circle out of to set on the wheel to protect from overspray. I didn't have to tape off the whole tire.

 

Regarding wheel paint codes and sourcing call our friend at Nalley. He had the numbers at his fingertips even after other dealers had told me touch up kits were not available for wheels.

 

I essentially did the same procedure that itspec60 did. Removed the wheels, 220 grit to cut the original paint, feathered the chips, followed by 320 grit, washed with soap and water, air hose and sun dry. Used Duplicolor light gray primer, wet 1000 grit, then wet 2000 grit to smooth, then wash and dry. Applied Duplicolor silver wheel paint according to the application guide, and cleared with Duplicolor clear. To mask off wheel, I used 3x5 index cards overlapped between the wheel and tire, to prevent tire being painted. Knowing I was going to redo the wheels, I sprayed a portion of one wheel to test closeness of match. It is very close, the Duplicolor may put a little more silver sparkle pigment on the wheel. Probably the only caution is don't get trigger happy with the spray nozzle - just as the guide states - a couple of light coats, followed by a wet coat with the silver..

 

As with many paints with some metalic, the duplicolour spray will look darker or lighter depending how heavy you spray it. Also, the clearcoat changes the colour again, so if it does not look like a match, try a test spray on some cardboard, then add a "dusting" to a portion of it, then spray over the whole test with clearcoat. When it dries, a portion of it will be very close to original. Then duplicate that amount/spray pattern when you do the wheels. I did mine last winter, and it only took a weekend of spare time, and $60 in filler, paint, and sandpaper. (I posted pics in the wheels section) So far, no new curb rash
There was a post last year that mentioned BMW wheel paint as a close match for spot repairs.
Wear a quality filter mask if you do this sort of work.
Alfred