So, I've been sprucing up this 99 Camry I picked up a couple months back. I picked up a used set of wheels from Craigslist... they were a little beat up, but the Toyo tires had a decent amount of life left, so it was a good deal.

Finally decided to take the plunge and see if I could "refinish" them. After watching a few YouTube videos and reading some forums posts, I decided to just try the "cheap" route.

Picked up these at the parts store for about $6 a can.



Here they are before I started. Like I said, they don't look horrible, just slightly beat up.



This one had some decent curb rash.



I didn't want to spend a lot of time or money, so I grabbed a dremel with a tiny sanding drum on it. It made quick work of the imperfections.



After a few minutes of light sanding I had this:



Next was a light finish with some 1000 grit sandpaper.



The you clean it all up with the cleaner and a lint free rag.



I probably spent more time on the taping then the other stuff so far.



Light and steady sprays from the can worked out very well.



It is very hard to see that curb rash now



Then follow it up with a couple coats of the clear. I opted for the matte clear vice the gloss.

If you look close you can make out some of the prior imperfections. I suppose if you were after perfection, you could fill that in... they make a kit for that.





The center caps are held on with one bolt and the other holes are filled with plastic plugs. Some of them look pretty bad, I'll figure that out next. The emblems I picked up from eBay (cheap). I kind of dig the Transformer look! Haha





And finished! They turned out pretty nice. Unless you get right up on them, they'll pass most scrutiny!



Oops. Sorry about that finger

 

Excellent write up! I made it a sticky.
I have some factory wheels that I might give this treatment to because there are some curb rash spots.
Thanks for sharing and the wheels look great!

 

the wheels look good for a dyi nice job. I am new to this forum but a seasoned camry owner 92-96 and a prior 01v6.I currently have a 96 coupe im getting ready to do some work on.it needs suspension and exhaust work.I was gonna go the complete strut route but am looking to drop the height down so Im gonna use replacement struts and lowering springs.just curious as to what you used to lower this, thats the look I want when im done and add a set of wheels

 

https://www.camryforums.com/forum/ne...e-50493/page4/

Here is the other thread. I went with the Megan springs, but ended up hacking the fronts to get the stance I wanted. Made for a horrible ride. Search for the Megan install, I think I found one on another forum.

 

Good result. Definitely more budget friendly than buying new wheels.

 

Thank you very much for providing us with a precious tip. it will save us money.