Charcoal GTZ wheels project for my 89 Beretta GT

[mtlmikeh]

Hi guys. Thought I would share a little weekend project I recently completed for my 89 GT. I picked up a set of mint GTZ rims that were on Kijiji here in Montreal for $200 cash complete with center caps. They were maroon metalic and my car is white, so I thought I would go with a dark charcoal metallic color.

First, here's a before pic of the car with the standard 15" GT rims, which I will keep for my winter wheelies with the snow tires that are already installed on them.


Step one: Buy paint. I picked up Duplicolor Wheel Paint from Canadian Tire. Two cans charcoal metallic, and two cans of clearcoat. $9.99 per can.


Step two: Sand wheels. I used 600 grit and wet sanded everything so it was smooth and so that the new paint would stick well. The silver lips were in decent shape so I wet sanded them with 2000 grit.


Step three: Taping. I used a 1/4 inch 3M tape to do the silver lip. Anything wider and the tape won't curve properly to maintain the perfect circle. I used a drywall screw plug to press the tape cleanly around the edge and into the grove. Used standard 1" tape to do the outside of the lip.


Step four: Paint, paint, paint. As always, test your paint on something before applying. The Duplicolor Wheel paint goes on easy and dries fast, but it has a lot of metallic content, so when they say shake the can for 2 minutes, they mean 2 minutes. The directions said to hold the can 12" away, but I found that no more than 8" gave a much smoother finish. The paint is relatively drip resistant, so don't be afraid to load it on. Wait 15 minutes between coats of the paint, and then do the clear coat after 1 hour, but before 2 hours. Same 15 minutes between coats. The clear coat looked at first like it was going on milky-white, but after 5 minutes this disappeared and left a nice even coat with a good shine. The Duplicolor wheel paint is supposed to stand up to abuse and not chip or peel.

Step five: Remove tape & admire a job well done. Here's one of the wheels with the tape removed after two coats of charcoal and two coats of clear. I removed the tape before doing the clear coat so the silver lip would be done too.


Step six: Paint the center caps. Same process, quick wet sand, two coats charcoal, two coats clear.


Step seven: Paint the inside of wheel. I cleaned and sanded the inside of the wheels then taped off the holes to prevent overspray. I applied two coats of flat black Tremclad rust-paint since it was cheap and very durable.


Step eight: Get those bitches installed! I picked up a set of used Goodyear Eagle GT 205/55/16 from a nearby tire shop for $100 cash including installation and balance. Total cost of job: $200 wheels, $50 paint & materials, $100 tires & installation.

[NMBeretta]

Looks hot!

[michi]

Wow that really looks good! good work there

[woody90gtz]

Looks great! And it reminds me I still need to spray the inside of my 17s...

[3X00-Modified]

Isn't that technically Gunmetal for the color? Looks very similar to what I want to spray my Legacy rims with, but I just haven't had time to even think about doing it.

[Wanako]

HOT!

Showing the GT Body love here! Excellent! I approve. The wheels fit in quite nicely with the current color combination.

One thing though. That trim at the bottom of the car, is it black or charcoal color? I thought they always came in black. It may be the hard light that's making it look brighter than it is.

[mtlmikeh]

HOT!

Showing the GT Body love here! Excellent! I approve. The wheels fit in quite nicely with the current color combination.

One thing though. That trim at the bottom of the car, is it black or charcoal color? I thought they always came in black. It may be the hard light that's making it look brighter than it is.

Actually you're right, the original factory trim is all charcoal, not black. Most people are used to seeing the 1991+ Berettas now, and as far as I know, they all came with black trim along the bottom. But for 87 thru 90 they actually all had charcoal trim from the factory.

Here's a closer pic of the front of my car so you can see the charcoal trim more clearly:


The whole bottom is all the original color, but when I bought this car, after 20+ years the GT stripes had faded, especially the rear so I (carefully) taped it all off and repainted it in the closest charcoal color I could find:


I re-did the front and rear stripes and they came out really nice. It's all actually pretty close to the color of my GTZ wheels now.:


The GT stripe along the middle of the doors is charcoal as well, but it's made out of rubber material, so it doesn't fade like the front and rear which were actually just painted on from the factory.

My first car back in 1997 was a 1988 Beretta "CL" which was basically a base model Beretta on the outside, but had the nicer interior trim and seats from a GT inside. It also had the charcoal trim all around. But one other difference I noticed, is that on my 89 the trim around the windows and door handles is solid black, but on my 88 it was also charcoal where the door handles were, and it had a chrome trim piece all around the windows.

[Wanako]

that's interesting. My 87 GT had black trim across the bottom, black/charcoal side trim and on the window trim.

[woody90gtz]

The charcoal details look good...I hadn't even noticed the trim but that pic of the back bumper really shows it. I need to detail my window trim...yours looks factory-fresh!

[SuzukiGhostRider]

Wow, those came out looking GREAT!

[sp33d1nc0rs1ca]

that looks awesome!!! great job. I'm using a ppg porsche gunmetal type color for my wheel project. also, love the matching trim

[Robert 89gt]

Car looks great sometimes i wish i purchased a set of gtz rims.But if i buy more rims for my car, my wife would freak.LoL I love the color awesome job alot easier to clean then the old gt wheels.

[woody90gtz]

Car looks great sometimes i wish i purchased a set of gtz rims.But if i buy more rims for my car, my wife would freak.LoL I love the color awesome job alot easier to clean then the old gt wheels.

You can use your current tires if you get GTZ wheels. I know where there's a set in the yard locally. Then you can ditch the chrome! hhahahhahahhahahahahhaha

[mickaz]

nice car? no rust, in montreal!?!?! I'm suprised!!

[Robert 89gt]

Car looks great sometimes i wish i purchased a set of gtz rims.But if i buy more rims for my car, my wife would freak.LoL I love the color awesome job alot easier to clean then the old gt wheels.

You can use your current tires if you get GTZ wheels. I know where there's a set in the yard locally. Then you can ditch the chrome! hhahahhahahhahahahahhaha

Ok deal but only if you write,Gay all over my car.