i know i should do this at the end of the restoration, but anyway...i have got fed up with re-painting steel wheels over the years, so this time, i'd do it properly. Get wheels sandblasted, they come back very rough and with, i think, remains of fine sand in the pores of the metal....rub down with 80 grit.....treat with Metal Ready from Frosts (acid etch)....then without delay 2 coats POR15 silver (avoiding too many runs- POR15 is extremely hard so rubbing down is to be avoided), then POR15 Tie-coat primer...leave for 48 hours, rub down, wash off, dry, apply 3 coats Eastwood silver wheel paint (probably should have been grey), then finish with clear lacquer.....looks really good and even if the wheel paint chips off, it won't notice as there's silver POR15 underneath. Its a lot of work , but in the long run....ade
- Thread starter ade
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malcolm
& Clementine the Cat
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Good idea using the POR 15 as an undercoat. I painted a set of wheels in cellulose paint once but they didn't last long. I've had more success with 2 pack paint. A friend had a set powder coated - even those aren't great (cheap job).
angel
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It seems that your wheels will last indefinitely, Ade!
I had success with both Motip wheel paint (spray) which is said to be tougher than normal aerosols, and 2-pack paint. I had always wire brushed the wheel down to bare metal (very tiring even with an electric drill mounted wire brush), and used a zinc primer.
A friend had his wheels sand blasted and powder coated. Although they looked great, paint started to flake after 2-3 years. Sign of a poor quality job.
I had success with both Motip wheel paint (spray) which is said to be tougher than normal aerosols, and 2-pack paint. I had always wire brushed the wheel down to bare metal (very tiring even with an electric drill mounted wire brush), and used a zinc primer.
A friend had his wheels sand blasted and powder coated. Although they looked great, paint started to flake after 2-3 years. Sign of a poor quality job.
yes, i'm very wary about having stuff blasted and painted without seeing all the in-between bits....i had some stuff blasted a while back and they gave the stuff a coat of grey paint, so i had to rub that all off to get back to bare !....treating with Metal Ready or similar is , i think , the single most important thing....ade
entwistlecymru
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If you're using 2 pack to spray anything vulnerable ie wheels, bumpers, door handles etc, mix in 10%+ plasticiser. This adds 'bounce' to the paint so it won't chip so easily.
A mate of mine (who showed me how to spray) painted a guitar for me and used 40% plasticiser with lacquer. He poured the leftovers into a pot and left it dry. The lacquer was like soft plastic once dry BUT it was totally resistant to sharp objects and belt buckles. Ideal for the bits of a car you can't see when parking!
If the paint has keyed properly it should also withstand the force of a heavy-handed tyre fitters tyre lever.
A mate of mine (who showed me how to spray) painted a guitar for me and used 40% plasticiser with lacquer. He poured the leftovers into a pot and left it dry. The lacquer was like soft plastic once dry BUT it was totally resistant to sharp objects and belt buckles. Ideal for the bits of a car you can't see when parking!
If the paint has keyed properly it should also withstand the force of a heavy-handed tyre fitters tyre lever.