[allenga]

Hi Guys, so I found someone is my area that will restore my rims and change the color from silver to gold. I need to provide the paint. So, do I just go down to the automotive paint store and ask for a quart of PPG 82352? Is it that simple. Do I need to know anything else?

My rims are going to be media blasted, then the ribs and edge polished, then primed, painted and clear powder coated.

Thanks!

Pick of old rim, attached.

Look I am after:

http://transamcountry.com/community/...?topic=27522.0

[78w72]

the paint choice is up to you, you can get the correct code in a single stage or base for clear to spray from a gun or they make a good quality gold in a can, think its oer or oem brand from summit etc. i used their silver for honeycombs & its a very good paint.

as for restoring, i would suggest against powder clear, i had my first set of 15x8 snowflakes done that way from a major wheel resto company done through one of the popular "f-body" vendors, they came back looking TERRIBLE! all kinds of orange peel & even debris stuck in the clear, i sent them back for refund & used another company out of texas & chose no clear. powder clear goes on so thick that its hard to get a smooth finish & cures so hard you cant really sand & buff it. also, if & when they get a chip or scratch (& they will) it cant be touched up & once its chipped it can crack & cause corrosion under the clear like you see on so many modern factory wheels that are cleared. if you insist on clearing them consider a good quality automotive clear that can be sanded & buffed & touched up when needed.

on the 2nd set i had done i chose no clear, like the factory did on these snowflakes. they did the full restoration, smoothed edges & lathe turned the faces. came back looking better than new. i keep them clean & lightly wax them each season & 10 years later they look like the day i got them. if they arent on a daily driver or exposed to road salts etc, leaving them bare is fine & will look 100 times better IMO. i can post pics if you want to see the difference between powder clear & bare alum. & can tell you where i had them done, they were about $100ea + shipping. if your local guy can smooth the curb rash & poilish them up nice, i would seriously consider no powder clear.

[allenga]

That is great info. Yes, if you have pictures, I would love to see them. I really want to do this right the first time.

[78w72]

pics of powder clear. aside from the crappy paint work in the silver areas, mainly notice the orange peel look powder clears can get, & possibility of debris.

ive seen it better on say the year one 17" snowflakes but thats done by a major company with at least some quality control & its very thin. normal powder coat is thick like this & ruins the sharp edges & adds a too glossy artificial looking finish... but some guys might like that. IMO, natural aluminum looks much better & can be maintained & re-polished if needed.

[78w72]

bare aluminum... sooo much nice looking with sharp edges. in person these rims actually throw "rainbows" when the sun hits them, kind of like a prism effect.

wether you go with a smooth hand polished look or have them done by a company that can turn them on a lathe with light machine grooves like the factory original, i say no clear. save the clear for daily drivers that need the protection.

[allenga]

Originally Posted by 78w72

bare aluminum... sooo much nice looking with sharp edges. in person these rims actually throw "rainbows" when the sun hits them, kind of like a prism effect.

wether you go with a smooth hand polished look or have them done by a company that can turn them on a lathe with light machine grooves like the factory original, i say no clear. save the clear for daily drivers that need the protection.

Are these polished?

[TAKerry]

BWB, your car looks great, sorry to hijack, but how do you get the black in the engine compartment to look so good? Mine is pretty clean by most standards but the black parts just look blah.

[daw78_T/A]

Originally Posted by 78w72

the paint choice is up to you, you can get the correct code in a single stage or base for clear to spray from a gun or they make a good quality gold in a can, think its oer or oem brand from summit etc. i used their silver for honeycombs & its a very good paint.

as for restoring, i would suggest against powder clear, i had my first set of 15x8 snowflakes done that way from a major wheel resto company done through one of the popular "f-body" vendors, they came back looking TERRIBLE! all kinds of orange peel & even debris stuck in the clear, i sent them back for refund & used another company out of texas & chose no clear. powder clear goes on so thick that its hard to get a smooth finish & cures so hard you cant really sand & buff it. also, if & when they get a chip or scratch (& they will) it cant be touched up & once its chipped it can crack & cause corrosion under the clear like you see on so many modern factory wheels that are cleared. if you insist on clearing them consider a good quality automotive clear that can be sanded & buffed & touched up when needed.

on the 2nd set i had done i chose no clear, like the factory did on these snowflakes. they did the full restoration, smoothed edges & lathe turned the faces. came back looking better than new. i keep them clean & lightly wax them each season & 10 years later they look like the day i got them. if they arent on a daily driver or exposed to road salts etc, leaving them bare is fine & will look 100 times better IMO. i can post pics if you want to see the difference between powder clear & bare alum. & can tell you where i had them done, they were about $100ea + shipping. if your local guy can smooth the curb rash & poilish them up nice, i would seriously consider no powder clear.

What company in Texas did you use for the 2nd set? I would be curious to look into the same for a gold set I have.

[78w72]

depends on what paint you choose. the gold in the spray can is a single stage & doesnt need a clear. they also offer any paint color you want in a single stage that doesnt need clear. my silver centers are not cleared, just a good quality single stage paint.

if you absolutely want to clear the paint, consider just using a quality base/clear auto paint. much easier to mask & spray than trying to get a good mask line with powder coat done by someone else at a powder company. to me, powder coat is better on large pieces like frames or suspension parts etc, not fine detailed lines like on snowflakes.

the resto places paint them first without masking then the lathe turns new metal leaving a very sharp crips edge on the painted part. could probably be done the same way if done by hand.

best of luck whichever way you go!

[Warren Seale]

If I recall correctly, the PPG paint code you reference was the original paint used in the 70s. That was lacquer paint. Most local paint suppliers don't carry lacquer any longer due to EPA regulations. You will have to find a supplier on-line that specializes in vintage paint formulations and have it shipped to you.

[allenga]

Thanks Warren

[78w72]

cant recall the company that actually did them, but it was done through texas trans ams.

[allenga]

Just curious, how are all these guys getting their wheels restored if we can't get a PPG paint code.

I drop my rims on on Tues and they have a PPG paint mixer.

[Bentwheelbob]

What are you waiting for? Give them the paint code and ask them to do a spray out so you can see it and sign off. That way you will know: 1) if they can mix the old PPG code, and 2) if they mix it in such a way that you think it looks correct.

Like others have said, I wouldn’t clear them. Been there and done that. Also, be prepared that the blasting process may leave the snowflake recesses with some flaws as these wheels were sand cast and there will likely be some small voids.

[allenga]

Originally Posted by Bentwheelbob

What are you waiting for? Give them the paint code and ask them to do a spray out so you can see it and sign off. That way you will know: 1) if they can mix the old PPG code, and 2) if they mix it in such a way that you think it looks correct.

Like others have said, I wouldn’t clear them. Been there and done that. Also, be prepared that the blasting process may leave the snowflake recesses with some flaws as these wheel were sand cast and there will likely be some small voids.

Why not clear? Thanks!

[Bentwheelbob]

To me it didn’t look correct. Too shiny and too much of a plastic looking coating over the machined aluminum. How much are you going to drive this thing as OCD as you are? Why do you think you need the clear? Skip it.

[allenga]

Thanks guys. I essentially have one shot at a re-do with these guys. Re-machine yes, no prob. I guess the question on the table is, to clear or not to clear. I would love to leave them bare as others have suggested. What does bug and tar remover do to bare aluminum for example. There is a lot of road tar where I live that I take off my other cars.

[78w72]

Originally Posted by allenga

Why not clear? Thanks!

did you read my posts about the clear? i prefer no clear because it looks terrible with heavy orange peel, is hard to touch up when it chips, & eventually will fail like so many factory wheel you see out there today.

the factory clear on these wheels was a very thin lacquer based clear you could barely tell was there, nothing like the thick powder clear wheel companies use today for these restorations.

i too just wipe my wheels off with a towel & have shiny metal... they do not require polishing the spokes regularly or hours with mothers polishing them. if you look at the pics i posted the wheels look exactly the same as they do in the pics 10 years later... & i drive my cars a lot. granted, not daily drivers in rain or winter with road salts etc. the car is in storage for the winter but i will post a pic in a month or so to show what they look like now.

fact is that non cleared snowflakes will stay shiny if you keep them clean & use a light coat of was every year or 2 & avoids the other problems mentioned above with thick powder coat clear.

[allenga]

Originally Posted by 78w72

did you read my posts about the clear? i prefer no clear because it looks terrible with heavy orange peel, is hard to touch up when it chips, & eventually will fail like so many factory wheel you see out there today.

the factory clear on these wheels was a very thin lacquer based clear you could barely tell was there, nothing like the thick powder clear wheel companies use today for these restorations.

i too just wipe my wheels off with a towel & have shiny metal... they do not require polishing the spokes regularly or hours with mothers polishing them. if you look at the pics i posted the wheels look exactly the same as they do in the pics 10 years later... & i drive my cars a lot. granted, not daily drivers in rain or winter with road salts etc. the car is in storage for the winter but i will post a pic in a month or so to show what they look like now.

fact is that non cleared snowflakes will stay shiny if you keep them clean & use a light coat of was every year or 2 & avoids the other problems mentioned above with thick powder coat clear.

I should have listened. The wheel repair company insisted I powder clear after paint. I let them and it looks like !**@. They gassed the wheels twice and they have a porosity problem which bubbles. So, they will re-machine the rims. And they want to do an automotive paint clear. I think you guys are saying don't do clear. Also, they painted the entire back of the rim gold when I asked them not to. :-(

[allenga]

Wheel repair shop recommendation for clear. Car will be driven. Don’t think Ive ever been called OCD. Thank you