[wapner]

I had them sandblasted. Then I primed the wheels with rustoleom bare metal primer so it would seal the bare metal and allow the paint to stick as well as possible. However when I use the blue masking tape it peels the silver paint right off when I remove it after adding the darker charcoal color. I have tried this several times and I am getting frustrated.

At first I thought it might have been old paint from Ames since one of the silver cans only put out about 1/2 of its paint before the pressure petered out and wouldn't spray anymore. So I went to my local checker store and found the same duplicolor paint on the shelf and put a fresh coat on the wheel faces before re-masking and trying again. I have about 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of the silver paint but the silver peels right down the primer even when I trim the excess masking tape.

Two ideas come to mind:

1- The silver paint isn't drying thoroughly before I am taping it. I have been waiting 1-2 full days before working with it again but it is still peeling. I have thought about putting the wheels in the oven on a low heat such as 150 just to make sure the paint is dried. I don't think 150 would be high enough to change the temper on steel but if anyone knows different please let me know.

2- Should I lightly sand the entire wheel and do another coat of silver?

3- I have contemplated just skipping these 14" wheels and finding some 15" one from a junkyard and starting over or buying some Cragar SS or something similar since I will need to buy new tires as well and the choices of 14" wheels makes me need to go with a too skinny 225/70-14 in order to be the correct height to fill the wheel wells.

Any tips or advice?



I

[Ken K]

Use epoxy primer. The primer you used might be oil based. Try and find someone who does powder coating. If you get the wheels powder coated silver, it won't be coming off. Then just mask it for the charcoal.

[screamingchief]

I used 3M low tack paper masking tape (no.3051 IIRC) when I did mine,worked like a charm.

Also I dont much care for rust-o-leum products as a general rule,so I probably would'nt have used their primer either.

Mine were blasted too.

I believe I used a coat of self etching primer on mine (I usually do with any bare metal surfaces) first,and then a second coat of sandable primer over that,now I'm not 100% sure on the brand of those primers,as it can change time to time based on specific availabillity around here,but I mostly use krylon or VHT products most of the time,but honestly it could easily have been something else,as I just dont remember that detail.

The self etching primer most likely would have been from SEM though,as I can get that thru my friend who works at a paint supply house.

I know for sure the argent silver paint I used for the spokes was some Ford OE wheel paint,that was very good paint,and price & availabillity was there as well,seeing as I was working in the Ford dealership parts department at that time.

And the charcoal inserts I painted with some martin-senor (napa) outboard motor paint,unfortunately this paint is now MIA and no longer available,which is a shame because it too was very good paint,and a near perfect match to the OE charcoal paint,at least to my eye's it was.

Then the whole wheel got a coulpe of coats of satin clear to protect them from rocks and such.

They looked awesome.



Bret P.

[baron_]

I was never happy with refinishing my own.

Best I come up with.....

Use self etching primer only. The other rattle can stuff - the heavy stuff....filler primer...makes the primer too soft. Small scratches and touches will chip the outer paint and show the primer underneat.
Let primer dry as long as possible.

Self etching only minimized this though...still 'soft'


Autozone had charcoal and argent silver in stock

[drtex]

I had my wheels sandblasted, but I primed them with 2 coats of epoxy primer, sanding them in between coats. You have to sand down every coat of paint, if your going to apply another coat over them, the paint needs a profile to stick to. If your paint is peeling back to the primer then you probably need to re sand the areas that are not sticking, resand it to where it is bonded, and re apply the silver paint. Once your done with that, let it dry for a day, the apply your masking tape, and paint your gray paint, make sure you sand down the areas that you paint gray. After you complete all the painting, you probably will want to wet sand the entire wheel with a very fine grit sand paper, get the finest you can get, this is of course if you want to paint a coat or two of clear over it. Thats what I did to my wheels and they look fantastic.

[wapner]

Thanks for all of your input, I appreciate the help here. At this point should I light sand the wheels by hand, then apply some epoxy primer and respray? I assume that the epoxy primer isn't available in a spray can. Can anyone tell me where I could find this primer or recommend a brand?

[Ken K]

Epoxy primer uses a catalyst. I suggested having them powder coated because they sand blast them first. If I ever do another set, they are getting powder coated.

[drtex]

I agree with powder coating, the best paint application possible, wish I had done mine that way. In his situation he can only go back and sandblast again, and go with powder coat, or sand back down to the primer, it depends on how much he wants to spend on it. It appears the primer is adhered to the steel substrate here, and the problem is the silver paint is not sticking to the primer. I am a nace coating inspector by trade, one of the things you have to have for a good paint application, is for all the coatings that you are using to be compatable with each other. If your using different brands of paint this can be a problem, all paints aren't made with the same exact chemicals.But if he didn't sand in between coats using the spray method, then thats the problem he's having most likely. On shopping for paint, you can go to any paint store, I used one that deals with wholesale, through a freind of mine that does paint and body work. Use the same brand of paint, the aerisol spray cans aren't the best on the market, go with a 2 componet paint, it might cost more but it will last for a long long time.

[Ken K]

I have about $300 total in this set, it includes new tires, trim rings and lug nuts. I could have done a better job masking it. I could fix it with a small paint brush if I felt like messing with them anymore. I used BC/CC for the silver and rattle can charcoal.

[screamingchief]

Lately I'm not all that crazy about powder coating wheels,and I'll tell ya'll why.

I have a set on my current '72 bird,now nothing fancy at all,they're just stamped steel wheels with poverty caps (dog dishes to some),and I gotta say that powder coating is'nt the "be all,end all" some like to thnk it is,it too can have it's own issues.

Regardless of what anyone tells you,powder coating can & will chip,and it's nowhere near as easy to deal with as paint is when you have that happen.

Mine have'nt even hit the road yet,and they got a few chips here & there from mounting and balancing and installing the caps and such.

And you can also have issues pop up underneath the powder coating that will be visible to the naked eye as well,especially if the coating color is particularly light like mine (they're refrigerator white).

I got a couple spots where it looks like there's some light rust growing underneath the coating,and the folks that did them do top notch work,so I dont expect that is really their blame,likely if it can happen with them doing the work,it could've happened to anyone who did the work.

So understand that nothing is gonna be 100% perfect.

I just know that if I had to do those wheels over today,knowing what I know now,I'd have painted them myself,so I could easily fix any "issues" myself later on,now all I can do is pray any chips dont get too much worse than they are now.



Bret P.

[webfoot]

Yah, I have some parts that were powdercoated, and I agree with Bret. The coating is THICK and still chips off. So, now you have a deep chip and if you try to touch up with paint, there will still be a divot where you had the chip.

Just a question here, I am kinda new to paint & body stuff - why after sandblasting would you use a self - etching primer when you have (very) effectively etched the metal already by blasting?

[428RA4]

duplicolor paint is GARBAGE~!

[screamingchief]

Originally Posted by webfoot

Just a question here, I am kinda new to paint & body stuff - why after sandblasting would you use a self - etching primer when you have (very) effectively etched the metal already by blasting?

Because I typically scuff down the entire surface before prepping,priming & painting.

Sometimes when parts are blasted,the surface ends up being just a little too rough IMO,and scuffing 'em down some takes away any peaks or valleys on the surface,but yeah it also "smooths" it some as well,thus I use the self-etching primer,plus the better quality self-etching stuff grabs on like there's no tomorrow.



Bret P.

[grivera]

Originally Posted by baron_

I was never happy with refinishing my own.

Best I come up with.....

Use self etching primer only. The other rattle can stuff - the heavy stuff....filler primer...makes the primer too soft. Small scratches and touches will chip the outer paint and show the primer underneat.
Let primer dry as long as possible.

Self etching only minimized this though...still 'soft'


Autozone had charcoal and argent silver in stock

Is it called argent siver at AZ, or another name?

[baron_]

yea, it was called argent silver (if i remember correctly)