[mrennie]

Thought I would share my experience with painting some Rally 2 wheels.

I had 5 15x7" GM wheels and 2 15x8" Wheel Vintique wheels with custom backspacing that I wanted to paint so all would match.

The WV wheels were powder coated silver, but the charcoal they spray on the middle had terrible adhesion and would scratch right off. I ended up sandblasting the face of these wheels then applying epoxy before paint.

The factory wheels had lots of deep scratches from trim rings and some rust pits, so after blasting I epoxy primed, did some filler and sanding, then another coat of epoxy before paint.

[mrennie]

After final sanding of the epoxy, I sprayed the wheels with lacquer Argent that I ordered from Inline Tube. This paint is also available from Corvette Central on ebay. I made the decision to use lacquer so I could easily touch the wheels up if required in the future. I live on a gravel road and am sure they will get scuffed or nicked at some point

There is a learning curve to the the silver, too close and if messes up the metallic, too far and it sprays dry. I found it best to spray in short strokes while walking around the wheel.

After the silver I masked the wheels using a set of paper stencils I bought from PY or Ames several years ago. These went on OK, but did not match the contour of the spokes very well and I had to apply 1/8" fineline tape to get the edge where I wanted. This was a ton of extra work and I would not buy these again.

[tjs72lemans]

The vinyl adhesive inserts fit the spokes pretty good that Inline Tube sells with the paint. I would never want to tape those. I did mine this spring and they worked well.

[mrennie]

So this is where things went bad...the charcoal paint I bought from Inline Tube is very clearly advertised at metallic charcoal...the cap on the can looked correct, and I thought I was good to go.

Imagine my surprise when it came out looking nothing like the cap. I should have done a spray out card first (I know, I know, what a rookie mistake), which would have save me a ton of wasted time and work.

So...after I painted the wheel I did a spray out card and compared to the cap, it is nothing like what I expected. I emailed Inline Tube with these same pictures and was told that colour with no metallic is correct for what they are selling. WTF? Why say metallic if there is NO metallic? Why have a cap that looks correct with a completely different paint colour inside the can? I know paint caps are often "off" a bit, but this isn't even close.

Very disappointing, especially considering the cost to get this paint shipped up here...not cheap.

[mrennie]

So now what...wheels are in silver lacquer and I want the correct colour charcoal metallic in lacquer..in a spray can. This is going to be a nightmare...more time and money down the drain

Thankfully, this forum has great search results so after hours of reading I came across several old threads that mentioned a Chrysler colour being the correct shade but with too much metallic. I started looking for this and found it was actually very easy to get. I did a spray out card and while it does have more metallic than stock paint, the shade being correct was more important to me so I went with it.

Very happy with the results.

[mrennie]

Originally Posted by tjs72lemans

The vinyl adhesive inserts fit the spokes pretty good that Inline Tube sells with the paint. I would never want to tape those. I did mine this spring and they worked well.

As I was out of paper stencils, I ended up buying some black vinyl stencils from The Parts Place, these are probably the same as the ones you got from Inline Tube. I agree, they are much better, and I liked that I could stretch them while applying them around the corners where the spokes meet up with the outer band for a better fit. However, they are longer than the spoke stamping so I used a scalpel and cut them shorter to match the spoke shape. This was extra work but still much better than the paper stencils.

One other thing I noticed is that these vinyl stencils are not cut symmetrically, the left side has a different curve that the right side so every one had to be stretched to get the correct paint line (or maybe I am just too fussy )

[78w72]

wheels look good, too bad all the extra work was needed, did inline tube offer any type of help or refund? im guessing not based on my experience with them, terrible customer service when there is an issue , even when its their fault.

curious why you wanted a lacquer paint for wheels? other companies make a paint specifically for wheels, its high temp & more durable than a regular lacquer paint & is easy to touch up, the brand i used is a very good match to the charcoal & silver. after trying 2 of the common brands i went with rustoleum wheel paint as it applied much better & was a better looking color. the other was duplicolor wheel paint that was harder to apply, had dry spray issues like you mentioned & just wasnt as nice as rustoleum to spray.

i also chose to mask the wheels myself since i enjoy that kind of tedious work & have gotten very good at detailed masking like that after years of masking cars & interior home work & even models as a kid. i watched a friend use the stencils & they worked ok but as you mentioned didnt match the contours & exact edges of the spokes as good as i could get doing it by hand. i used a couple other tricks to avoid rust in the seem of the face to the outer wheel & for stopping bleed through on the edges of the spokes when doing the charcoal. i can get a couple pics of my wheels to show the colors if you or anyone is interested.

[mrennie]

Thanks.

Inline Tube was not very helpful and did not offer any satisfaction. In fact, when I tried to order some more of the Rally Argent paint in case I needed some later, they told me they couldn't ship to Canada..I said what are you talking about, I just ordered 6 cans of paints from you a month ago...but they would not budge. I ended up buying more from Corvette Central, no issues and quick shipping.

I chose lacquer over enamel due to no recoat window, and I think the silver (argent) paint looks more correct. My experience with enamel is that you need to scuff for proper adhesion after it cures, and I did not want to mess with BC/CC as I've only shot SS and my temporary paint booth was not together. One great thing about lacquer, it dries so quick I had no dust issues. I agree it is not very durable but sure looks nice!

Not a lot of choices here and my only real local option was to use the Duplicolor wheel paint but it is enamel and has even more (larger) metallic than the Chrysler lacquer does, and it is also a bit brown. I know it's somewhat foolish to be this fussy, I could have used a generic silver and charcoal wheel paint and most people wouldn't know or care, but I can't help myself sometimes LOL.

Regarding the rust issues at the seam, I think I have that solved...after I sprayed the rims with epoxy, I used a small syringe with the largest needle I could get and filled the groove between the centre and outer band with leftover epoxy. Had to do this 4 or 5 times to get it all filled in but looks pretty good and no place for rust to leach out.

The spray out cards below are Duplicolor enamel graphite wheel paint on the left and Duplicolor lacquer Chrysler AA9 touchup paint on the right.

[78w72]

doesnt surprise me about inline after my experience, i ordered some brake lines for a 72 firebird & the ends were terrible, uneven flares & actual piece of metal from the piss poor flare on the inside sealing surface, no way in heck they would have sealed, had to fight with them for a refund & they made me eat the shipping cost. also ordered a prop valve for my 72, they sent a later year style that wouldnt work, called to inform them & they didnt believe me & made me send a pic to prove it, then made me pay for return shipping & again for shipping to send the right one. they will never get my money again. ordered the brake line & 1/2" fuel line from right stuff & the ends were perfect.

lacquer makes sense for the recoat issues, but scuffing a small chip or scratch isnt a big deal on enamel. the rustoleum has a very fast dry time as well & didnt have any dust or debris issues, i painted mine outside on a calm day & moved them into the garage to dry just to be safe. i agree BC/CC is a hassle but some have better luck with a specific paint code for the color match.

i did the same for the seam but used a normal enamel primer, only needed one heavy coat & didnt fill it so much that it was visible. a good coat of primer & minimal coats of paint kept the edges & other areas like the stamping nice & sharp, i read on other threads about painting these wheels that the factory paint was very thin & thats the more correct look, but like you said i doubt 99% of people will notice fine details like that or not a perfect color match. i liked the rustoleum better than the duplicolor grey & their silver looks great.

final thing i did for added protection was to use their matte clear wheel paint, after lots of use & washes & brake dust etc the bare paint will tarnish & fade & the clear really helps to avoid that & doesnt change the silver or charcoal at all like some other silvers can when cleared.

yours turned out great.

[mrennie]

Forgot to show a picture with new tire!

[dataway]

Wonder if Inline gets their spray can paint from SEM ... I've had a couple instances lately where SEM spray paint was either mislabled, or correct paint but poorly mixed, as in not enough pigment. Probably lots of companies out there with either rushed employees or lots of trainees.

[ZeGermanHam]

Oof, that "metallic" paint from Inline Tube looks terrible. Can't believe the sell it, defend it when challenged, and don't offer any kind of opportunity to make it right with the customer (you).

Your finished wheels look like a million bucks, though. Job well done!

[tjs72lemans]

I'll have to say, I thought the cap color looked way different than the sprayed color also. But, I figured once it's got the trim ring and center cap on and mounted, most people aren't going to gaze too much or know what it's supposed to look like. I wasn't going to re-scuff, buy more paint and repaint. They looked way better than what I started with. I also had trouble with their paint wanting to spray splatter drops of paint. Shook can good, temp was good and still had issues. Both colors. Frustrating. I'm picky too! I knew I was wasting time trying to complain to them. I've been there before with them. On top of that. They sent me two extra cans of paint I didn't pay for. It was supposed to be a three can order and they sent me five. Luckily they did. Because I ended up having to use part a can I shouldn't have had. I would've really been upset not having it.

[Douglas Willinger]

Am going through the same problem, new WV 15 x 8 4 1/2 Rally IIs: the grey paint scraps right off.

Instead of sandblasting the silver powder coat (which appears to be of acceptable quality itself) off as well, can one just scrap off the grey paint, and reshoot that?

Why can't WV get the paint adhesion right?

Originally Posted by mrennie

Thought I would share my experience with painting some Rally 2 wheels.

I had 5 15x7" GM wheels and 2 15x8" Wheel Vintique wheels with custom backspacing that I wanted to paint so all would match.

The WV wheels were powder coated silver, but the charcoal they spray on the middle had terrible adhesion and would scratch right off. I ended up sandblasting the face of these wheels then applying epoxy before paint.

The factory wheels had lots of deep scratches from trim rings and some rust pits, so after blasting I epoxy primed, did some filler and sanding, then another coat of epoxy before paint.

[scott70]

I bought 4 WV rims,,,2- 15x7 and 2- 15x8. The paint in the middle easily scraped off,,,even with my fingernail. The argent silver part is powder coated ,tough and I believe the charcoal part is painted afterwards. I dont think they prepped the powder coat so the charcoal paint didnt stick and was thin. I put some hours into mine and carefully scraped off all the charcoal (bronze really) paint,,took some 180 grit paper and sanded those areas. Masked off all the silver and painted sanded areas with eastwoods charcoal grey. Then a couple of coats of eastwoods satin clear on the charcoal.. Did all that 4 times.Ughhhh. Came out pretty good though and the charcoal part is much closer to factory color than what WV sprayed on it. The pic with tire on car was before the charcoal repaint (WV charcoal) and the rim by itself was after the repaint.
Also I noticed that pontiac must of beefed up the area around the lug holes on the factory 15 inch rims. My old factory 14x7s look like my 15inch WV around the lug holes where factory 15" are built up some.

[mrennie]

Originally Posted by dataway

Wonder if Inline gets their spray can paint from SEM ... I've had a couple instances lately where SEM spray paint was either mislabled, or correct paint but poorly mixed, as in not enough pigment. Probably lots of companies out there with either rushed employees or lots of trainees.

My best guess after peeling Inline's labels off to see the label underneath, is that they are reselling "Details" paints that are made by Seymour.

I also came across a thread somewhere here that the "Details" Rally charcoal was not correct for Pontiac and had no metallic and was too dark (which is 100% true). I am speculating, but I think the metallic charcoal paint is not available and Inline is just substituting the incorrect Chevy paint. Having a metallic cap on a can of non-metallic paint is just stupid.

[mrennie]

Originally Posted by Douglas Willinger

Instead of sandblasting the silver powder coat (which appears to be of acceptable quality itself) off as well, can one just scrap off the grey paint, and reshoot that?

That would actually be much easier than sandblasting. While the charcoal paint has crappy adhesion, the powdercoated silver is insanely durable and was a real PITA to sandblast off. If you are happy with the colour of the silver I would leave it alone...

[Gordon Church]

You can't complain about the customer service at In-line........ there isn't any....

[66sprint6]

Being in Ontario, I just go down to the Canadian Tire and buy this:

High Performance Silver
High Perfromance Graphite


https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/d...7502p.html#srp

I've painted a lot of wheels with great results. Nobody's going to mistake them for factory though.