Hot Rods Have you ever painted 5 spoke wheels

I bought a new set of American Racing torque thrush wheels for my '50 Ford coupe about a month ago after Moose added them to my photo and I mistakenly ordered the silver painted wheels instead of the gray finish.



I would like to paint the wheels gray similar to the photo shopped version , Have any of you ever painted this type of wheel and what did you use HRP?

 

Dupli-Color Hot Rod grey primer in the spray can should do the trick......
Then clear coat.... It's so easy to do, even I can do it and they will turn out beautiful!

 

Did a set flat black rattle can and they looked nice...taping was the hardest part

 

Painted mine with an airbrush and model railroad paint! Very little overspray, paint was permanent, still on after 10 years!

 

Here ya go HRP.....
About 7 bucks a can at Walmart.... 4 of these should do the trick....

 

I painted a set of wheels with dark gray Krylon, when I sold the van 5 or 6 years later they still looked good. I would be tempted to try one of the "cast blast" type paints due to their finish, color and texture

https://www.amazon.com/Seymour-CA16-48-Blast-Spray-Paint/dp/B000ELXWAK

 

Not sure that the paint I used is the same hue as you want but I had five spoke Fentons that were old and ratty looking so I blasted them, then taped off the "rim" and shot the spokes with Argent? wheel paint. That's been over ten years and so far they look good.

 

Don’t forget to get a deck of cards you place the cards between the wheel and the tire gives a nice edge and saves a lot of time taping. I also used rattle can on the wheels on my truck about 5 or 6 years ago no problems. Hobo Jim

 

There's a lot of ways to do it. Before you begin you want to do a simple but thorough wash. I'd have some old school windex with with ammonia, spray em well then wash that off with hot water and Dawn soap. Once dry give em a mild solvent wipe to get finger prints off. The most reliable and durable rattle can finish for me has always been Krylon. DON'T use anything that has the words "rust prevention" on it. Takes forever to dry and usually wants to lift if you have to touch up. Now you can indeed tape all the areas you don't want painted. A little time consuming and the final look will depend upon how good you are at masking. Or, if you're steady and want to be fast about it use a "shirt board"(single layer cardboard or poster board) and just gently block what you don't want painted. Yes you'll get some over spray here or there but don't fret it. Once dry take some thinner and a smooth rag and just wipe it clean. It'll come to you if you think about that for a bit. I'm fairly certain the rim area isn't coated so you won't hurt anything doing that, and frankly it might end up looking more like they did it. Easier yet? Get your favorite milk crate, mount one with a couple lugs on the front and you can spin em for complete coverage and final cleaning. 100 ways to skin that cat. Have fun...

 

Great point on the prep work Highlander.... I'd also use a scotchbrite pad on the spoke area to give them some "tooth" for the paint to stick well before washing....

 

Dang, I would hate to have to paint a brand new set of wheels. I personally like what you have better if they had the caps on em and hubs and calipers blacked out good but sounds like you have some good suggestions if you decide to go for it

 

HRP, look around for s spray can of seymour Argent. It is a cool color for 5 spokes.

 

I've been happy with the Dupli-color brand of wheel paint - might just be marketing, but it seems like they hold up to chipping better than other rattle cans I've used.

Wheels below were bead blasted before painting, as they had several other layers of paint. I used Dupli-color bronze, they also have an argent color. Car is not mine, I sold the wheels to the owner. Looks like they are holding up well!

Are the centers on your wheels painted light gray, or is it raw as-cast? Asking as I've also used a straight full strength white vinegar on aluminum rather than sanding - it will etch enough to help give the paint a good bite.

 

I don't know that I'd use a primer, as most are porous and you can get corrosion under the paint. You used to be able to get an actual 'mag wheel' paint but that's apparently no longer around. Some of the wheel manufacturers used to sell touch-up paint, but that's gone away too. But there are some 'wheel paints' in varying shades of gray; Eastwood, VHT, Duplicolor, and Rustoleum all sell some version, that's where I'd look...

 

No I haven’t, in fact I’ve stripped quite a few magnesium ones that had been.

 

I've got the caps, just haven't put them on and I do intend to pull the mags off and spray the drums & calipers flat black. HRP

 

Here's one you can have photo chopped all you want... I like to see what color you decide to go with....

 

I have and they really turned out good. It was duplicolor paint I believe, called machine aluminum, but looked exactly like the old grey that Americans had for years. It worked and looked so good I ordered a case of the paint. I will get the number off the paint case tomorrow when I'm at the shop.

 

suggest using Duplicolor self-etching primer & Wheel Coating Graphite or Bronze color depending on what you prefer - fill paper grocery bag with old rags or similar , set backside of wheel over the bag making sure that each open section between spokes is blocked off , this will prevent over spray from hitting inside of rim & easier than masking - early Torque Thrust wheels were not just gray, had a unique sort of bronze tint - used to be able to buy that but, not available for years

 

HRP,

I have used Cast Blast before and the color is awesome on American Racing Torq Thrusts.

 

A pair I did for an OT. Unsure how accurate the color is, but they look right IMO.

 

I really like that color Steve. Perfect.

 

I had a set somebody had painted black and I wanted the paint off to run them as cast, like to never have gotten that paint off! Don't know what kind of paint it was, but chemical stripper laughed at it, only loosening some of it. Wire brushes on the drill got most of it, but some proved impossible to remove. I ended up misting them with a color called cast aluminum, don't remember now what brand it was, but it matched the aluminum on the stripped areas pretty close.

 

As a professional painter you should send it prime it sand it again I prefer base coat then clear coat is just like any other metal or any other painted finish in you do the exact same steps with it I would never ever recommend painting anything with that comes in cans from Home Depot or Walmart or spray cans.

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I haven't painted any aluminum wheels in quite a while but I do remember painting the Crestline 5 spokes on my '55 Ford wagon using the "cast iron" engine paint and being very pleased with the results.

 

Now there is a wheel you don't see much of anymore!

 

For a slight bronze tint I used Rustoleum stainless steel spray can from Lowe's. VHT manifold paint is great for a dark color as is cast blast. This is the look of the Rustoleum Stainless Steel.

 

Credit where it's due y'all are getting incredible results from spray cans

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Here's a better representation of the bronze tint from the Rustoleum Stainless Steel spray can

 

Don't pull the trigger to quickly. Looks good with the silver wheels!