Restoring original wheels

[Chris C]

Can anyone advise the best way to restore original steel wheels to give a good white finish ?

They have been hand painted with what seems like exterior gloss paint, someone has said to me they can be blasted then powder coated in white ?.

I have original hub caps that are getting a bit rusty can these be chrome dipped ?

:?: Not sure the cost of all this !

 

[froggy]

You can get the wheels sand blasted and powder coated (this requires removing tyres) so most people nitromors them and just rattle can them whatever colour they want
Think a few people have looked into re-chroming hub caps and found it worked out about the same just to buy new OG ones instead

 

[Matt84]

Hi,

I recently had mine done at:

http://www.citypowdercoating.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

sandblasted, powdercoated and laquered four wheels for £120. I'm really happy with the finish although it's pretty shiny! To be expected though I guess. I also needed four new tyres so I got them online and when I dropped the wheels off I also gave them the new tyres which they put on for me after the work and disposed of the old ones for no extra cost - bonus!

Haven't driven the bus with them on yet - I understand a lot of people think the powdercoat will chip easily - who knows, hopefully the laquer may prevent a bit of this!

 

[mattd1984]

I recently rattle can painted me. I used wilkinsons enamel white paint. Let most of the air out of the tyres first so could get some polythene stuck between the tyre and the wheel so no over spray. Rubbed them down with a bit of wet and dry then cleaned off all the dust with white spirit. The primered then a few coats of paint. I gotta say they came out awesome, well pleased. 8)

 

[A5H]

Got mine blasted and powder coated at a local powder coating place.

Less than £100 for the four, and same as Evenstar, got four new tyres put on at the same time. Well happy with them :mrgreen:

 

[junglefacejake]

That's a bargain Ash :!: were they finished to a good standard :?:

 

[moler]

I've had 2 sets of steelies powdercoated and wouldn't do any more, the problem I've found is the gap between the 2 parts of the wheel doesn't get covered properly so rust starts to peel the powdercoat off...although I'd be intertested in seeing how well the laquer has covered on Evenstars wheels, as I've not seen that before.

My local powdercoater also charges £190 pair set of wheels for blasting and coating :shock:

My plan is to blast and spray (2 pack) the next set of wheels I do, see how well that works.

 

[Trikky2]

I've had 2 sets of steelies powdercoated and wouldn't do any more, the problem I've found is the gap between the 2 parts of the wheel doesn't get covered properly so rust starts to peel the powdercoat off...

Agreed.

Everybody is going to have different opinions. Frankly I would not bother with powder coating unless it was a show vehicle - but then I learnt a long time ago that show vehicles are no fun because you cant use them :lol:

Rattle can or painting them yourself gives a finish you would have to get on your hands and knees to see the difference. I would also steer clear of blasting or paint stripping them because its hard to get fresh paint in the seams (and if you dont rust creeps out). Just rub them down thoroughly with wet and dry - no need to go to bare metal all over, just the bits that are rusty IMO. Also check the back of the wheels for rust.

 

[Doris]

the problem I've found is the gap between the 2 parts of the wheel doesn't get covered properly so rust starts to peel the powdercoat off

I over came that by running a bead of white silicone sealant in the afore mentioned gap,before the wheels even see the road - totally sealed and you can hardly see it.....

If you go down the painting route,I strongly recommend avoiding Hammerite Smoothrite products,even the spray.In my opinion & experience, they simply don't do what they say they do on the tin.As has been suggested,I got the best rattle can results from white appliance enamel spray.here is a picture of the wheel on my trailer with radiator/appliance enamel to give you an idea of the finish.....

hope this helps in your decision!! Cheers - Rob

 

[A5H]

That's a bargain Ash :!: were they finished to a good standard :?:

Yes,was very happy with them, the company generally blast and coat much larger stuff so including my wheels in a larger batch meant lower price, plus they were only 2 mins away.

I over came that by running a bead of white silicone sealant in the afore mentioned gap,before the wheels even see the road - totally sealed and you can hardly see it.....

Same here, you don't see it at all

 

[Trikky2]

Nice paint job

Doesent the silicone discolour over time?

 

[junglefacejake]

the problem I've found is the gap between the 2 parts of the wheel doesn't get covered properly so rust starts to peel the powdercoat off

If going down the painting route you can use seam sealer to bridge this gap. It is a flexible sealer much like decorators caulk only for the automotive industry used where panels meet and flex. You apply this before painting and it can be painted once dry. You would only require a very small fillet and that would be enough to prevent any water sitting in the gap and creating that dreaded orange stain :idea: If you speak to any powder coating firm there may well be a similar product that can withstand the high temperatures of the ovens as i know that they use a special high temp body filler for repairs