I've got a steel wheel that i've cleaned the rust off with phosphoric acid. The rim is stripped to the bare metal in places, but still has the factory oe ford paint in other places where the metal was not rusted underneath.
The tire is currently dismounted from the rim. So not only would the outside exterior of the rim be painted, but also the inside flange where the tire bead normally sits too.
What's a good paint for rims that can be applied from a rattle can?
I had tried using rustoleum enamel spray paint on car rims before, but this stuff chips off really easy.
Has anyone tried the VHT polyurethane wheel paint that summit racing sells?
i had seen por15 in spray cans. this stuff is very chip resistant on things like floor sheetmetal and car frames.
but i'm not sure how it would hold up on a rim that rotates at high speeds or if it would affect the wheel's spin balance. i'm also not sure if it would come out smooth enough to get a good air seal in the rim flange area where the tire bead sits.
here are some pits in the flange area. these pits only had light surface rust in them and the metal immediately beside the pits was not corroded, so it appears that some sort of mechanical wear went on here. likely small stones or sand got wedged in between the rubber tire and the metal rim and then the car got driven for long distances.
sparvar makes and excellent rattlecan. i use the semi flat on alot of stuff part # is S117 i know you can buy it at a sherwin williams automotive paint store, should be available at any paint store. it has a very nice sheen and is tough, also it sprays very evenly.i used it on the bottom of my last toy even after a day of thrashing on it still in great shape
First off that phosphoric acid will mess you up ,I only use ospho,and it cant be used over any painted surface..So all the paint will have to come off which is easy to do with some paint stripper.Then apply the ospho with a scuff pad and let dry,scuff and shoot an epoxy primer over that then any urethane paint will do, but if your using rattle cans your really wasting your time.
The trick to doing wheels is to mount the tire but make sure its not touching the bead, (no air) this way all you do is fill it with air when your done and you wont scratch or chip it putting the tire on.If you want it to last you'll have to use a gun and get a pint of urethane ,black is pretty cheap...
Try spraying some rattle can paint where the old paint has gotten phosphoric acid on it and see what happens.
it seems doubtful that i'll ever find rattle can paint as durable as the oem ford stuff they applied during manufacture in the late 1990's. the rim didn't appear to be galvanized, but i'm guessing the paint was probably baked on. with the original paint, wheel weights will make little scratches around where you slide the weight, but the paint will not come off in sheets like the rustoleum rattle can stuff. the same goes for when you slide a tire mounting spoon or hubcap clips across the wheel, you just get little scratches with no paint flaking.
being a relatively recent car, i can still purchase new oem rims for the vehicle from ford as a service part. they aren't obsolete yet.
with the naval jelly stuff, i noticed that sometimes the paint lifts up around where the phosphoric acid is applied. in other areas, the paint stays firmly attached to the metal and won't come off easily.
that phosporic acid also bleaches colors out of clothing. so wear old wornout clothes when you're playing with this stuff.
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