Painting steel rims

[ChrisM]

Evening all.

Have had a scan through this section and did not find an answer, so sorry if this has been covered before and I missed it.

What are peoples opinions on the best technique and materials to use when refurbishing a set of S steel rims or any other steels for that matter? Mine will be OEW. Probably start with a blast and general fettle of any dints. What next?

Cheers- Chris

[Benny]

I straightened any dents first, then had hem blasted and powdercoated....I couldn't be happier.

If you were averse to having them powdercoated, I'd have them blasted, then epoxy prime, then top-coat with urethane enamel.

[ChrisM]

Those look good. Mine need to be old english white, so I think i will try this industrial two pack primer then a coat of OEW. I seem to remember years back somebody in the UK got a powdercoater to do the correct shade but that was a while back.

Chris.

[Benny]

Most powdercoated a have about 30-40 standard colors on hand, and can special order 100's more. Mine has a color they call 'oyster white' that is a spot-on match for my OEW roof.

[andy1071]

Be careful with the coatings on the surfaces that the wheel-nuts seat on.

-The paint can/will crack and the wheels can come loose!
Which can cause damage to wheel, stud and wheel-nuts; -and much more if they come off!

Doesn't make for a good day out..

Leyland-Daf had problems with this many years ago, and had lots of wheels falling off.

[CooperTune]

I'm currently running a batch of reverse rims. Took awhile but I now have an even dozen. I'm working on getting spares for the three sets. I also have five 4.5 Cooper S rims and a set of 5/6 3.5 Cooper S rims. As luck would have it the 3.5s are silver and should be OEW and the 4.5s the other way around. I have a local welder tig up the rim lip if there is any damage. Seems people don't realize reverse rims should mount and dismount from the rear. I also use a old MC spoke wrench to tweek the rim lip if required. There is a powder coat that is correct for OEW. My coater orders it and keeps on hand for my jobs. Maybe I can shoot some pictures and get Benny to post them for me. Steve (CTR)

[Benny]

Maybe I can shoot some pictures and get Benny to post them for me. Steve (CTR)

Shoot 'em over. e-mail address is beneyes@yahoo.com

[Ratkiller]

Hey Benny - Who did your wheels?

[mk1]

Mini wheels were NEVER Old English white, this is one of the great myths. They were a MUCH darker cream colour, that was applied by Dunlop or whoever manufactured the wheel. It was never a "Standard" colour.

Nearly all powder coaters will have a version of "Land Rover Wheel Colour" & this is a very close match for the original shade.

My preference is to blast & powder coat, but remove the area of coating in the area immediately around the wheel nuts before fitting.

OEW, Is WAY to light for mini wheels.

M

[ChrisM]

Every day a school day....

Thanks Mark.

[abri]

Mini wheels were NEVER Old English white, this is one of the great myths. They were a MUCH darker cream colour, that was applied by Dunlop or whoever manufactured the wheel. It was never a "Standard" colour.

Nearly all powder coaters will have a version of "Land Rover Wheel Colour" & this is a very close match for the original shade.

My preference is to blast & powder coat, but remove the area of coating in the area immediately around the wheel nuts before fitting.

OEW, Is WAY to light for mini wheels.

M

This is correct in my experience as well. I recently was lucky enough to find a pair of 3.5" S rims at a flea market here in Cape Town. Underneath the badly applied and peeling gold paint both rims have a nice thick coat of paint that could only be described as "cream".

[CooperTune]

The 3.5 S wheels tend to show up in the strangest places. I have been able to collect a set of 5 for my 64 1071 S. While they would not be my choice for wheels they would be correct. My 1071 is a UK sold RHD car. It seems it was sold in UK then went to Germany before finding its way to the states. I don't normally buy RHD cars but this may become the only one in my collection. Steve (CTR)