Club 80-90 Forums

morning all, couldn't sleep so ?I thought I'd post instead.

I had my original steel wheels powder coated a couple of years ago. They were shot blasted first and then treated. A local guy did it for about about £20 per wheel i think. Well two years in and they still looking good i think:


Now then, my advice - whatever you do to your wheels please please ensure that you check and re-tighten (or re-torque to get technical) your nuts on a regular basis, especially after painting or coating. I didn't and my front near side decided to 'go its own way' ala Fleetwood Mac on the drive home from our honeymoon in cornwall - it literally scared the s@*t out of us!

The seats for the wheel bolts need to be clean and free of powder coat material (not sure about paint however). The wheel nut must sit at the correct torque and must be checked on a regular basis after re-fitting and then at regular intervals, before & after long journeys. I now carry a decent torque wrench in my van for such occassions.

ta for now

Worked at vw dealers in years ago and remember vw sending recall letters out for new cars to come back and have excess paint removed from backs of wheels where they bolted to hubs. Wheels were coming loose even when tightened properly due to them being tightened onto a "cushion" of paint between wheel and hub which due to being soft would eventually break down when driven any distance.

tonydata wrote:

Allanw wrote:Hammerite smooth Silver looks awesome. I painted my new merc steels with it, and they look like an OEM silver steel would look. It's soft-ish for a week or so after painting, so wait before fitting caps and have the tyre shop be extra careful! Once it's hard, it's HARD

Hmmmmm, another option, I think this may be what I might do, seems easy enough, and cheap...

How many cans did you use Allan? 400ml can on the bay, £8... You got a pic of the finish?

Oops - I replied to the PM, but missed the rest of this thread!

I think 2 cans is enough, but 3 is probably better - it's nice paint anyway, handy to have around! I was doing 4x 16" too, to 14's would use a bit less, but I only painted the fronts

I would post a pic, but can't access any US sites, and my pics are on a server there

Allanw wrote:

tonydata wrote:

Allanw wrote:Hammerite smooth Silver looks awesome. I painted my new merc steels with it, and they look like an OEM silver steel would look. It's soft-ish for a week or so after painting, so wait before fitting caps and have the tyre shop be extra careful! Once it's hard, it's HARD

Hmmmmm, another option, I think this may be what I might do, seems easy enough, and cheap...

How many cans did you use Allan? 400ml can on the bay, £8... You got a pic of the finish?

Oops - I replied to the PM, but missed the rest of this thread!

I think 2 cans is enough, but 3 is probably better - it's nice paint anyway, handy to have around! I was doing 4x 16" too, to 14's would use a bit less, but I only painted the fronts

I would post a pic, but can't access any US sites, and my pics are on a server there

No worries, cheers for the advice

italianjob wrote:morning all, couldn't sleep so ?I thought I'd post instead.

I had my original steel wheels powder coated a couple of years ago. They were shot blasted first and then treated. A local guy did it for about about £20 per wheel i think. Well two years in and they still looking good i think:

IMG_3142 (Medium).JPG

Now then, my advice - whatever you do to your wheels please please ensure that you check and re-tighten (or re-torque to get technical) your nuts on a regular basis, especially after painting or coating. I didn't and my front near side decided to 'go its own way' ala Fleetwood Mac on the drive home from our honeymoon in cornwall - it literally scared the s@*t out of us!

The seats for the wheel bolts need to be clean and free of powder coat material (not sure about paint however). The wheel nut must sit at the correct torque and must be checked on a regular basis after re-fitting and then at regular intervals, before & after long journeys. I now carry a decent torque wrench in my van for such occassions.

ta for now

They do look great! And yes... safety always first...

So, thought I'd do a quick update. Went with Hammerite smooth silver and masked... turned out ok I think - not showroom/concours/factory, but for 25+ year old wheels they look decent.

One thing I learnt is build up with very light coats over periods of 20 mins or so, otherwise you get paint pools and runs! Did 2 or 3 coats... probably standard spraying technique but I'm a newb to it!











Hub caps on next week once they have completely cured/dried...!

Exactly what I plan to do tony but in black.

Did you prep the wheels much? A local shotblaster said he would blast just the front if I want for £5 a wheel. Did you prep and paint the rears also?

Did you deflate the tyres to get masking tape on?

Any special paint I should go for?

If you have them shot blasted fill the joint between the rim and the nave with polyurethane sealer and smooth out with a coffee stirrer, it is hard to get the paint down in the joint especially if sprayed and stops it rusting.