Painting Fuchs - opinions?

[JackMan]

Gents and Ladies

I'm at the end of a very long project. I'm refinishing my Fuchs to a faux RSR finish. I've polished the rim and beadblasted the interior of the wheel.

(Ok, getting that done took 5 to 7 hours per wheel including removing paint and the anodization, and the crazy rim sanding process of the following grits: 120, 220, 320, 400, 600, 800, 800 wet, 1000, 1000 wet.)

Now, I'm going to paint the interior of the wheel leaving the rim and petals bare beadblasted aluminum.

Now I need input, correct me if I'm doing things wrong or if you can improve on what I'm doing.

1. I plan to mask off the areas not needing paint.
2. I'll clean the areas to be painted with lacquer thinner.
3. I'll hit those areas with a tack cloth.
4. Then I'll paint a self etching primer.
5. Then I'll paint a coat of black, rattle can.

After the black paint dries, should I scuff it with a 600 grit and apply a second coat of black paint?

Also, when is the best point to remove the tape? When the black paint is wet or dry?

Final step will be a light coating of vaseline. These are track wheels, not daily driver wheels. I don't plan to anodize the wheels because I'm sure I'll be refinishing them in a few years. Getting rid of the anodization sucks!

Thanks, pixs to follow when the project is finished. So far they look FANTASTIC!

WJ

[DanielDudley]

Sounds like a plan. When using spray cans, try misting on a tack coat, and letting it gel a little. Then you can fog on a little more until it is wet, let that tack, and fog on some more. You can get a nice build this way, by not trying to put too much on at once, but re wetting the previous coat after it gels. This will give you a good durable coating. Of course, if you get a run, back off, sand it out and respray. Light buffing between coats never hurts, and make sure the object you are painting isn't too cold, but at room temp, at 65 or better.

[JackMan]

DDudley, thanks!

[kilodawg]

Okay, I've done five of these now and have improved my process each step along the way. Here is a pic of the first one. So you can see the results are good and frankly from 2 feet you can't tell much difference between the first and the last. To answer your specific questions




1. Don't scuff the black it's not required and you don't need the paint to dry that much between coats. The best coats I've obtained have been with medium coverage not light or heavy and 10 minutes or so between coats. 2-3 coats should ensure complete coverage. Also spray from different angles and patterns to help ensure complete coverage.

2. Removing the tape can be done really at any time. I've done it after 10 minutes and after a few hours. The risk in doing it early is as much messing up the paint with your fingers or the tape falling back on the wheel as it is lifting off an edge. 20 -30 minutes should be just fine.

[JackMan]

KiloDawg, you have been a great help through this process. Thanks for the tip and the, well, moral support. I've got one hell of alot of time in these wheels, don't want to screw it up with a shoddy paint job.

Pixs to come.

wj

[kilodawg]

As long as you wait for good weather, use fresh paint and don't apply coats that are too thick you will do just fine!

[JackMan]

KiloDawg,

Any tips on taping the wheels, i.e. how do you get the tape "spacing" consistent from petal to petal?

wj

[haycait911]

watch your etch primer. most contain phosphoric acid as an etching agent. good for steel. bad for aluminum. just make sure the alum is clean and sanded immediately before painting. oxidation on aluminum can happen in 30 minutes so do a final sand and clean right before spraying.

[kilodawg]

Ah taping!

Well I can only tell you how I approached it. I think I finally developed a good process that ensured consistency on my last wheel!

First, I should tell you that for the petals I used a good 3M electrical tape because you need something that will hold curves real well. The 3M is great for that. For the rim lip you want the opposite. A tape that will more or less keep a straight line. For that I used blue painters tape. Both provide an excellent edge.

The key to keeping the pattern consistent for me (if you aren't going to make a template which I didn't) is to sight certain points on the petals for consistency and then in effect join them.

One good point is the sharp curve near the center behind the lug hole. If you are consistent there you can check it by noticing how high up the tape goes towards where the center cap fits. That sets one end of the petal.

The other is set at the opposite end at the base of the petal closest to the rim. That should be at the same height as where you mask the rim itself. A trick I used was when you have one petal set you can visually sight at an angle across the rim and use the edge of the rim where it visually "meets" (rim in the foreground petal behind it) the petal to ensure that you have masked the petal base at a consistent height and with a consistent curvature and repeat that visual orientation for the base of each petal. I hope that made sense. If you have done it right when you join each end of the petal you should see a line that that is horizontal and neither slopes up or down.

You will know how well you did when you finally make the last connection around the rim. I's not hard just be patient and if you see a drift correct it.

Another mental point to remember while doing it is that the wheels were dipped in paint so that's how a constant paint height was achieved. Just keeping that in mind while taping should help you do better job.

One last thing. I didn't use a self-etching primer just a standard light gray metal primer and the wheels are holding up great.

Hope this helps...

[89911]

I've found the most durable finish is to bead blast any area's that you want to paint. I did them once with a sanded finish and etching primer, but the paint just couln't bond to the very hard aluminum metal and chipped within a few months. I later taped, quickly bead blasted to leave a fine etched finish and painted. It has held up great for 4 + years.



These are pics of the paint that chipped soon after. You can see where the polished finish is going to be directly painted over. Unfortunately, this is the area that is very easily chipped. I taped and bead blasted, removed and cleaned, and then retaped right to the etched surface. You get good at taping after this!

[JackMan]

Wow, nice tape job!

Any tips on how you got the lines so straight and consistent from petal to petal? Did you cut the tape with a razor blade?

wj

[LuftWaffle]

I concur with Kilodawg on using vinyl tape. 3M also makes vinyl tape specifically for masking. It's a little heavier than electrical tape and comes in various widths. One trick I found when using the vinyl tape on the tight radius around the lug recess is to heat it just a bit with a heat gun. The vinyl becomes very pliable and you can stretch it to fit the contour.

John

[Zeke]

3M and others make a tape 1/4" for establishing a line. Then tape to that with the wider stuff. That's how the guys who paint flames do it.

[JackMan]

Well boys, paint is drying. Pixs later tonight.

wj

[kilodawg]

I'll be waiting

[Wil Ferch]

You might find this thread that I started useful...even if it's a bit long. Even got the famous Harvey Weidman to contribute ( what a guy...giving advice even if it cuts into his sales)

Economy RSR Fuchs finish ???