lazy man's deep six finish

[haycait911]

***pics of the wheels on the car posted at bottom****

I'm very lazy, and cheap! needed to refinish my deep hearts for the '66. showed something similar to this on my '73 but these look much better. media blasted them with silica sand. figured next winter I can always send them to Al Reed. this will get me thru the summer. I do like the look though. very clean and no-nonsense. will clear-coat them to prevent staining. the pics don't do them justice, in the sunshine they really sparkle. and if they get scratched, sand out the scratch, a quick blast, and clearcoat. an hour, tops. don't even need to dismount the tire.

(also makes the hearts really stand out!)

[silverc4s]

I did that same thing to a set of deep sixes on my silver 69 targa some years ago. I liked the look a lot, kind of a "hot rod" , unique touch to an other wise normal looking car.

I seem to recall getting a fair bit of abuse from the purists at the time. But I try to not let things like that sway me from my creative tendencies...

Try blasting the caps, then painting the crests. Makes the whole look kind of Pop!

[bob tilton]

Do not clear them. They look perfectly acceptable. Ck out the orange prototype R if you're on the fence.

[haycait911]

I must say I'm tempted to not clear them. they look good now and the clear tends to darken the raw aluminum. I didn't clear my others. I've found the key is to let them oxidize without getting anything on them that will stain. after a couple of weeks they're quite resistant to staining.

as for the purist viewpoint, I'm always careful not to do anything that can't be put back to original. these could easily be returned to factory finish.

[mudman]

Please make my day and tell me you used the little $15 siphon feed unit and a bag of silica sand from the hardware store... maybe I found something to do tonight.

[haycait911]

actually it was the $100 pressurized canister type, similar to this one. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=34202
and I took off most of the anodizing with easy-off first. more to save sand than anything. you could use a smaller blaster but it might take a while. I'll throw up some pics once they're on the car.

[bob tilton]

I have found mineral spirits to be the best cleaner for my scotch brite wheels so that may be useful to you as well.
I remember a set of blasted deep 6s that were clear powder coated. They looked good but lost that raw material look.
Thanks for the link to the blaster. I blasted a bunch of parts yesterday at a friend's shop. This may be a great alternative.

[FenderBender]

+1 on not clear coating them.

LONGNOSES RULE!

[haycait911]

Originally Posted by bob tilton

I have found mineral spirits to be the best cleaner for my scotch brite wheels so that may be useful to you as well.
I remember a set of blasted deep 6s that were clear powder coated. They looked good but lost that raw material look.
Thanks for the link to the blaster. I blasted a bunch of parts yesterday at a friend's shop. This may be a great alternative.

I have one of these too.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93608

very handy for small and medium parts. less waste and mess. you can fit a wheel in one, but it's not easy.

[haycait911]

pics on the car. look more 'sparkley' in person. tires are falken 205/60-15.