Painting Fuchs

[toddu]

I know this has been discussed 1000 times on the board, but I have a specific question. Wurth Satin and Rustoleum #7777 is mentioned a lot, but what I'm wondering is if there is any shine to it? I haven't seen original Fuchs in good enough condition to determine. I just polished the lips of my Fuchs, so not sure what to do with on the centers. Don't want them too glossy, but don't want them "flat" either.

Todd

[Canada Kev]

Both paints you mention are a satin with a subtle lustre or glow, not glossy. And not flat.

[toddu]

This much of a lustre -



(stolen from Cars for Sale forum)

Todd

[DRACO A5OG]

Oh my very pretty I likee

[kerthunk]

That pic looks more like a semigloss to me rather than a satin. If you get 2 cans of the rustoleum satin (#7777) and another of the semigloss, then you should have enough to hit up all 4 wheels with the satin. If it doesn't look right to you, then you can hit it with a couple of light coats of the semigloss.

[toddu]

Wet sand afterwards? I never seem to NOT get orange peel from a rattle can....

Todd

[kerthunk]

I didn't need to wet sand when I did mine. I just cleaned them up really well using soap and water then a paint stripper. Then I taped the edges with electrical tape to make nice lines and wrapped the rest in blue painter's tape. I had some extra (throw away) lug nuts sitting around, so when I went to paint each wheel, I would place the lug nuts into position so that it would prevent paint from getting into the lug seats (important step!).

Quite often, the orange peel comes from not laying down enough paint in the coat. You may want to get an extra can of paint and practice painting something so that you get used to laying down the correct amount of paint in each coat.

[arbita1]

Not the best photos I know, but all I have right now. I used the Rustoleum 7777 (Satin Black). I also have polished lips. It's not shiny, but not completely flat either. I think it matches the stock finish very well.

I wet sanded after each application.

[Gerziebaker]

I had mine painted at the same time as my car. The body shop painted the lug seats. Why is this a no no? Should I sand the paint out of them?

[kerthunk]

Paint in the lug seats can mess with the torque of the lug nuts. If it were me, I would probably figure out a way to get the paint of there...but I'm pretty darned anal.

There are a bunch of threads about this if you do a search. Here is one:

Fusch Refurbishing Advice needed.

[toddu]

There should also be no paint on the backside where it mates up with the hub. Same reasoning. I used the lug-nut-wrapped-in-foil method. Well, I am using that method. Only gotten around to primer so far.

Todd

[Oh Haha]

I'm painting mine this weekend. I plan to use the "wrap the lugnuts" method.

[sabeo.m]

#7777

[toddu]

Hmmm..... tough decision. Almost want a little more sheen than the satin I think. Maybe to match the black metal trim on the car (which seems slightly more sheeny). Hard to tell on a monitor though.

Another thing I've had trouble determining (although it's too late now) since each Fuch I look at seems to be different. How high up on the lip does the black go, if that makes sense. For example, the above wheel is all the way up to where the lip begins. I've seen examples where it's only to the edge of where the little "channel" starts (so, close to the edge of the petal), and I've seen where it's about halfway up the straight part that exists between the "channel" and the lip (so, sort of the J before the lip starts to slant out/up). And the line is almost never straight, guess it's the way the factory "dipped" them?

Todd

[DG624]

Nobody has mentioned primer...I think the paint lasts longer with a primer base. I like Wurth.

[vas930]

[drola]

i can't say anything about wurth as i've never used it.
but i did use 7777 when i redid my fuchs and i don't have a single complaint.

[toddu]

Overall I'm pretty pleased. I would like just a bit more gloss due to the polish, but it really matches the rest of the black trim on the car (I opted for #7777, mainly because I had a can of it lying around that I tried on a center cap for comparison, then bought new). I need to clean up the polish now from the masking job, but I think it looks pretty good. Now just 3 more to go




Todd

[Oh Haha]

looks good Todd.

Mine are done and back on the car. I'm heading for a drive and to get some shots of the new look. The suspension hasn't settle down after being on jack stands so it's sitting a tad high.

[sabeo.m]

Looks good