Re-Painting "Nice" Phone Dial Rims

[OK-944]

(double-posting this here and in the painting/body work forum)

I just received a nice set of 15X7 phone dials as a second set for my ‘87NA, and after a quick bit of cleaning its pretty obvious that they’re in great shape - with what appears to be the “factory finish” nice and bright, and for the most part not dented, gouged, or scratched.

I want to repaint these rims a different color - and am wondering how to proceed with wheels that really don’t need any additional cleaning - and the factory finish has just a bit of “tooth” so my sense is that no sanding will be needed prior to repainting.

Given the above, my sense is that I should just go ahead with a final de-grease, clean, rinse, and dry - then proceed with a non-filling primer, paint, and clear coat. Does this sound about right?

[jeff968]

I would never "not sand" a surface prior to painting. You may think it looks okay and will provide enough grip for the paint but there are years of contaminants. At the very least I would hit them with a scotchbrite pad and then thoroughly clean with a wax and grease remover. Are you going to pull the tires and valve stem? What about the backs? Are you going to hit them too? You'll need to get the tire weights off. You need a good fresh surface to get the proper adhesion. IMHO. Good luck.

[OK-944]

Just the info I was looking for...thank you!

Question: about that Scotchbrite - red or green?

[jeff968]

Originally Posted by OK-944

Just the info I was looking for...thank you!

Question: about that Scotchbrite - red or green?

Either, you are looking to "scuff" the surface. Either will do the job.

[SilverLined]

Originally Posted by jeff968

Are you going to pull the tires and valve stem? What about the backs?

OK, these are valid questions from Jeff.

I'd recommend dismounting tires and pulling stems, if you're planning this process. Red or green pads will do, as they'll wear down to a finer grit as you use them. Ideally you finish sanding with a worn down pad, rather than a fresh one. Take your time scuffing everywhere, especially the rounded areas, corners, and crevices.

When I did my phone dials I started with 200, filled, sanded down to 400, filler-primed, and sanded again down to 600 wet before painting. I only did the faces, and the stems and tires were removed from the wheels. Pics are on page 3 of my restoration thread for reference.

These are difficult wheels to paint well, as they're a mixture of so many angles and surface shapes. Getting full coverage without runs is difficult... time spent scuffing, and building up light coats with adequate flash time will pay off in better paint adhesion.

[walfreyydo]

If you really want to do it right, have them sandblasted before repainting. The way the phone dials are shaped, its very difficult to get into the cracks to sand, and those are the areas where the paint will first start to peel within 6 mos. At the very least you must dismount the wheels and sand everything, preferably past the clear coat. After you repaint, use a 2K clear gloss coat to seal it up. 2K is more durable than normal clear and has UV protection (it wont "yellow" over time). Eastwood and Amazon have rattle can 2k clear. Duplicolor wheel paint as the base color before the clear works well.

[OK-944]

I've heard that bead-blasting is better than sand-blasting...something about being potentially less "destructive" to the surface.

[SeaCay]

Yes, use glass beads and not sand. Better yet would be walnut shells, but it would be very difficult to find someone to do that process.

[Dean924s]

Media blast and then powder coat. Yes it is more $$$. But it is a one and done fix.

[Dean924s]

To add to this there is a company in my area that re does wheels this way as well as fixing cracks and they true them. It was less than $150 a wheel to get the wheels done for my Merc.