Painting steelies

[bigherb]

It was a rattle can, satin chrome IIRC.

[what2do]

Even better - no brush marks. Can you remember the approximate cost of the tins? Thanks, mitch.

[itchyfeet]

Halfrauds 500ml cans are about £8
One cans enough for the four, its what i did mine with

[what2do]

Never thought to inspect yours Paul. Have they held up ok?

[itchyfeet]

Never thought to inspect yours Paul. Have they held up ok?

Yes did them a few years ago, were looking dull with a few rust spots last year so did them again

Easy to do with the tyres on, get a piece of thin card ( beer box type) and make a small tube with selotape to go over the valve

Next get another piece of card say300mmx200mm and place it over the rim, rub an inprint of the rim onto the card and cutout the curve, hold the card against tyre tyre while you spray, move it around as you go, no messing about with masking tape

got to take the wheels off or you paint the drums is the hardest part

[what2do]

Tyres are removed, thus, no masking to do. Will rustoleum give me a better finish and rustproofing? Choices, choices.

[itchyfeet]

Tyres are removed, thus, no masking to do. Will rustoleum give me a better finish and rustproofing? Choices, choices.

Yes i know the point was you can easily repaint later so just get on with it

rattle can gets my vote

[what2do]

Waiting for the weather to improve as I had to quickly erect an awning to cover the wheels from showers just after I'd primed them.

Quite fancy sealing with polyurethane, are any of the products available from any of the chInstores?

[fairwynds]

@fairwynds, any chance of some pics as they are now. Interested to see how they've 'aged'? Cheers.

Will do soonest. They go dull grey, bit like scaffold poles, but I have full wheel trims so no matter. I guess you could lacquer them somehow when they were freshly galvanised?

[what2do]

@bigherb, what sealant did you use?

[fairwynds]

@fairwynds, any chance of some pics as they are now. Interested to see how they've 'aged'? Cheers.

Hi, What2d, sorry for delay in getting this posted, took pic a while back then completely forgot to do anything with it!
This shows the condition of the galvanising after approx 3-4 years. I wash them off once every year when I service the brakes but apart from that, maintenance free. Think I mentioned before, I use a 'full' wheel hubcap, so the wheel is not as visible as those who choose the standard centre caps. I did try those several years ago but became a bit frustrated with quality and care issues. Not everyone's cup of tea, but very much fit and forget!
I did wonder if I had lacquered them when new, how they would look now. They certainly spruce up with a Brillo pad, that's for sure!

[discipleofsketch]

I've done two sets with smooth black hammerite - first set with a rattle can, took one and a half cans, second time with a brush. No primer, just removed rust with a wire brush drill attachment. I think the brushed ones look better, the paint goes on thicker and hides the imperfections better I think. I doubt I will win any competitions with either set

[what2do]

@fairwynds, any chance of some pics as they are now. Interested to see how they've 'aged'? Cheers.

Hi, What2d, sorry for delay in getting this posted, took pic a while back then completely forgot to do anything with it!
This shows the condition of the galvanising after approx 3-4 years. I wash them off once every year when I service the brakes but apart from that, maintenance free. Think I mentioned before, I use a 'full' wheel hubcap, so the wheel is not as visible as those who choose the standard centre caps. I did try those several years ago but became a bit frustrated with quality and care issues. Not everyone's cup of tea, but very much fit and forget!
I did wonder if I had lacquered them when new, how they would look now. They certainly spruce up with a Brillo pad, that's for sure!

They look better than I imagined after such a timespan. Not likely to deteriorate any time soon either with them being galv.

[discipleofsketch]

I've done two sets with smooth black hammerite - first set with a rattle can, took one and a half cans, second time with a brush. No primer, just removed rust with a wire brush drill attachment. I think the brushed ones look better, the paint goes on thicker and hides the imperfections better I think. I doubt I will win any competitions with either set

Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I took a photo of my smooth hammerite brush-painted steelies, showing the finish - you really can't see brush marks, it goes on thick and evens itself out. There are a couple of runs on some of the wheels, but that's just because I was careless!

[what2do]

I did mine with the smooth hammerite this morning. 1 coat didn't barely cover in places but I was planning on 2 coats anyway. A fairly decent finish so far, by the time the hub caps are on there won't be much that is visible anyway. Just need to get the trims that sit around the outer edge and I'll be done - not forgetting that I need some winter tyres to go on them!!