I have similar (if smaller) wheels on my '61 Midget and they had been =
painted red and were a mess when I got the car.=20
I had my tire shop dismount my old tires pull out the valve stems and I =
spent a Saturday afternoon scrubbing with steel wool, wire brushes, cats =
tongues, and anything else abrasive that came to hand until I had smooth =
bare metal. (I finished with 300 grit paper) I primed with Rustoleum =
and painted them with two light coats of an "aluminum" color Rustoleum. =
I finished the visible side of the wheel with two additional coats of =
Moss's ridiculously expensive "wheel paint" and the rest of the wheel =
with one coat of the same. =20
I have a buddy with professionally blasted and painted wheels, and he's =
jealous. Cost me about $25 and they look good two years later.
Some on the list recommend baking your wheels for a few hours in an oven =
after painting and I would have liked to try it but there's a big meat =
cleaver on the counter next to the stove, so I didn't dare. =20
Phil Vanner
-----Original Message-----
From: Cordell, Ralph PhD [SMTP:rzc4@cdc.gov]
Sent: Thursday, January 22, 1998 12:17 PM
To: 'MG submission'
Subject: Disk Wheels - MGA
I've got a new set of tires ordered for my '59 MGA 1500 and want to
restore the wheels before having them mounted. These are the disk type
- not wires. There is a place here in town that will redo them for $400
for 5 (count the spare). When I asked just what I was getting - the
fellow was rather obtuse. Atlanta Import will do them for $75 per
wheel. My local radiator shop will hot tank and sand blast them for $15
apiece. I repaint. A good part of these wheels will be covered by
hubcaps.
It sort of seems like a no-brainer (for $300+ they get dirty vs I get
dirty) but have any of you had experience refinishing wheels and am I
missing something here? I've also got a gallon can of stripeze and a
bag of coarse steel wool pads (I'm sort of tired of the skin on my hands
anyway). What sort of paint should I use if I do it myself? Are there
any tricks/pitfalls I need to be aware of? It all seems pretty
straightforward but I've a long history of being torpedoed by things
that seemed straightforward. Hints/suggestions will be appreciated.
ralph cordell
'59 MGA
'84 Turbo Regal
'87 Grand National=20
'96 Roadmonster (wife's car) =20
=20
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