David Councill wrote:
"My foray into the archives was not successful so I guess I'll have to
ask
the question on what to use to paint rostyle wheels."
Here are my collection of notes on the subject. I forget where they all
came from, but I guess mostly from this list or the Spridget list (why
do the Sprites get top billing in this word combo -- just a Midget
owner asking ;-)
"Eastwood Company sells "Detail Silver", which I am told (by the guy at
the
Eastwood store) is the proper match.
Rostyle Wheels according to John Twist:
This is the method we use at University: Remove the tire, have the rim
sandblasted and powdercoated in a slightly metallic medium silver --
similar to FM 149 or TM 211 (both Duplicolor, matching 1976 Ford Grenada
Silver), then rough up the area which should be black with a Scotchbrite
pad, then paint that area with a brush in satin black enamel. We use
high gloss enamel because it looks better. Then, if you wish, coat the
entire wheel in clear (you'll need to have scuffed the whole wheel to
get it to stick).
Moss motors sells a silver wheel paint (part #220-560) for $12.95 a
can. A bit expensive, but I did all four of my rostyles with it, and
liked it so much, I didn't even bother to mask and paint in the black,
just left 'em pure silver, they look great!
Rostyle - to FM 149 or TM 211 (both Duplicolor, matching 1976 Ford
Grenada
Silver)
I used the mask and here's what I learned from my experience with it.
If yours leaked and dripped, you probably used too much of the wrong
kind of paint. The mask (and general purpose masking tape) is designed
only to stop/shield paint from getting on an area, not to "seal" an
area. You MUST use a FAST dry paint such a Krylon and use it VERY
sparingly. Rustoleum, while a high quality product for some applications
such as for painting over rust, is notoriously VERY SLOW DRY and very
runny. NOT good for THIS purpose. Krylon satin is the right black, it
ischeap, it dries fast and it adheres very well. Just a light spray to
turn it black in color is all you need. If you "soak" it, it will
certainly run and drip. After both colors are on and dry, you can then
spray canned clear lacquer (any maker) over it all without a mask and
that will even up the looks of everything, where the sheen might have
varied because you had to be so careful so as not to make it drip or
run.
However, all the above being said, I ended up not using the plastic mask
in the end because I couldn't get enough sharp detail either, even
though I pride myself as having a little bit of an artsy-fartsy flair. I
finally ended up using very narrow (less than 1/4 of an inch width)
automotive quality masking tape (it DOES seal pretty well) to mask off
the painting area. This special tape is usually identified by being blue
in color and is available in all auto paint and body supply stores. It
DID take me several hours to do the job, letting each color completely
dry in-between each color - but in the end result, once I put on the
deep dish look chrome trim rings, it was worth it. Damn near perfect and
Knock-out pretty. Made all the difference in the world. When painted
well and with the trim rings, the Rostyle wheels are very nice indeed. I
used those wheels and got many compliments for several years until they
finally started getting beat-up again. I had always wanted
Minilites anyhow so I finally broke down and bought my Minilite replicas
when I found them a couple or three years ago on a great wintertime sale
event from Victoria British (no financial interest). I like my Minilites
even better!!! - The balance easier, stay in balance better - and I
don't have to worry about painting them."
Robert Guinness
77 MGB
75 Midget (or is it Midgite?)
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