Hayes wheels - what would you do?

[jachady]

I started refinishing my wheels. Sanded down the wood and metal fellows and painted them black.

But then it came time to sand the Hayes wheels and prep them for paint. I was just going to paint them silver so they'd be uniform. But after sanding and cleaning, they are reeeeeeeeeaally shiny.

Is that how they were originally? There is a bad spot where the car sat that is a little rusty but the rest looks really good. Should I paint them silver? Is there something that matches original better? The car is a daily driver, just trying to make look a little better.

[Allan]

The rims were electro plated zinc originally. There is evidence that some were hot dip galvanised. These finished a Matt silver colour which darkened with age. The best colour match I have found is aluminised brush on paint. The brand here in Australia is Silvafrost.
Allan from down under.

[Oldav8tor]

I used a rustoleum silver paint. Holds well and looks good.

[Oldav8tor]

I used Rustoleum Silver paint - looks good and holds up well.

IMG_0975.jpg (116.97 KiB) Viewed 7568 times

[Wayne Sheldon]

If the silver paint you have is REALLY shiny? Tell us what it is, I want some some for a couple Presto-lite tanks. The silvers I had been using are no longer available (Califunny again) and what I have been getting is much more dull than what I used to get. The more dull is fine for rims, and I think looks more natural for them. Just for comparison, I have a Chevrolet rim I painted over twenty years ago, sitting outside, and it still shines!The POL tank I cleaned and painted a few years ago is almost gray, and has been mostly that way since I painted it..

[perry kete]

Rustoleum makes a "galvanoleum" spray that is a galvanized finish to it and it looks very close to hot dip galvanized when it dries. I've used it and like it but everyone has their own ideas on how something should look when finished.

[perry kete]

Some of you folks in Calif should contact those of us who live outside the no ship zone and have us send you a care package of necessary supplies.

[John kuehn]

I used Krylon aluminum. It’s sort of a dull silver color and not really bright. Looked good to me.

[Wayne Sheldon]

Hey there Dennis!
I would like to consider doing that. However, there are certain realities of today's world. One is that mailing an aerosol can or any sort of flammable paint could be a serious criminal offense for the one mailing/shipping it. Aerosol cans can under certain conditions explode if shipped by air. Carriers like UPS or Fed-Ex may be better than USPS, but there is still a risk to the sender. They can be legally sent, with proper declarations. However, with proper declarations the shipper is required by law to refuse it. Neat little catch-22.

Personally, I do not want to put anyone I consider a friend into that situation.

[Scott_Conger]

Wayne

I buy aerosol spray paint all the time and it is delivered by truck UPS or FedX. Are there additional prohibitions in California that I cannot GOOGLE? I see where California could not produce/sell high VOC paints and had a grace period to get them sold or off the rack but cannot see any prohibitions coming in via purchase.

?

[Wayne Sheldon]

I still sometimes try to order banned in Califunny products. Often I have no way of knowing something is banned until I try to order something. Up until about a year ago, I often got away with it. However, in the past year or so, Califunny has cracked down on such things. Items that Amazon used to ship to me? Instantly a note pops up saying it cannot be shipped to my address. Forget paint. I cannot even buy the same brass polish available to the rest of the world including many of the at least 48 states (Hawaii is banning some items). Household cleaners, CLR? Pool supplies? Even beauty products! (My wife wanted to try some makeup she saw discussed somewhere.) The companies that manufacture these products have to manufacture special products JUST for our stupid control freak state! (And I say "stupid" because any decent engineer can understand that many of the bannings do more harm to the environment than any good they will ever do!) And the state has tasked the shippers with the job of NOT sending it.
A private party sending something by not the USPS? I just don't want to find out the hard way.

[jachady]

For now, I'm going to leave them the factory zinc until all 4 are done and I see how they all look. I may try and find some of that brush on stuff for some touch-ups. Rustoleum has clear reflective paint that I am considering spraying over the zinc to provide some protection as well as give me a little more safety at night. Has anyone used that product? Any comments?

[Scott_Conger]

Wayne

wow

[Susanne]

Up until about a year ago, I often got away with it. However, in the past year or so, Califunny has cracked down on such things. Items that Amazon used to ship to me? Instantly a note pops up saying it cannot be shipped to my address. Forget paint. I cannot even buy the same brass polish available to the rest of the world including many of the at least 48 states (Hawaii is banning some items). Household cleaners, CLR? Pool supplies? Even beauty products!

I won't say I'd recommend doing something, um, illicit, but you may need a friend in a "normal" state to order it, then ship it to you... it's a tremendous hassle, but it may be the only way you can get normal items that someone in Califunny decided you no longer have the right to purchase... normal items that, before we gained overlords that would tell you what you could and could not spend your money on, or use, we too could get.

Part of being part of a "club" is we cah share resources and help each other out.

[Steve Jelf]

The best choice for rims is galvanizing. I had seven hot dipped eight years ago. When fresh they are shiny, and after a few years they are duller but the same color. I would not cover them with anything. My second choice would be Oklahoma chrome (Rustoleum aluminum rattle can).

Hot dip galvanized.

[Susanne]

I agree with Steve on this - when we had the rims of the 20 done, we had them hot dipped, and they turned out absolutely gorgeous... plus when they "normalized" out from super shiny, they still looked good. The silver paint, IMO, is close, but not the same...

[jachady]

I'm gonna leave them they way they are after sanding. I think they look great, almost too good compared to the rest of the car.

[Billy Vrana]

John, FYI, Oshkosh Plating Technologies zinc coated 5 rims for me for $125, about a year ago. Their located close to the EAA grounds, I sandblasted them before I took them in. Its easier to change tires, you dont have to worry about scratching the rims with the irons.

[Erik Johnson]

If all you are doing is sanding the rims and leaving them bare, you are going to have a rust problem.

Paint the inside and outside of the rim with Rustoleum oil-based brush paint.

Use a China bristle (natural bristle) brush.

Prime the entire rim - inside and outside - with rusty metal primer.

Follow with one top coat of aluminum on the inside of the rim and one or two top coats of aluminum on the outside of the rim.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Oleum- ... /100112883

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Oleum- ... /100152603

[Steve Jelf]

...Oshkosh Plating Technologies zinc coated 5 rims for me for $125...

That's not a bad price. Hot dip, or electroplate?

[Wayne Sheldon]

Susanne, When did you get the rims for your '20 done? About thirty years ago, at work, we had to custom-build special antenna mounts for an office building. The contract required hot-dip galvanize on them. So the price to do it was factored into the contract. However, the hot galvanize place did the job by the weight of what was galvanized, and they had a substantial minimum! Our custom brackets did not weigh but about a quarter of the minimum. So at work we added all sorts of used hardware and a few tools, an old water bucket I carried in the truck, a bunch of stuff. Still not near the minimum, I added about ten really rusty old T clincher rims that I had but was not using at the time. Several of them were rusty and pitted enough that I had already decided they were probably beyond using, and a couple were really BAD. But hey, the hot dip was free! The silly thing is, that about four rims I thought would be beyond use filled the pits so well and built up the edges enough that with just a little filing and cleanup, they were good to use, and ended up on my car which I ran for several years. Two of the worst ones, were still not good enough to use, but I mounted (then) 60 year old tires on them for display only! A 1930s Wards Riverside is hanging in my garage on one today! The '20s Hood Arrow is hiding in a cool dark corner of my mini-barn.
All that to say I really like hot-dip galvanize for T rims! Several years ago, I wanted to have a bunch done. When I checked, the place in an industrial area of Oakland (you probably are familiar with the area?) was long-gone. I tried finding another such service within a couple hundred miles but found nothing. I don't know if it is Califunny? Or just the economics of such a business with so little manufacturing left in the state, but I couldn't find anything.

I don't know if I really can or not, at this time I don't have any T that needs clincher rims done. But I would like to consider getting some I have done.

[Steve Jelf]

Wayne, if you Google galvanizing in california you'll find several companies.

When I had my rims hot dipped the minimum price made them about $33.50 each. The weight limit for that minimum would have allowed me to have about 60 rims done for the price if I'd had that many, which would have been under $4 each. The thing to do would be several guys getting a large batch of rims done together to lower the cost per rim for everybody.

[Billy Vrana]

Steve, I believe that it was electroplated, I missed some of the rust inside the clincher. The coating did not cover the rust, I'll be a little more careful next time,