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What is the recommended paint to use for repainting 65 Rocker panel moldings?


Seafoam65

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The rocker panel moldings on my 65 are in beautiful shape as far as the aluminum but they were all chipped

up on the painted areas. I have stripped them with solvent down to bare aluminum. They look very nice in bare aluminum but

they don't look correct. The original paint looked like either faded black or dark grey. Was the original finish black or dark grey?

What aerosol paint is everybody using that best duplicates the original finish? Also, what is the easiest way to leave the ribs bare

aluminum while painting the rest of the moldings? I'm thinking that perhaps wiping off the ribs with solvent on a rag while the paint is

still wet would work best. What have you guys found that works best for this job? Thanks for your help!

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Guest clamshells
The rocker panel moldings on my 65 are in beautiful shape as far as the aluminum but they were all chipped

up on the painted areas. I have stripped them with solvent down to bare aluminum. They look very nice in bare aluminum but

they don't look correct. The original paint looked like either faded black or dark grey. Was the original finish black or dark grey?

What aerosol paint is everybody using that best duplicates the original finish? Also, what is the easiest way to leave the ribs bare

aluminum while painting the rest of the moldings? I'm thinking that perhaps wiping off the ribs with solvent on a rag while the paint is

still wet would work best. What have you guys found that works best for this job? Thanks for your help!

Rule #1 match the paint before stripping.

I painted the rockers on my 66 using the wet wipe method. Paint on a cool day and work fast with a the rag tight around your finger. Before you shoot the rockers run a rag down each rib to assure no burrs catch fibers in the cloth.

There is no 100% correct color (I have 3 sets of rockers one a dark silver, one a dark charcoal and one has almost a brown in the dark gray). You could match the clam recesses eventually painting them too.

A good color for the rockers is Dark Argent Gray I had the color made at a local auto paint supply then made into rattle cans. The Dark Argent Gray is a General Motors wheel/trim color used for decades.

Good luck.

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Guest Im4darush

I had a 71 gran sport a few years back and was faced with the same question on the red stripes on the rocker moldings. After a few attempts at painting them, I found the best and easiest approach was pin striping tape. Sold in every color imaginable, and a wide variety of widths. All you do is lay the tape down between the ribs and you are done. Looks perfect and no need to mess with paint.

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I had a 71 gran sport a few years back and was faced with the same question on the red stripes on the rocker moldings. After a few attempts at painting them, I found the best and easiest approach was pin striping tape. Sold in every color imaginable, and a wide variety of widths. All you do is lay the tape down between the ribs and you are done. Looks perfect and no need to mess with paint.

I like your idea with the tape as I suspect it would be a lot more chip resistant than the paint. I doubt that paint gets very good adhesion on that slick

aluminum. I will definitely consider that approach.

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The aluminum rocker panels on second generation Riviera are probably very similar, and the original finish was a black anodize which faded with time and exposure to road grime, UV exposure over the years. That is probably the reason why you can find many colour variations in the surviving rocker panel mouldings from the various years.

I had the original rockers on my '68 powder coated with a flat black paint finish that very closely resembled the original black anodized finish found on the originals.

They have stood the test of time quite well over the past 25+ years, and still look just as good as new !!

I would strongly recommend going to a painted finish to match the original look - besides once those rockers are mounted down low on the car, you hardly see them.

The paint finish is also very easy to repair, if need be, from stone chips, shoe scuff marks or any road rash you might incur in your travels.

A rattle can is probably another one of man's best friends !!

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Guest clamshells
Am I correct in assuming that the dark argent gray has no metallic in it....just a solid color?

Yes it is metallic you can have it made without the flakes, go black or any dark gray just not gloss black.

The rockers on our cars are multiple pieces I don't think anything other painting the recesses is going look worth a hoot, especially on a near perfect car.

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Seafoam65 - for lack of a real name.

From what I've been able to tell having looked at many of these cars, I think that the color between the ribs in the rocker moldings should probably match the color between the ribs in your headlight covers which is probably the same color as your wheel inserts. Stick with a uniform color for everything and you'll be much happier. (I'll be willing to wager* that that's the way it came from the factory.)

Ed

* Perhaps a dollar to a donut.

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Seafoam65 - for lack of a real name.

From what I've been able to tell having looked at many of these cars, I think that the color between the ribs in the rocker moldings should probably match the color between the ribs in your headlight covers which is probably the same color as your wheel inserts. Stick with a uniform color for everything and you'll be much happier. (I'll be willing to wager* that that's the way it came from the factory.)

Ed

* Perhaps a dollar to a donut.

Ed, my wheels are all original and the background on them is light gray, much lighter than the color on the rocker moldings was.

Here is a pic of one of my wheels......

post-102001-143142633539_thumb.jpg

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Ed, one other thing.....the original owner installed these wheels on the car in 1967 and they came off of a buddy's 1964 Wildcat. Do

you think that the background paint on the 64 model wheels is different than the 65's?

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When I read post #9 and saw the picture, the first thought I had was that those were '64 Wildcat wheels. Then I read the next thread and "hey" I was right. :) If you're an ROA member, there's a chart on the identification of Riviera Formula Five (rally) wheels. The 64's were light grey, the 65's were darker grey, and the '66 - 70's were black. There were four different wheels in use between 64 and 70, (64's , 65's, and two styles of wheels for the 66 - 70's - one for drum brakes and one for disk brakes) and a fifth style for the 73 - 78's. The chart includes part numbers when applicable, center cap hole diameter, backspacing, whether or not they have a register ring, and some other data.

Find the thread on three shades of gray and read more about wheel color.

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I used Cast Blast on my rockers, clam shells and wheels to have them uniform. The Cast Blast is metallic, covers nicely and is available at your local auto parts store. After cleaning and then wiping them down with Prep Sol, I used 1/8 inch pin striping tape on the ribs. That takes a while to tape everything and I removed the tape while the paint was still tacky to make sure the paint would not lift with tape. I also used the pin striping tape to get a clean edge on the chrome when painting the wheels. I put masking tape over the pin striping tape and then covered the wheels with paper.

Good luck on which ever route you choose.

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When I read post #9 and saw the picture, the first thought I had was that those were '64 Wildcat wheels. Then I read the next thread and "hey" I was right. :) If you're an ROA member, there's a chart on the identification of Riviera Formula Five (rally) wheels. The 64's were light grey, the 65's were darker grey, and the '66 - 70's were black. There were four different wheels in use between 64 and 70, (64's , 65's, and two styles of wheels for the 66 - 70's - one for drum brakes and one for disk brakes) and a fifth style for the 73 - 78's. The chart includes part numbers when applicable, center cap hole diameter, backspacing, whether or not they have a register ring, and some other data.

Find the thread on three shades of gray and read more about wheel color.

Ed you are the man! Thanks for your help. I will be repainting the wheel centers on the car dark grey when I get time. I do belong to the ROA..........I assume the wheel chart is on their website?

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Guest Im4darush

Im also in this boat. Currently the wheels on my 65 have black centers. My car is bamboo cream with no rocker moldings so going to the gray would be easier and correct for 65. Question is...would it look worse than black on a yellow car.

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I used Cast Blast on my rockers, clam shells and wheels to have them uniform. The Cast Blast is metallic, covers nicely and is available at your local auto parts store. After cleaning and then wiping them down with Prep Sol, I used 1/8 inch pin striping tape on the ribs. That takes a while to tape everything and I removed the tape while the paint was still tacky to make sure the paint would not lift with tape. I also used the pin striping tape to get a clean edge on the chrome when painting the wheels. I put masking tape over the pin striping tape and then covered the wheels with paper.

Good luck on which ever route you choose.

I painted a couple of pairs of aftermarket finned aluminum valve covers but I didn't mask off the fins. I painted the entire cover, then when the paint was tacky, I took a paper shop towel (the wife's kitchen towels aren't heavy enough) and wrapped a single layer around the edge of a body putty spreader. I soaked the paper towel in lacquer thinner then dragged the towel across the tops of the fins. The paint comes off the fins and stays down in the valleys where it's not touched by the thinner. Pretty quick.

Ed

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The paint & wipe method is problematic because you're removing paint from only the top surface, when you should be removing paint from the other two rib surfaces also, or at least from the outer & upper (most visible) surfaces. In other words, the entire rib should be chrome, with just the valley painted. I found it fairly easy, although painstakingly time consuming, to mask and paint. Get some 1" blue tape, a box of razor blades, and a six-pack and go to town. Have someone lock you in a well lit room and order them not to let you out until you're done. Carefully mask along the upper surface, fold the tape around the rib and score it along the underside of the rib, then run the razor along the underside. If you're working with a clean, undamaged rib and a sharp blade, your cut should be clean enough to use on the next rib....if not flip the tape over and use the other "factory" edge. Next, you can haggle over shades of grey till the cows come home, but IMO Krylon and Rustoleum satin black look great and are both excellent products......p.s. My 65 is a dark silver/grey so the original grey on the rockers,clams,wheels, & grille gave the car a "washed out" look. That effect may not happen on a light colored Riv. Peace & love! Drew

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The `65 rocker moldings are dark grey just like the accent paint between the ribs on the clamshells. There were no other factory variations that I am aware of.

The `64 Wildcat wheels should be metallic silver in the webs. Your wheels look like primer gray in the picture but that just may be particular to the picture.

The `64 wheels are metallic silver

The `65 thru `67 and1/2 wheels are dark charcoal grey.

The `67 and 1/2 thru `70 wheels are black.

Hope this helps,

Tom Mooney

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Drew,

I've also used the paint and swipe method on the ribbed housings for the power seat and power windows. It takes a really keen eye to tell the difference. The nice thing about painting everything but the top surface is that the dark paint camouflages any small pits or dings; only the smooth top finish is reflective. Unless you're looking at them through a microscope, I seriously doubt if anyone can tell the difference. Personally, I like my Edelbrock finned aluminum valve covers painted with only the tops of the fins showing the polished aluminum. Same goes for valley covers and spark plug covers.

post-50017-143142634807_thumb.jpg

Tom,

In the article by James Brothers on the ROA's website, he lists wheel code 802 as a 66 - 67 wheel and wheel code 853 as a 67 - 70 wheel. The code 802 wheel is not compatible with disk brakes, and the code 853 wheel is compatible with the disk brakes. My question: Were both wheels available for the entire '67 production year or was it a mid year change (as I take by your post referring to 67-1/2 wheels.) If there was a mid year change does that mean that only later production '67's were available with disk brakes?

Ed

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Drew,

I've also used the paint and swipe method on the ribbed housings for the power seat and power windows. It takes a really keen eye to tell the difference. The nice thing about painting everything but the top surface is that the dark paint camouflages any small pits or dings; only the smooth top finish is reflective. Unless you're looking at them through a microscope, I seriously doubt if anyone can tell the difference. Personally, I like my Edelbrock finned aluminum valve covers painted with only the tops of the fins showing the polished aluminum. Same goes for valley covers and spark plug covers.

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Tom,

In the article by James Brothers on the ROA's website, he lists wheel code 802 as a 66 - 67 wheel and wheel code 853 as a 67 - 70 wheel. The code 802 wheel is not compatible with disk brakes, and the code 853 wheel is compatible with the disk brakes. My question: Were both wheels available for the entire '67 production year or was it a mid year change (as I take by your post referring to 67-1/2 wheels.) If there was a mid year change does that mean that only later production '67's were available with disk brakes?

Ed

t

Yes, it was a mid year change. Initially, the disc brakes were not available with the chrome wheels as a combination but at some point the chrome wheels became available with disc brakes after the disc brake option was introduced.

Tom

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Guest clamshells

Pictures are deceiving, note the contrast post-98889-143142635609_thumb.jpg on the swatch far right matches primer gray almost dead on.

Here is as correct a 65 wheel web color/shade (as close it gets) next to (again 50 years as correct as it gets) rocker trim post-98889-143142635627_thumb.jpg

The rocker trim is far from black post-98889-143142635664_thumb.jpg

I'd like to see Dick's Bamboo GS and Paul's Bamboo GS wheel colors as I am pretty sure Paul's are black and looks great with the black vinyl top.

Edited by clamshells (see edit history)
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The color you choose depends on your objective. Do you want it to have a "certain look" or do you want it to be correct? If you going for a look, paint them any color you desire. If you want it to be correct for judging, or whatever, you'll want to paint them the darker gray. Your choice.

Or you could do as they did on a mid 70's Riviera and paint the webs to match the interior of the car. There were white exterior w/ red interior Rivieras produced that had red paint in the webs.

Ed

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The color you choose depends on your objective. Do you want it to have a "certain look" or do you want it to be correct? If you going for a look, paint them any color you desire. If you want it to be correct for judging, or whatever, you'll want to paint them the darker gray. Your choice.

Or you could do as they did on a mid 70's Riviera and paint the webs to match the interior of the car. There were white exterior w/ red interior Rivieras produced that had red paint in the webs.

Ed

Ed, since my car is a low mileage stocker I'm going with dark grey paint on the rockers and the wheels, although it pains me to

paint over the very nice original paint on the wheels that have been on it since 67. Thanks to everyone for all the great input!

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