erichill Posted December 26, 2016 Share Posted December 26, 2016 I am rebuilding a 1919 Chandler. The wood spoke wheels are solid and in great shape. But they are yellow. I am planning to sand the paint as it seems to be adhering well with virtually no chipping, so I see no reason to try to remove all the paint. What paint would you use to paint over them? I am not looking for perfection, nor am I restoring to original. I just want decent-looking wheel when I am through. Will probably go with black, but not sure at the moment. Any advice is helpful. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted December 26, 2016 Share Posted December 26, 2016 Seems like a marine paint would be best, as it's meant to be exposed to the elements and seems to be formulated well for wood. I've used Epiphanous? (I don't think that's the right spelling.) and Petit with good results. That was over existing marine paint. I worked in a wood boat shop and we never seemed to have any problems with adhesion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer09 Posted December 26, 2016 Share Posted December 26, 2016 as a guy who has used quite a few different paints in my lifetime, I agree with Auburn...................... used to paint professionally- peoples homes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyler Posted December 27, 2016 Share Posted December 27, 2016 a little bleach added to the paint will keep mold away. learned that from owning wood boats. skyler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stude Light Posted December 27, 2016 Share Posted December 27, 2016 Bleach (sodium hypochlorite) breaks down rather quickly so I doubt you would get any lasting benefits from adding bleach into your paint. Now an occasional diluted bleach wash would definately kill any mold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erichill Posted December 28, 2016 Author Share Posted December 28, 2016 Never thought about marine paint, so when time comes which is soon, I will look into sources for marine paint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Walling Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 I worked for an automotive paint supply way back when... When someone ordered Marine paint, we would mix up some enamel (DuPont or Ditzler) and instead of using the automotive label, we applied the Marine label! So much for creative labeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 There is no difference between Marine paint and high quality automotive paint. Only difference is the price. Same with "High Temp" engine enamels. Other than black and silver there is no difference whatsoever. I have ask many a person who should know, including several paint reps and none of them know of any difference whatsoever. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curti Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 On 12/28/2016 at 8:30 AM, Restorer32 said: There is no difference between Marine paint and high quality automotive paint. Only difference is the price. Same with "High Temp" engine enamels. Other than black and silver there is no difference whatsoever. I have ask many a person who should know, including several paint reps and none of them know of any difference whatsoever. Exactly , A high quality Automotive paint is as good as you are going to find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Young Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 Eric. Can you post a picture of your Chandler? I have 2 of them. Both are late 20's. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 I think the paint for wood wheels needs to be semi-pervious. If they start squeaking you can pee on them to quiet them some. A sealing paint would shed the moisture. Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curti Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 13 minutes ago, 60FlatTop said: I think the paint for wood wheels needs to be semi-pervious. If they start squeaking you can pee on them to quiet them some. A sealing paint would shed the moisture. Bernie Really, you actually piss on wheels ?? That conjures up a funny scene in my mind ., 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 That's one of those stories from the old guys around the cracker barrel. They claimed they would stop a block or two before picking their girlfriend up and swell the fellows so the car would be quiet and classy. I still don't trust things old guys tell me; and I are one. Bernie 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curti Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 1 hour ago, 60FlatTop said: That just cracked me up ! Ya, I am one of those old guys too. The kids ask my wife before they come over, if the geezer factor is hi of low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinneyhill Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 Porous paint on timber sounds pretty dumb to me. Mould spores, algae and bacteria that eat wood will get in with the moisture. Repeated damp-dry cycles along with bug growth would cause cell breakdown, hastening failure of the spokes. The paint must be water and air tight. You will need to keep an eye on the joints anyway as the wheel flexes in service and repair the paint if it cracks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stretch cab Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 I am getting ready to paint my wood wheels and I checked with the rep at SPI as to what to use. He advised me to use an epoxy primer and then top coat with whatever top coat I will be using for the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 (edited) There are a lot of opinions about how to paint wood wheels. I've done numerous sets of new wood wheels, and this is my method. Again, some might agree, some might not, but this has worked well for me. First, a competent wood wheel maker will used wood dried to less than 2% moisture, the wood is assembled, then it absorbs moisture from the air and swells, making a very tight assembly. I believe it has to get up to a normal moisture content of 14% or more to be "normal". Thus, if a brand new wheel, wait a month or more before working with it. Second, I use a marine sealant, such as West System, to seal the wood. This is a two part epoxy, and unlike Kwik Poly, gives you plenty of time to work with it. Third, an epoxy primer, also two part, such as DP-90. You can brush this on if you wish, as you still have a lot of priming and sanding to do if you want to eliminate the wood grain on the spokes. Fourth, a regular primer, you may have to prime and sand 2 or 3 times to get a very smooth surface and fill in all the grain. VERY time consuming, make a work space in front of your TV so you don't get bored silly! A lot of surface area on spokes, and every time you turn or rotate wheel you'll see a spot you missed! Finally, a quality automotive paint. If done correctly, you'll probably have 20 to 25 hours labor in each wheel. The last quote I got from a very good restoration shop, to do 4 wheels correctly, was $5000. Worth doing it yourself..... Edited December 31, 2016 by trimacar (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 We use exactly the method Trimacar describes above. Same on early wood bodied cars. The key is to totally encapsulate the wood in epoxy so it cannot absorb or release moisture. Nothing difficult about it, just very time consuming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Walling Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 (edited) I have an old set of wheels that are very dried out. I don't think that they could be used, but I wonder what one would do if they wanted to use them. My first thought would to soak them in linseed oil to swell them up, but I don't know if this would do anything. I am in the complete dark when it comes to wood care. I might want to paint them to use as an ornament in the shop. Edited December 31, 2016 by Roger Walling (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 We had a customer who took a set of wood wheels from an extremely rare 1910 car and had then sandblasted, Ripped the h*** out of the wood spokes, as you can imagine. With the help of West System Epoxy we were able to salvage the wheels and they are still on the car 20 years later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erichill Posted January 1, 2017 Author Share Posted January 1, 2017 Well, lots to think about here. Since I was not planning to remove all the existing paint (just sand smooth), I will have to test any paint I use over the old paint. May just end up using a high quality enamel paint. Again, not restoring to original or looking for perfection. Thanks for all the input Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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