Hi All,

I've had some 14" Weller 8 spoke wheels shot blasted and zinc sprayed
and now I'd like to get some paint on them. I'm not looking for any
fancy finish (there is a bit of rust damage and it's only for my
kitcar) but because they are all hole, gullies and angles I though
subtle spraying might be better than hand painting.

For such small infrequent jobs I've often used ordinarily aerosols to
very good effect, but the Hammerite Special Metal primer (for spraying
over zinc) only comes in a tin so I thought this might be a good time
to set myself up with some small capacity spraying gear.

I have a couple of small compressors (the biggest being ~7cfm I think)
but I'm not in any rush, happy to put the paint on gently in shorter
bursts.

I think I understand gravity fed guns are more paint / air efficient
and the use of ss means the guns would be ok for water based paints
but are there some better cheaper brands out there where I might be
able to get different nozzles and/or spares if needed please?

Don't mind spending say a one off £50 for a good make over a 15 quid
cheapo but I don't have pro money to spend on this and not sure I want
second hand as I wouldn't know if it was ok or not? :-(

Daughter is also talking about having a go at airbrushing so we might
also need something that would be able to lacquer something the size
of a motorcycle tank after the airbrushing.

All the best and thanks for any advice.

T i m

p.s. And no I don't want to get them power coated as that's what was
on them previously and had fallen off in big slabs.

"T i m"  wrote in message 
news:rftq94pqsqqk89lmfdt6fuhd00il39cphe@4ax.com...
> Hi All,
>
> I've had some 14" Weller 8 spoke wheels shot blasted and zinc sprayed
> and now I'd like to get some paint on them. I'm not looking for any
> fancy finish (there is a bit of rust damage and it's only for my
> kitcar) but because they are all hole, gullies and angles I though
> subtle spraying might be better than hand painting.
>
> For such small infrequent jobs I've often used ordinarily aerosols to
> very good effect, but the Hammerite Special Metal primer (for spraying
> over zinc) only comes in a tin so I thought this might be a good time
> to set myself up with some small capacity spraying gear.
>
> I have a couple of small compressors (the biggest being ~7cfm I think)
> but I'm not in any rush, happy to put the paint on gently in shorter
> bursts.
>
> I think I understand gravity fed guns are more paint / air efficient
> and the use of ss means the guns would be ok for water based paints
> but are there some better cheaper brands out there where I might be
> able to get different nozzles and/or spares if needed please?
>
> Don't mind spending say a one off £50 for a good make over a 15 quid
> cheapo but I don't have pro money to spend on this and not sure I want
> second hand as I wouldn't know if it was ok or not? :-(
>
> Daughter is also talking about having a go at airbrushing so we might
> also need something that would be able to lacquer something the size
> of a motorcycle tank after the airbrushing.
>
> All the best and thanks for any advice.
>
> T i m
>
> p.s. And no I don't want to get them power coated as that's what was
> on them previously and had fallen off in big slabs.

Gravity feed gun, commercial (ie, lorry, tractor etc) two pack paint and an 
airfed mask. Mount the wheel on some sort of turntable as it'll make your 
life much easier. One mist coat, one quick blat of paint with the wheel 
turning steadily. Hold the gun so that the top of the spray pattern is at 
the rim of the wheel and hold that end closer to get more even coverage.

If you haven't got an airfed mask, try to get hold of cellulose paint and 
use a charcoal mask. Synthetic paint is rubbish - takes ages to harden off 
so it will come off in chunks when you fit the tyres. Or spray the wheels 
after tyres have been fitted...

On Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:24:39 +0100, "Doki"  wrote:


>> I've had some 14" Weller 8 spoke wheels shot blasted and zinc sprayed
>> and now I'd like to get some paint on them. I'm not looking for any
>> fancy finish (there is a bit of rust damage and it's only for my
>> kitcar) but because they are all hole, gullies and angles I though
>> subtle spraying might be better than hand painting.
>>
>
>Gravity feed gun, 

Ok.

>commercial (ie, lorry, tractor etc) two pack paint and an 
>airfed mask. 

And that would be ok direct onto zinc?

>Mount the wheel on some sort of turntable as it'll make your 
>life much easier. One mist coat, one quick blat of paint with the wheel 
>turning steadily. Hold the gun so that the top of the spray pattern is at 
>the rim of the wheel and hold that end closer to get more even coverage.

Yeah, I was thinking of something like that .. or hanging it from a
pulley on a loop of rope.
>
>If you haven't got an airfed mask, try to get hold of cellulose paint and 
>use a charcoal mask. 

I used to love cellulose paint, even in rattle cans. Painted all sorts
of things with it including the hulls of RC racing IC powered mono
hulls. The boats would bounce of each other at full speed  and there
was ner a mark. ;-)

>Synthetic paint is rubbish - takes ages to harden off 
>so it will come off in chunks when you fit the tyres. 

Yup. :-(

What if I was doing these outside (still sunny day etc), do you think
I would still need to be quite so specific re the mask please?

>Or spray the wheels after tyres have been fitted... 

Hmmm, as they have been zinc coated I guess that could be an option
(not having to worry about the insides). Mind you ... I normally
borrow my mates tyre fitting machine so can take it easy and make sure
nothing touches anything and is all lubed up etc. ;-)

All the best and thanks Doki ...

T i m

"T i m"  wrote in message 
news:vbh5a41pdi54dlk904a6blutu1s6krra5e@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:24:39 +0100, "Doki"  wrote:
>
>
>>> I've had some 14" Weller 8 spoke wheels shot blasted and zinc sprayed
>>> and now I'd like to get some paint on them. I'm not looking for any
>>> fancy finish (there is a bit of rust damage and it's only for my
>>> kitcar) but because they are all hole, gullies and angles I though
>>> subtle spraying might be better than hand painting.
>>>
>>
>>Gravity feed gun,
>
> Ok.

A half size gun may be helpful by the way.

>>commercial (ie, lorry, tractor etc) two pack paint and an
>>airfed mask.
>
> And that would be ok direct onto zinc?

Nope. I'd use a decent acid etch primer at least - it's very thin stuff but 
it sticks well and does a good job of protecting the metal. Again, this 
stuff takes your breath away, so you need a good charcoal mask. It doesn't, 
however, need an airfed mask. I'd not be inclined to spray a filler primer 
on wheels that I'm not over bothered about. Obviously if you're doing them 
black then perhaps you should.

>>Mount the wheel on some sort of turntable as it'll make your
>>life much easier. One mist coat, one quick blat of paint with the wheel
>>turning steadily. Hold the gun so that the top of the spray pattern is at
>>the rim of the wheel and hold that end closer to get more even coverage.
>
> Yeah, I was thinking of something like that .. or hanging it from a
> pulley on a loop of rope.

Having sprayed a few wheels (tractor wheels) I'd say a turntable arrangement 
would be the way to go. Spray the backs, let it dry and then do the fronts.

>>If you haven't got an airfed mask, try to get hold of cellulose paint and
>>use a charcoal mask.
>
> I used to love cellulose paint, even in rattle cans. Painted all sorts
> of things with it including the hulls of RC racing IC powered mono
> hulls. The boats would bounce of each other at full speed  and there
> was ner a mark. ;-)
>
>>Synthetic paint is rubbish - takes ages to harden off
>>so it will come off in chunks when you fit the tyres.
>
> Yup. :-(
>
> What if I was doing these outside (still sunny day etc), do you think
> I would still need to be quite so specific re the mask please?

The isocyanates in two pack paint are very very bad for you. Some people 
react far more badly than others, and you can end up with life long ill 
effects such as asthma. I'd be happy to do a set of wheels myself in the 
open air with a fresh half mask from 3M so long as I was far away from any 
neighbours and so on. It's your own choice.

The other option would be waterbased with a 1K clear coat, which can be 
sprayed happily with a halfmask but won't be anywheren near as durable as 
twopack. OTOH if it's a kit car and it won't get many miles then perhaps 
that's the best way.

TBH if I were you I'd go to the paint factors and ask if they can find you 
any cellulose lying around. Some paint factors somewhere will have a bit, 
and you'll only need a litre. In fact, I've just looked at ebay and there's 
still Celly available. That's definately the option I'd go for, particularly 
as that's what you're experienced with. It's not over cheap, but you'll 
struggle to buy commercial two pack under £15 a litre + VAT and you'll still 
need hardener.

On Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:41:54 +0100, "Doki"  wrote:
>
>A half size gun may be helpful by the way.

On it's way from eBay as of yesterday. ;-)
>
>>>commercial (ie, lorry, tractor etc) two pack paint and an
>>>airfed mask.
>>
>> And that would be ok direct onto zinc?
>
>Nope. I'd use a decent acid etch primer at least - it's very thin stuff but 
>it sticks well and does a good job of protecting the metal. Again, this 
>stuff takes your breath away, so you need a good charcoal mask. It doesn't, 
>however, need an airfed mask.

I've used the stuff in rattle cans to good effect. I got some for my
mate to use in his spray gun for me  (for ally wheels) and found it
was water soluble. Probably ok once the top coat was on. 

> I'd not be inclined to spray a filler primer 
>on wheels that I'm not over bothered about. 

To be fair, although they were quite rusty where the powder coat had
fallen off the longest they weren't that bad overall. I certainly
wouldn't bother filling them, this really just needs to be 'tidy' and
fairly long lasting.

>Obviously if you're doing them 
>black then perhaps you should.

Even if I was I wouldn't on this vehicle Doki ;-)
>
>> Yeah, I was thinking of something like that .. or hanging it from a
>> pulley on a loop of rope.
>
>Having sprayed a few wheels (tractor wheels) I'd say a turntable arrangement 
>would be the way to go. Spray the backs, let it dry and then do the fronts.

Ok ..
>
>>
>> What if I was doing these outside (still sunny day etc), do you think
>> I would still need to be quite so specific re the mask please?
>
>The isocyanates in two pack paint are very very bad for you. Some people 
>react far more badly than others, and you can end up with life long ill 
>effects such as asthma. 

Yeah, my mate used some recently in a motorbike shop (for the first
time) and a couple of them ended up with headaches. :-(

>I'd be happy to do a set of wheels myself in the 
>open air with a fresh half mask from 3M so long as I was far away from any 
>neighbours and so on. It's your own choice.

Understood.
>
>The other option would be waterbased with a 1K clear coat, which can be 
>sprayed happily with a halfmask but won't be anywheren near as durable as 
>twopack. OTOH if it's a kit car and it won't get many miles then perhaps 
>that's the best way.

Ok, another option then.
>
>TBH if I were you I'd go to the paint factors and ask if they can find you 
>any cellulose lying around. Some paint factors somewhere will have a bit, 
>and you'll only need a litre. In fact, I've just looked at ebay and there's 
>still Celly available. That's definately the option I'd go for, particularly 
>as that's what you're experienced with. It's not over cheap, but you'll 
>struggle to buy commercial two pack under £15 a litre + VAT and you'll still 
>need hardener.

Hey, now there's an idea. My garage mate may well still have an odd
tin of Celly at the back of his shelves .. I'll ask him tomorrow (I'm
due to be welding on her Astra in his place). I'm not even fussed re
the colour if it's not too radical ..  ;-)

All the best ..

T i m