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- Thread starter Jack Meoff
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Vaanth
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AMC Diplomat
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That's a good looking R body!
Vaanth
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Thanks!
MoparDan
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AMC Diplomat
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Drum brakes are an absolute pain. i don't do them often enough to be proficient and i can't help but stare at them and think i did something wrong 
AMC Diplomat
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yup, good eye!
80mirada
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I always take a picture before I take it apart. Even with that they always look wrong to me.
volare 1977
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Your right. I always question myself if I don`t take a pic lol.
AMC Diplomat
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lol i took pics before taking it apart and i still doubted it was right. and then when i looked at it too long i began to think, maybe the last time was wrong!
Vaanth
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AMC Diplomat
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Vaanth
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Some new tires. All the wheels are Chrysler 15"x7" police wheels, part number 3766077.
Not all the wheels are black. The first five from the left are actually a dark blue pearl with blue and gold light metallic.
Not all the wheels are black. The first five from the left are actually a dark blue pearl with blue and gold light metallic.
AMC Diplomat
Well-Known Member
Did you paint them yourself? I've hoarded 6 so far, and 4 of them need to be painted. I'd be happy to hear of any tricks before i just sand them, ospho them, and paint em.
Vaanth
Well-Known Member
Yes, I painted them myself. It it easiest to deal with a bare wheel, but workable with a tire on it.
Start with a good cleaning. Remove any weights. If the surface is rough, has heavy rust, or has a lot of flaking paint, I sandblast them. I don't have a large cabinet, but I have a spot behind the shop that I just blast in the open. A stiff wire brush might be needed along the inside beads if the sand blaster can't get it. If blasting the front side, you mostly have to take it all the way down to the metal to get a smooth surface without a lot of paint pits and primer filling to do. Wire brushing with a drill or machine tool can be useful too.
Treat the metal if bare. I've used Ospho in the past. I typically use POR-15 Metal Prep. Any similar phosphoric acid based treatment can work. Evaporust, or similar, is good if you can submerge them. Or you can wet them it and cover with wetted towels too. Evaporust makes a gel too.
If not blasting, brush any rough or rust spots like where the hub caps have seated, or around lug nut holes, or removed weight spots. Scuff up paint with a Scotch Brite pad or moderate grit sandpaper. Wipe down with paint prep degreaser.
I then use epoxy primer if the wheels are bare metal, if possible. Over the epoxy, use a polyester primer. Spray can primer can work as well, especially for smaller work. I've have good luck with Rustoleum spray can automotive primer.
Wet sand as much as needed for the desired finish. Pits can be filled with spot potty to a point. Small pits, or other spots might not be noticeable in the end.
With some police wheels, I've seen more welding spatter than on a typical wheel. On the back side, it's not an issue, but can be noticeable on the front. A small sharp chisel can usually knock it off in visible areas.
For paint, I use single stage acrylic enamel with hardener. I use the same paint as the car if matching. Base/clear urethane or other could be used similarly. I have painted Rallye wheels with Mopar Performance wheel paint in spray cans, then top coated with SprayMax 2K clear spray cans with good results. Powder coating would be nice and durable, but I've never used it.
When painting, the trickiest part is getting good coverage within the curves and recesses without getting too heavy and causing runs. Take your time and use multiple lighter coats if possible. If painting with a spray gun, use a touch up gun. Have good lighting and work all the way around the wheel, because it's easy to miss a spot in wheel shadows. Paint the inside and part of the inner rim first watching for paint blowing through the slots, then the front and rest of the rim next if the wheel has no tire on it. Make sure to get the edges of the slots covered. Where the rim meets the center, due to the full contact/weld, paint puddling can occur if too heavy.
If some minor runs occur, depending on the use of the wheel, I might not worry too much, if not real noticeable. I've seen factory wheels with minor runs too.
If the wheel is bare, masking is no problem, but if painting with a tire on, I usually do the following things. If painting the back do it first, watching for blow through at the slots. Deflate the tire to allow more access to the bead edge. Set the wheel with the tire on an inverted five gallon plastic bucket or similar. To mask the tire I use a thin metal strip about four inches wide wrapped around the wheel perimeter and clamped where it meets. The strips I have were sold for this purpose and will adjust to different diameters. If you still have weights on the bead edge, there will be a little bleed onto the tire in that spot. outside the metal strip, I just use old towels to cover the tire and drape over the tread. There are other ways to mask, but this works well and is quick to set up. For the valve stem, I use a small piece of old vinyl water hose with a cap on it that fits the stem fairly well to keep the paint off, except a little right where it meets the metal.
Touch up can be done as needed with a small brush. If I have exposed weights after balancing, I'll paint them with a brush to match the wheel. You can request all weights on the inside when balancing, but sometimes the balance is not ideal if done this way.
