I want to paint my chrome trim, engine grill, and wheels black. I have a quart of black single stage for my rockers and the stripes I am going to put on the car. But I was wondering what I should use on the engine grill and trim and wheels.

Rustoleum seems to be pretty strong, and is flatter then the single stage that I bought. I don't want my grill and wheels to be super glossy, the trim I am not as sure of. Also, wet sanding on wheels and the grill could be a pain, and Rustoleum is self leveling.

Zach

I realize some may cringe at the thought, but I painted my double grille engine lid rustoleum satin black (spray bombs) and it has held up great.

I also painted a set of cookie cutter wheels with the same paint and it also holds up well.

The rustoleum is quick and dirty method for me to spray a few parts without making too much of a mess and keeps me from having to clean out a gun.



I don't care too much for painted trim, but I would investigate powder coating for chip resistance.

I forgot about powder coating, I'll have to look into the costs. I have had good results with rustoleum, and E figure if it chips it is really easy to Fix.

Something that I have had good results with: KBS coatings rust paint
It's a POR-15 type product and the finish is incredible (slapped on with a cheap brush and it still looked better than a lot of other paint I have seen)
I believe they have it in a semi-gloss black

Are you talking shake and spray Rustoleum?

I find the Duplicolor Truck and Van paint to be superior; you can even color sand it (and it doesn't take forever to dry like Rustoleum). There is both a satin black and low gloss black available.

Andys

Yup, I am talking about good old shake and spray, $5 a can, find it at every hardware store Rustoleum semigloss black.

I figure if it can make my deck furniture look good, even with my fat ass sitting on it, it should do well enough for trim and grills, which would not get much wear, and it cheap enough that I could just respray the wheels as needed.

I guess my question now is do I want my trim to have single stage shine, or semi-gloss shine.

Zach

As a veteran "cheapskate".. I agree that a can of Duplicolor is better stuff than Rustoleum. It's only a few buck more a can, and doesn't chip anywhere as easily. It seems to be a tougher paint.

Thanks for the tip, I'll keep my eyes out for it.

Zach

Make sure the Duplicolor paint you use is AUTOMOTIVE grade. Kragen & Pep Boys has it. The run of the mill stuff is not nearly as good. Another very tough S&S paint finish, though fewer color selections, is Engine enamel.

Zach I powder coated my dads engine lid mesh and owuld highly recommend thta process as it will last MUCH longer and look MUCH better. However if cost is a problem...... I used a black called "cat blck" it is probably about a 70% gloss and looks very good for a semi resto to resto job. If you want a more ...sinister look use MATTE black. It's the shiznizzle

I tried some Dupli-Color High Performance Wheel Coating that was on the bottom shelf at my FLAPS on some rusty old steel wheels on a beater pickup a few years back. Held up great and looked good.

The can even says "track tested" so you are covered there.

Zach,
I'm thinking of doing the same thing after my Olympic Blue repaint.
Anybody had any luck with powder coating or painting sail trim???

If you try to paint the sail trim, be sure to sand it and shoot it with an Etching primer first, otherwise, it won't stick to it and flake off the first car wash or so.

Are there black trim pieces available??

Not that I know of.

Terry,

powder coating can only be done on parts that can be put into an oven. the dry powder paint is applied to the surface utilizing a static charge, then the parts are carefully (so as not to knock off the paint) placed in an oven and heated until the powder melts and fuses with the surface and 'each other'.

Trim can be powder coated without any problem, It's just like coating any other metal. Sandblast or sand, out-gas, coat and bake.

:hijack: Good timing as I was just thinking about this. I plan on painting my future bus with a roller and rustoleum.
Some questions:
- Does the Dupli-color come in pnt, qt, or gallon sizes, or only spray?
- Would it be better than rustoleum? I figure the rustoleum is rust resistant and can hold up to weather and abuse. The only concern I have is the first time I fill the gas tank and a little gets on the new paint...

Yes, I am cheap, but this should work well form the research that I have done and it should be fairly inexpensive and easy.

Throw your stones now....
end hijack

No stone throwing here. I was really close to painting my 914 with the "$50 paint job" but I did not like the colors of paint I could get.

If you are going to do it, I'd stick with the known quantity - rustoleum.

If I ever got a m715, it will end up being John Deere green. I just could not do that to my 914.

Zach

Right, because the John Deere or Hunter greens they have are not nearly as "Barney and friends" as your Conda green

FYI, you can get flattening agent to convert your single stage to semi-gloss or flat. Dulled single stage is a lot tougher than spraycan paint. Test it first, spray a test panel or two with different amounts added to your mixed paint to be sure you're getting exactly the sheen that you want.
Try to paint all of the pieces that you want to have that finish at one time. I painted some parts on a warm day (in the shade) and some the next day when it was overcast, and they looked totally different even though I mixed it to exactly the same proportions.