Does anyone know what the best paint is for wire wheels? I have factory black paint on my '35 Master wire wheels and I would like to keep them black.
Thanks

Powder coat would be the paint of choice.

My personal choice was enamel. Makes it easy to touch up the inevitable chips you will get.

Previous threads have also mentioned the sequence of painting and mounting tires. I found it best to prime the bare wheel, mount the tire and tube and mask them completely. Then paint the wheels and inflate the tires. That way the paint on the rim doesn't get damaged as it would if you painted the wheel and later mounted the tire.

That's how I mounted the tires on my car and it worked great!

mine are powder coated. I mounted the tires without any tools, just lots of dishwashing liquid. no damage at all

When I had my first '33 about 53 years ago with help from my Dad, I got a big galvanized wash tub, put water and sodium hydroxide (draino) in it, put a electric heater under the tub to warm up the water and put a wire wheel into the tub overnight. By the next morning there was not a speck of paint on the wheel and it was ready for paint after drying. Don't know if this helps but just thought I'd put in my two bits. Gene

I use enamel. When powder coat goes bad it is real tough to get things ready to redo or paint. You about have to burn it off - not good for the wheel.

Joe,
I used Enamel to paint the wheels on my 33 and then used lots of liquid soap to get the tires and tubes on. Did not scratch up the edges but was very careful.

John

Hi Joe,

The first thing I restored on my 1933 coupe back in 1965 was the wire wheels. They gave me the inspiration to get the rest of the car finished. I took them to a sandblast place and had them blasted and painted with red oxide primer. I brought them home and after some tedious hand sanding, I painted them using Krylon from a spray can. They lasted more than 25 years with only a few rock chips. Then I sanded them again and used the same paint only a closer to original color than the first time.

That was nearly 20 years ago and they are still presentable. There is still not a trace of rust to be found after nearly 45 years.
I'm going to try powder coat on my next set. Ask me again in 20 years.

Roger

Thank you all for your insight and your experienced advice.

Joe, Just remember to check into the quality of work of your local powder coater. I've had 3 experiences with powder coating and all have not lived up to my expectations. This work was on Corvette rally wheels and I can't imagine what my 34's spoke rims would have looked like if I had them done in the same manor.

Just my opinion, stick with good old primer and paint.