1993 Wheel Paint Color

R

Roadbird

Member
I am trying to paint my wheels back to original color [as close as possible]

I understand from searching our forum that there is no paint code.

I have a very specific question and hope replies will stick to the question. For example I don't want any other color and don't want to polish or chrome them. Neither do I want to use OEM wheels from another year. Just want to paint my 93's back to the original grey color as close as possible. The previous owner painted mine flat black so I have nothing to go by whatsoever.

Haw anyone repainted their wheels as close as possible back to factory OEM grey color?

If you did. What brand of paint did you use? And what was the name of the color on the spray can?

Did it turn out good?

As an alternative, does anyone have a 93 OEM wheel that is factory OEM color they would want to sell so that I could match the color myself?

Thanks in advance.

Roadbird
 
Not so sure it was actually "grey" as it was some kind of aluminum silver color. I believe, and I may be wrong here but, the difference between the years isn't really the color as it was a clear coat in 94'-95' that the 93's didn't have. I've been staring at these wheels for quite sometime and recently had mine redone with what was actually a Corvette z06 color and seriously, you'd be hard pressed to decipher the difference with the human eye between a lot of the "silver" wheel paints.There is a rattle can wheel paint made by VHT called Ford Argent Silver. I am actually painting the backside of my wheels tomorrow with it and I can report back. I can tell you from experience, strip the wheels all the way down to bare aluminum before paint you'll end up with a much nicer finished product.
By the way, the "grey" color you may be seeing is when the "silver" has started wearing off. There is a real thick coat of white epoxy type primer on the wheels that can give the appearance of a "grey" color in some cases.
 
Thank you Adam

Please let me know how close VHT Ford Argent Silver turns out.

Can the wheels be bead blasted or I believe my guy can also do walnut shell blasting.

I will look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks again.

Roadbird
 
I actually glass beaded mine in a cabinet. And let me tell you, it was no easy task to get them down to bare alloy. The wheel guy I use says he usually sand blasts them. I had actually stripped a pair years ago with the Strip Eaze stuff in the orange can from Home Depot. You may be better off stripping first and then blast them. That white epoxy primer stuff is thick and doesn't come off easy. I'll post some pics later.
 
I done my share of glass beading the last year or so. I can tell you with glass beads, it would take you a long time to get it down to bare aluminum but it is slow and steady and safe. With that said, I would be hesitant to use a coarser media on them unless you have them powder coated. Adam is probably right with chemical stripping so you don't loose some of the aluminum and end up seeing pits under the paint. Maybe my inexperience here, but I'd proceed with caution with sand blasting. My .02
 
sstock said:
I done my share of glass beading the last year or so. I can tell you with glass beads, it would take you a long time to get it down to bare aluminum but it is slow and steady and safe. With that said, I would be hesitant to use a coarser media on them unless you have them powder coated. Adam is probably right with chemical stripping so you don't loose some of the aluminum and end up seeing pits under the paint. Maybe my inexperience here, but I'd proceed with caution with sand blasting. My .02
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Kinda what I thought too on the sand blasting. And YES, it takes a LONG time to glass bead these wheels. I'm fairly tall and it seems that glass bead cabinets are made for people under 5.5 which makes it real difficult to stand there for an hour or so per wheel hunched over maneuvering a wheels around where you want it. I did it in one wheel increments over a week or so. Better have a good compressor too to keep up. Won't be doing that again anytime soon.
By the by, it's 82% humidity here today in the arm pit of America so I will probably not be painting. I'll report back with pics when I get them done.
 
Funny you say that Adam, I was just thinking yesterday about putting my glass bead cabinet on blocks, less bending on the poor old back.
 
I've used duplicolor Ford argent silver wheel paint with their clear coat. It matched very well, I also painted my CAI with it and it looks just like the upper intake as well!
 
Diesel_brad said:
I would not even consider rattle can paint.

Either REAL automotive paint or powder coat
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I agree. No matter how good it looks initially it will always end up not looking as good or lasting as long as a professional job. Myself, I had my wheels professionally done but, just the fronts and center caps with primer on the backs. To have the backs sprayed as well would have been at a cost of an extra $50 per wheel. What I had done was $600 to begin with. With the backsides $800!!!!! I figured you don't see the back but, I still wanted to protect the raw aluminum that's why I'm spray bombing them. As far as paint versus powder coat? I choose paint for the simple fact that paint can be repaired if chipped or scratched. Powdercoat can't. You would need to strip the whole thing and do it again.

FWIW, if your looking for a "grey" type color the Ford Argent Silver is your color. I have no pics for you but, I did get two done today and it is for sure more of a "grey silver". I'll get some pics when I have full sun.
 
Just checking to make sure I do this right. Are our 1993 center caps just plain black without any emblem or other ornamentation?

I am asking because when looking for NOS center assemblies a lot of them that say 93 NOS have SVT emblems on them. But when I search our center assemblies on line they all appear to be just plain black.
 
This may show my ignorance to the capabilities of powder coat, but I have a couple questions.

As Adam explained, some of my wheel looks a white-ish grey color (epoxy underneath) while most of it looks a metallic silver color.

I always assumed once I got to the point where some refinished wheels and new tires were the capper to my resto/rejuvenation project that I'd opt for powder coat.

However, it seems like whenever I see powder coated wheels by searching online, they all appear to be grey. Like...just grey. No metallic, no fleck, no "silvery" finish to them. Not sure I like the look.

Can the silver metallic on our rims be appropriately replicated via powder coat?

Do I need to have the wheels blasted prior to powder coat or would most powder coaters rather handle all the prep? Maybe they dip or chemically strip?

I'm upgrading my compressor soon so I could probably do a serviceable job with auto grade paint (i.e. - not rattle can) provided I can properly prep....but if proper prep means hours of sanding or having to invest in blasting equipment that is more than a gravity feed gun then I'm not sure I'm game for that. Would rather farm that out.

I also take it from comments in this thread that if I pay someone to blast my wheels and they pit a little bit that powder coat will cover that or even it out?
 
My wheels were repowdercoated about 10 years ago in Oklahoma city. I don't know who did it, what "color" they used, or what the cost was. I fo know that it def is silver in color and has the metallic flake in it. I've had the truck sitting next to other gen ones and nobody including myself has ever noticed a difference in the color. My wheels look absolutely brand new. The previous owner of my truck (nloc name Merlin) had the original wheels polished and then swapped them to a guy named Kevin (nloc name O'doyle) also here on the boards. Maybe kev will pop in and say a bit more. I wish I had more info for you. Powdercoat is the way I'd go for sure.
 
Firstly, I want to thank all of you that have contributed to this thread.

Some thoughts:

If there is a very tough OEM undercoat, it would seem to me that I would not want to go deeper than that.

I have a lot of experience over the years with powder coat and chrome. Chrome ALWAYS corrodes and pits. Don't do it. Especially in the engine compartment. [Unless you like to polish all the chrome parts in your engine compartment on weekends] And some people like to do that and that is fine. Just be aware that if you don't polish the chrome parts constantly that they will corrode and pit. Maybe not so much on OEM chrome wheels but I would be very wary of chroming wheels as a DIY project.

Powder coat: I have had Mustang lower GT40 manifolds and custom differential covers powder coated. They hold up nicely EXCEPT they chip! And I used a really well respected big powder coat place in Tampa.

After these experiences my best results thereafter has been to clean and rattle can rustoleum paint on the parts! Even manifolds. Rustoleum has some really nice "hammered" texture colors. I know, a lot of you will go crazy on me. But this has been my experience over many years and I am just sharing my results.

After taking all your advice, I have decided to turn to a website that just sells refurbished wheels. $150.00 per wheel plus shipping plus tax.

I don't see myself being able to go the full DIY route for much less than this unless I just prep the wheels with Phosphoric acid and rattle can.

Only problem the website is out of them right now so I am on a waiting list for a set of four. Meanwhile, I will just wait and when I do get them I will post the results
with photos.

Thanks again for all of your input

Roadbird
 
I have used (along with a couple others) the rustoleum "hammered" paints. Specifically on the frame. I also used the high temp stuff on my engine parts! So no flaming coming from me!!! They make great stuff!
 
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