Background #
Well, depending on whether you attended one of the MG Club of St. Louis tech sessions that John Mangles has held on this, this may, or may not be new information on doing a RoStyle Wheel Rehab or refurbishment. Still, with show season in full swing, and our own All British Car & Cycle show soon upon us I thought this might be useful to cover as I have been able to successfully reproduce John’s method a couple of times now.
Step by Step #
Step 1 – Clean, Clean, Clean #
Get ‘em clean. Assuming they are not in too bad shape to start with a clean with some simple green or other grease/oil remover is a must. You can then use a scotch brite pad or similar to scuff up the surface a bit to give the new paint something to grab onto. Finally you may also want to wipe them down with paint thinner or something to get them really clean.
Step 2 – Black Paint #
Black paint. I used semi-gloss Rustoleum but full gloss would probably work too. You can make this your own look really. Spray the insets which are black and don’t worry about getting black on the bits which will be ultimately silver.
Step 3 – Masking Black Painted Areas #
Once the black has dried having applied a couple of coats, you’re ready to start masking up the black areas. Use wide masking tape and leave enough flex in it to cover up the finger piece as well. Press down and use a finger nail to help outline the black section.
Even if you managed to get the edges marked quite well, go ahead and trace around the outline of the black area with a fine ball point pen. This will make the next phase much easier.
Step 4 – Trim Masking Tape #
Now you’re ready to trim and remove the masking tape that is not covering up the back area of the wheel. Use a razor blade or sharp craft knife to cut around the outline you made with the pen and then remove the excess masking tape. If you have a rip or other problem just add masking tape and repeat the prior steps as necessary
Step 5 – Remove Masking Tape #
Be very careful as you peel away the masking tape and pay attention to the finger that indents towards the center of the wheel. This can be a bit tricky to get to lay flat and to get a clean cut around. Just take your time and re-mask and repeat earlier steps if necessary.
Step 6 – Apply Silver (Dull Aluminum) Paint #
You can get the official silver color from Moss or simply use something similar. I have used, as John does, “Dull Aluminum” and Krylon has this color. Sometimes hard to find but Overland Hardware usually has it. Before spraying the silver, cover the valve stem with a piece of hose or tape it up. Also you may want to use some cardboard around the rim to keep paint off the tire (or be more careful and have some paint thinner handy for quick removal).
Step 7 – Remove Remaining Masking Tape & Touch Ups #
Once the silver is dried you can start to remove the masking tape and hopefully you’ll have a fairly nice result. However, it’s likely that some of your edges may not be as sharp as you would like. If you experience this you may want to spray some black paint into a large bottle cap or similar and use a small artist brush to touch up any places where the silver may bleed through or the masking wasn’t quite as sharp as needed. Here I have done some black paint touch up around the finger to get a slightly sharper edge and remove some silver bleed though. You need a steady hand and a fine brush.
Other Materials #
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