A million paint and body questions

[Bob Brugge]

Hi All, This will be more interactive than most posts. I love to paint, always have. I want to learn how to paint a car. Thats where the million questions come in, but we will get to them.

I am currently painting all of my mostly rusty chrome semi gloss black. I have my bumper and head light rings done and they look great. I just did a rim and it looks great, but...

I intend to paint my hubcaps black as well. I am thinking of masking off the vw logo and leaving it chrome for just a little pop. I used a decent sealer primer after sanding the rust down to shiny metal, then I doused it liberally with wax and tar remover, then wiped it down again after it dried. Then I shot both sides of the rim with high heat engine semi gloss black. Since the brakes generate heat, I hope it will be tough enough. The problem is how easy the paint is to scratch. I put maybe 5 coats of black over three coats of primer sealer and the lugs still scored the paint. Will heat from the brakes cure the paint and make it more durable?

My concern is that the hubcaps are going to scratch the fudge out of my new paint. I put two extra heavy coats on the bumps that keep the hubcaps on. Thinking about seeing if I can find those clear plastic circles they use to tape small boxes together.

I know epoxy paint would give me a more durable finish but I lack the tools and experience to not screw that up

What are my options?
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Keep on Dubbin'!

[ZENVWDRIVER]

... am no expert, but have been painting my VWs for going on 50 years - here's our '54. I painted it in 2013... wheels are Kraylon gloss black and the chrome hub caps were painted with some off. off brand gloss black synthetic enamell, same as the whole car, 3 coats and, to date the paint is holdin' up well.

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5/50, pastel green 11G - SOLD
8/50, gray 11A Beetle
6/52, pastel green 11C - SOLD
11/4/52, black Zwitter - SOLD to my little bro.
1954 Porsche, pre A, with VW 36 horse- SOLD
1/54, black 11C Beetle - TRADED
2/55 Iceland green Beetle, on a 1965 pan
3/55 113 Beetle, stratos silver
1955 Messerschmitt KR175 - SOLD, sadly
1960 single cab
1962 SO33, with SO 42 interior
9/63 Pacific blue, Ghia
'87 Toyota MR2
'02 WestFORDia E-150, GAVE TO OUR SON

All super-heroes, wear a MASK

[theKbStockpiler]

If the rims are in good condition it would be worth it to powder coat them.
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My beetle is not competing with your beetle. I have the yellow beetle in my town. There is a red one, a green one ......
Use all safety devices including a mask.

[jspbtown]

One of your issues is that you are using non-catalyzed paint. It will never be as tough as a two part paint.

Secondly.....when you grind metal together there is nothing in the world really that will prevent it from scraping the finish off. Certain things like powder coating is more durable....but at the end of the day you are grinding metal together..

[ZENVWDRIVER]

[ZENVWDRIVER]

[74 Thing]

Did you spray an epoxy primer first? Google epoxy primer for chrome. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dPce2Wjshw

A two part paint would be better. You can get them in rattle cans (Spraymax), but they are not cheap at 25 per can and you must use a good breathing and safety protection.

A cheap rattle can enamel will only do so much.

[ZENVWDRIVER]

[jspbtown]

[74 Thing]

Cheap ass and paint quality usually are not a match.

Single stage black is still used today on some new cars.

[ZENVWDRIVER]