Painting Wheels
Richard Donahue
I've seen it done without taking the tires off and don't want to have the RV
in the shop just for painting the wheels.
Thanks,
--
Richard Donahue
EBS & DakotaMade.com
http://www.DakotaMade.com
wi...@epix.net
<rdon...@cam-walnet.com> writes:
> I need to paint the wheels on my Ford. Is it okay to paint over the
>lugs?
Yes, but it looks tacky to do that. But you give me a good excuse to
drag out my annual rant as follows:
--- On Thu, 30 Oct 1997 08:08:23 -0500 (EST) ELJ...@aol.com wrote:
>When we put chrome wheel liners on our rigs to make them
>look better, the problem [valve stem access] is amplified.
With deference to those who think technical matters are beneath
their dignity, it seem to be time for me to make my periodic pitch
for naked wheels:
1) "Appearance" is cited as the #1 reason for wheel covers, and I
submit that the "chrome wheel liners" (actually most are SS) seem
to be the most highly favored. But isn't this a form of self-
deception? The ONLY actual appearance DIFFERENCE between a wheel
liner and a clean wheel is that the liner is shinier but obvious
fake. And funny thing: I regularly get favorable comments about the
appearance of my painted wheels.
2) Wheel covers often rattle and fall off to litter the roadside.
3) The ones that do not rattle and/or fall off are the ones
secured by a variety of cumbersome gadgets requiring time
and/or tools to get 'em off.
4) Whether or not really difficult to remove, they encourage
neglect of air pressure and lug bolt tightness checks.
5) They not only conceal rust but encourage it by scratching the
paint where they contact the rim.
6) Many types interfere with brake cooling.
7) The beehive style often found on class C's is exposed to curb
damage, which of course makes 'em so ugly I am astonished people
don't get the message that they make the rig look BAD.
8) Some can actually rotate and cut the vlave stem, or damage same
when being installed by a ham-fisted mechanic.
===========================================
HAVING RANTED that much, here is the Will-approved system of wheel
care. It will take half a day the first time, less thereafter:
a) Remove the wheels and clean them thoroughly, using a wire brush
to get rid of the rust and loose paint. Wipe the wheel with a rag
dampened with paint thinner to get rid of any oily residues.
b) Make a mask from a piece of aluminum flashing 3-4" wide and at
least 4 feet long (or something like it) and form it into a
semi-circle such that it will rest on the tire just outside the rim.
c) Paint the wheel with a good spray primer and then a finish coat of
any desired color. My wife is a quilter with exquisite taste in
colors and she assures me that "chrome/aluminum" is the best
for our rig.
[if you're a real appearance fanatic, take the bare wheels
to a paint shop doing powder coating... almost glass-like
appearance and very durable. Too much hassle & expense for
me, but. . . then Alcoa wheels would be GREAT if not so
expensive]
d) While the wheels are drying, clean up and paint the lug nuts and
the hub area a contrasting color. My decorating consultant sez black
is beautiful. Our GM rigs have a clamp ring which gets painted
black too.
e) Put stuff back together and grin. Take pictures.
f) Nothing good lasts forever, so you may find you need/want to
touch up after a year or two. Repeat the process when you rotate
tires or as needed.
Hey, this may not be important to some of you... but in 40 years of
rv travel we have had far more trouble with wheels and tires with
wheel covers on than we've EVER had since we started discarding
them. We once lost a wheel off a trailer (failed to check the lug
nuts) and three or more times (yeh, we learn slow) suffered tire
damage that in hindsight was probably related to neglect of a very
slow leak. Twice that I can remember a wheel cover rotated and
caused a flat directly.
----------------------------------------------
The Kindly Curmudgeon of Sill Hill
W F (Will) Sill KD3XR Tunkhannock PA 10/30/97
==============================================
". . . whether He is a sinner or not I don't know. One
thing I do know. I was blind, and now I see." John 9:25
John Davies
<wi...@epix.net> wrote in message
news:NEWTNews.93152...@epix.net...
> With deference to those who think technical matters are beneath
> their dignity, it seem to be time for me to make my periodic pitch
> for naked wheels:
>
I have been driving an 84 Suburban with "naked wheels" for years and years
after I decided those flat OEM wheel covers were just plain tacky looking.
Mine are appliance white with black hubs and they look fine. I have to
repaint once in a while, but alloy wheels would have cost many $hundreds and
I can buy a lot of spray paint for that.
You can get special "wheel paint" in arosol cans at the auto parts store. It
is supposed to be rock resistant, but I use plain old enamel. What really
wreaks havok on a nice painted wheel is when the @sshole at the local tire
store uses his zip gun to remove the lugnuts and one of them gets away from
him at several hundred rpm and dances around on your paint for a couple of
seconds. That _really_ ticks me off, and I have chewed out more than one
poor tech for being so inconsiderate. Usually I do all the rotaing myself to
avoid that problem
John Davies
Bob Clerc
>
> <rdon...@cam-walnet.com> writes:
>
> > I need to paint the wheels on my Ford. Is it okay to paint over the
> >lugs?
>
> Yes, but it looks tacky to do that.
You converted me to naked wheels about a year ago, but the lug nut thing
has me puzzled. Seems that if you paint lugs nuts separately as you
described in the snipped portion, that you will remove some of the paint
when you put the tire wrench to them.
While painting the lug nuts while the wheels are mounted and the lug
nuts in place does not necessarily make a very jazzy look, it has one
advantage. If the lug nuts are painted while in place with the same
application, any movement of the lug nuts--loosening--in immediately
apparent with even a quick visual inspection.
--
Bob Clerc mailto:kerpl...@earthlink.net In the Mountains of Central
NM
BoA#1252 BU#4618 SKP#44893 FMCA#85268 GS#204497 RVClub#R-Char-00134
SMART#7666 C2C RPI TTN 35.06.870N/106.22.894W ICQ32415701
bill horne
In 42 years of driving cars, trucks, vans, and pulling TT's, I've never
had a properly tightened lug nut loosen. Is this a common problem with
particular types of vehicles?
--
bill
Theory don't mean squat if it don't work.
wi...@epix.net
<kerpl...@earthlink.net> writes:
> You converted me to naked wheels about a year ago, but the lug nut
>thing has me puzzled. Seems that if you paint lugs nuts separately as
>you described in the snipped portion, that you will remove some of
>the paint when you put the tire wrench to them.
>
> While painting the lug nuts while the wheels are mounted and the lug
> nuts in place does not necessarily make a very jazzy look, it has
> one advantage. If the lug nuts are painted while in place with the
> same application, any movement of the lug nuts--loosening--in
> immediately apparent with even a quick visual inspection.
You make some good points, Bob, and I will not say you're wrong.
Some reasons why I like my approach a little better:
1) We like the looks of contrasting (black) lug nuts & clamp rings
on the aluminum/silver wheels. We find the wrench damage to the paint
is minimal and easily touched up manually if/when desired.
2) It's much easier to do a good job of painting the wheels when they
are removed. We feel the hidden side of the wheels oughta be kept
clean and rust-free too, and you have to remove the wheels to to that.
3) Likewise the hub needs to be kept rust-free, so we paint the
exposed portions thereof.
Either way the naked wheel approach has benefits, IMO. The crowd that
feels tin covers are cool probably doesn't understand .. . but from
my perspective they are a tacky way of sweeping a lot of issues under
the rug.
Will KD3XR
wi...@epix.net
<who...@mail.dodge.public.lib.ga.us> writes:
> In 42 years of driving cars, trucks, vans, and pulling TT's, I've
>never had a properly tightened lug nut loosen. Is this a common
>problem with particular types of vehicles?
Common? Nope.
Serious when it happens, yes. The operative word is 'properly'.
The offset type of wheel common on motorhomes is most likely to work
loose - and most likely to do so when new. There are, IMO, three
reasons to make sure the wheel lugs are checked several times during
the first few hundred miles on a new vehicle (only one of which is
unique to that wheel type):
1) Assemblers tend to be careless, and correct tightening takes more
time than some are willing to give. (The warning labels are an
attempt to pass the buck to the buyer)
2) The new parts tend to give a little under stress and there's a risk
that parts like the wheel studs will pull down a bit under this
stress.
3) Offset wheels (for dual use) depend heavily on lug tightness, and
will fail very quickly if they get loose.
We lost a wheel off a trailer once. That was enough.
Will KD3XR
bill horne
>
> <who...@mail.dodge.public.lib.ga.us> writes:
>
> > In 42 years of driving cars, trucks, vans, and pulling TT's, I've
> >never had a properly tightened lug nut loosen. Is this a common
> >problem with particular types of vehicles?
>
> Common? Nope.
>
> Serious when it happens, yes. The operative word is 'properly'.
>
> The offset type of wheel common on motorhomes is most likely to work
> loose - and most likely to do so when new.
>
Thanks - I'll continue to not worry about it, then. Any wheel that comes
off of anything I own gets torqued, or retorqued, by me, and I don't
have any high offset wheels on anything.
Joseph E. O'Melia
snip-----------------------------
> 1) Assemblers tend to be careless, and correct tightening takes more
> time than some are willing to give. (The warning labels are an
> attempt to pass the buck to the buyer)
>
After the first season when I went to pack the trailer bearing, I found that
the grease cap on one of the trailer wheels was missing. The cheap plastic
hub cover had kept the krud out and the bearing was ok, but those fancy
cover are stored now for the next owner, so I can check if the bearing are
running hot.
Joe O'Melia
Clearfield PA
"... traveled the same road as many ..."
Rednip
Most people know that they must properly store/attach/tie down any object
on the outside of the RV; and that if anything flies off and
injures/damages anybody/anything, that they are responsible. But,
somehow, most people forget about wheels.
In the Toronto area, about 4-5 years ago, in a space of four months, we
had multiple instances of transport trailer tire/wheel assemblies breaking
off and crushing cars, resulting in multiple deaths and serious injuries.
The trucks were traveling over 60 MPH, often the wheel would bounce over
the dividing fence, and collide with a vehicle traveling over 60 MPH in
the opposite direction. The tire/wheel assembly weighs over 100 pounds so
the kinetic energy at impact must be huge. In one case it hit the front
passenger side, crushing the roof and instantly killing the front person
and seriously injuring the rear passenger. The driver survived with some
broken bones.
Typically the accident investigators would find missing/loose nuts and/or
broken studs on other wheels of the same vehicle. Examination of the
deadly wheel revealed studs that must have been cracked/broken for a
lengthy time before total failure of all studs; they could not prove that
nuts were loose or missing previous to failure. The burden of proof was
on the prosecution if they laid any serious charges suitable to the death
causing incident
In each occurrence the companies accepted no responsibility; the tire
installers denied responsibility; the truck drivers denied
responsibility. Apparently, in the real world, no one is responsible
for the mechanical fitness of tractors/trailers; because everyone that
common sense would point to, pointed their finger at someone else, and
confused the situation enough that the government couldn't prosecute
anyone. (other than very minor charges such as not performing the
mandatory walk around inspection)
It was pathetic when the government would announce the cause of a recent
tire death, reassure everyone that the situation was OK; and then
another death would occur within a week.
Finally, the gov. could not withstand the public outrage anymore. They
made the job of changing/installing commercial truck tires one that
required a certificate ( the course is less than one week) and required
record keeping that (supposedly) would prevent the "weasel, pass the buck"
avoidance of responsibility.
The same forces and stresses are at work on every tire/wheel. One
significant difference between RV's and tractor trailers is that the
latter often exceed 80,000 miles per year. But, it could happen to you if
you don't inspect/maintain your tires/wheels properly.
Rednip
wi...@epix.net wrote:
> <who...@mail.dodge.public.lib.ga.us> writes:
>
> > In 42 years of driving cars, trucks, vans, and pulling TT's, I've
> >never had a properly tightened lug nut loosen. Is this a common
> >problem with particular types of vehicles?
>
> Common? Nope.
>
> Serious when it happens, yes. The operative word is 'properly'.
>
> The offset type of wheel common on motorhomes is most likely to work
> loose - and most likely to do so when new. There are, IMO, three
> reasons to make sure the wheel lugs are checked several times during
> the first few hundred miles on a new vehicle (only one of which is
> unique to that wheel type):
>
> 1) Assemblers tend to be careless, and correct tightening takes more
> time than some are willing to give. (The warning labels are an
> attempt to pass the buck to the buyer)
>
-BradD-
(stainless steel), but it makes it hard to check the air pressure on the
dual tires, it's a pain to check the torque on the lugs. I was wondering if
someone made a chrome ring (19.5" rim) that would dress up painted rims
(i.e. paint them to match the strips). Kinda like GM used to do on the
steel wheels on SS models of cars. I can't seem to find any rings, just
full coverage covers like I have now.
--
- BradD -
*Remove (nojunk) to reply*
Bob Clerc <kerpl...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:37896A65...@earthlink.net...
> wi...@epix.net wrote:
> >
> > <rdon...@cam-walnet.com> writes:
> >
> > > I need to paint the wheels on my Ford. Is it okay to paint over the
> > >lugs?
> >
> > Yes, but it looks tacky to do that.
>
> You converted me to naked wheels about a year ago, but the lug nut thing
> has me puzzled. Seems that if you paint lugs nuts separately as you
> described in the snipped portion, that you will remove some of the paint
> when you put the tire wrench to them.
>
> While painting the lug nuts while the wheels are mounted and the lug
> nuts in place does not necessarily make a very jazzy look, it has one
> advantage. If the lug nuts are painted while in place with the same
> application, any movement of the lug nuts--loosening--in immediately
> apparent with even a quick visual inspection.
>
>