Topic: Duplicolor wheel paint reviews

[DaytonGuy]

Maybe this can be one of those threads that people refer to before they decide which direction they want to go with their wheels.

For those of you who have used it.....how satisfied have you been?

It's probably a bit too late, cause I'm in the middle of painting my wheels with it, but how has it held up?  I've used etching primer, wheel paint and wheel paint clear. Do you find it to be sufficiently durable...for a spray bomb job?  I know it's not powdercoat, but I hope it's not all chipped to hell after the first season or two.  My wheels look pretty good if I do say so myself; but will I be disappointed?

Any application suggestions besides follow direction on can?

Please discuss

[verboten1]

I used it on my Porsche wheels, 3 seasons and 3 cars, they still look great!




no clear coat though, because it made the flake lay down.


maybe if i allowed it to cure, the sprayed clear i would have been better off, but i  thought it looked great with no clear

[bucky katt]

I used it on my Porsche wheels, 3 seasons and 3 cars, they still look great!




no clear coat though, because it made the flake lay down.


maybe if i allowed it to cure, the sprayed clear i would have been better off, but i  thought it looked great with no clear

i was working at hart vw when the 16v cars came out, they were about the fastest thing on the road back then.

[verboten1]

hah, nice, That one had cams, exhaust, and a 2.0 16V in it from a Passat.

was also lowered, heim joint shift linkage, all kinds of good stuff!!

[Alan F.]

I used it on my bike's wheels, they haven't hit the street yet but here's a story for you about how hard this paint is.  Bead blasted alloy wheels then 800 grit to the perimeter for a bit of shine, I masked off the shiny areas with painters tape and sprayed 2 light coats and one heavier coat as instructed.  Then I placed the wheel in a cardboard box heated with a 150 watt spotlight and covered the top with scrap cardboard, I left it there to bake for two weeks.  When I took the wheel out of there and removed the tape there were areas I could have masked better, removing the overspray...about a millimeter or so around the perimeter on both sides of the wheel took me over an hour with 400-600-800 grit sandpaper, it was pretty hard stuff.

The next wheel I did the same thing, but I only let it bake 3 or 4 days.  The overspray on that wheel came off with just my thumbnail and 800 grit paper.  I let the wheels sit for another week before I shot the duplicolor wheel clear, again two light coats and one thick coat as instructed, then I let the clear bake for two weeks also.  I think this stuff will be pretty tough on the street.

[IndyFour]

I painted a set of OEM alloy MINI Cooper wheels last summer and originally set out to do them in satin black Duplicolor.  I repaired curb rash, prepped, primed, etc....had HORRIBLE results with the duplicolor paint.  The paint would not go on evenly no matter what I did.  Tried two different batches.  One issue I kept having was that the paint would "powder" on the surface of the rim...and if I tried to give it more of a wet coat, it would run.  Someone recommended to me that if you warmed the cans up with a heat gun or a hair dryer prior to painting, I would not get the powder effect...I didn't try that mainly because I was over it at that point.  I ended up sanding them down and trying another paint.

After alot of reading, I fount VHT Polyeurethane Wheel paint.  This paint was far superior IMO.  It was so much more foolproof in application I thought and looked great.  It did take a bit longer to cure than regular old enamel, but the polyeurethane paint is supposed to be a bit more durable.  It seemed to hold up well for the time I used the wheels (they were for track summer tires and I sold them).

Not sure what color you were looking for, but I highly recomment the VHT wheel paint over the duplicolor stuff.  I will never use a duplicolor product again after that fiasco...and wasted time and $$. 

BTW I know you can get VHT from Summitracing.com  That's where I got it from.

Good luck!

[Alan F.]

I hear you IndyFour, you've really got to warm the can and keep it mixed well too, keeping the can the right distance from the part helps well too.  I dunno how humid it was for you, I was in my dry basement on a 30% humidity night with good ventilation running. 

[DaytonGuy]

I finished painting the cush hub tonight.  It was kinda humid, so I got a little fogging on the final "medium" coat of clear.  I let it sit for about 3 hours before I checked again.  The clear dried to a glass like finish.  It looks really good for an " I painted this in my basement" paint job.  I have not cured anything with heat, as the direction do not require you to do so.  I'm eager to see how they hold up when I get this bike back together.  I'll post pics after I get them laced back up.

I used the charcoal flake color...btw.

I think this is good discussion.  Keep it going if there is more to ad.

anyone have any pics of before and after and then pics after some riding time to show durability...or lack thereof?

[Alan F.]

I let them cure in an enclosed box with a hot lightbulb to keep the environment less humid than the surrounding area, the constant warm temperature was an added benefit.

No it wasn't in the instructions, but it works very well.

[DaytonGuy]

One more question for you guys...

What are your thougths on using the wheel paint for the frame and swingarm?  I'd like my wheels to match the frame.  I would do the following:

- clean/degrease frame
- sand with 240 grit
- clean again
- prep spray
- 2 coats duplicolor rust fix primer (to stop the whats left of the rust spots.  I removed as much as I could with wire wheel and scotchbrite wheel)
- 3 coats duplicolor etching primer
- 3 coats wheel paint color
- 3 coats wheel pain clear

[Alan F.]

Sounds good except for the 240 grit.  I recommend 400 grit for frame and swingarm prep, I used 240 on my swingarm and I have scratches that are so deep they show through 3 coats of epoxy paint.

[DaytonGuy]

Good to know!  It's amazing that when you can't even see the scratches, the paint will show them every time.

Thanks

[78CB750CAFE]

I have 10K + miles on my wheels I did with duplicolor engine paint and wheel clear coat and I still have people asking me who did the powdercoat
There was a LOT of prep and coats... somewhere here I did a how to with my method

[Jakoba]

I will never use a duplicolor product again after that fiasco...and wasted time and $$. 

Hate to burst you bubble there Indy and others but VHT is made/owned by Duplicolor.

Jako

[Alan F.]

I will never use a duplicolor product again after that fiasco...and wasted time and $$. 

Hate to burst you bubble there Indy and others but VHT is made/owned by Duplicolor.

Jako

Heh, Heh!

[rustrocket92]

I have 2 sets of wheels and tires for my car ( summer set + winter set ) the winter wheels were just stock aluminum wheels that the clear coat was coming off of. I cleaned them up real good and sprayed them with duplicolor charcoal wheel paint and they have held up very well and they see pretty bad weather.