rally wheels

[Lynn Morgan]

Can somesone tell me the correct way to paint 1975 rally wheels? Is the back of the wheel primer or paint? What Color? Any info would be appreciated.

[ken girven]

Re: rally wheels

I just painted the ralley wheels for my 69 and they were originally flat black on the inside and a bluish/green sliver on the out side. Supposedly they were originally painted black fisrt at the factory and then the silver paint for the outside was applied. This means there will be some overspray onto the black side of the rim. I got my paint from Quanta.

Kenny-69 conv 350/350 4 spd with a/c

[Joe L.]

Re: rally wheels

Rally wheels were originally painted Argent Silver on the front side and semi-gloss black(not primer) on the rear side. On 1968-70 models the Argent Silver had a very slight greenish hue. Reproduction paint specialized for both types of Argent Silver and the rear side semi-gloss black is available from Quanta Products at 410-658-5700. I have used this paint and it is excellent. I will mention, though, that I believe that many 68-70 Corvettes originally used a shade of silver considerably darker than Argent Silver. Nevertheless, by 1975 the Argent Silver currently available from Quanta is a near exact match.

As far as actual painting goes, here's what I recommend: first, thoroughly clean the wheels. At a minimum, roughen the surface of existing paint with steel wool or fine grit sandpaper. Clean the wheels again with grease/wax remover. Clean the wheels again with grease/wax remover(yes, twice). Spray the back of the wheels with the Quanta semi-gloss black formulated for this purpose. Let the wheels dry thoroughly. Apply a second coat, as needed. Usually it will be needed.

Originally, when the Argent Silver was applied to the front of the wheels, the center hole, lug nut holes, and rally wheel slots were not masked. Therefore, argent silver "spray-through" is seen on the black-painted rear portion of the wheels. If you want your wheels to be "original", do it this way. It's also the easiest since you avoid all the complicated and time-consuming masking; that's why the factory did it this way. I didn't want mine to be THAT "original" so I masked them. After thorough drying, apply a second coat, as needed. Don't worry about painting runs if you want your wheels to be "original"; many original wheels evidence runs. I didn't want my wheels to be THAT "original", either. Even though there were plenty of runs in my original wheel paint.

As a last step, I recommend placing the wheels face-up, outdoors in the heat of the summer sun to help cure the paint. Leave them out there for as long as you can.