Wheel paint prep

Spot painted some dings on the Bugeye wheels. Painting in the fall. Used rattle can primer on bare spots to seal out moisture. Can I over coat-those spots and trust the adhesion, or should I wash them down and re-prime the whole wheel with real primer when the time comes? Existing paint is tight and in good shape. Never have heard an opinion on the value of spray paint in cans.

Rossco,
I would take the tires off, scuff the wheels with 3M Scotchbrite, wipe them down with prepsol, treat/remove any rust spots, prime with a good etch primer, seal, and paint/clear coat. Let them cure in the sun and then bake them in the oven to really harden the paint.
Rut

Make sure the paint and primer play nice before you paint

My mobile heat treating booth. Using the portable heater really did bake on the finish. I put up cardboard to help keep the heat focused.

I rattle-can painted my steel wheels (a couple times due to inexperience). Now I have experience....

- I stripped mine to bare metal. Chemical stripper and lots of wire-wheeling. The old paint was really stuck. The stripping was probably not required, I just wanted them to look really clean and not end up looking re-sprayed.

- PAINT IN COOL WEATHER, at least not out in the sun on a hot Texas day. I learned this the hard way. Cooler temps allow the piant to flow out for a smooth finish.

- STRICTLY OBSERVE RECOAT TIMES.
- STRICTLY OBSERVE RECOAT TIMES.
- STRICTLY OBSERVE RECOAT TIMES, if you don’t you will end up starting over.

- People have different religion about which paint brand. I think they all have puts and takes, I like rustolem. It is very tough when it finally cures. The most important thing with rustoleum is to let it cure for a week or so. You will know its is really dry when the finish is hard and slick. This usually takes at least 3 days. Some heat - as others have recommended - helps.

- Clean thoroughly before painting (mineral sprits, acetone, or alcohol) with a microfiber towel, NOT paper towels. Then don’t touch it again before painting.

- Rustoleum has a 1 hour recoat window. One hour from the start of the 1st coat. 3-4 coats about 10 minutes apart works good. 1st coat should be light, the main purpose is to provide adhesion for the subsequent heavier coats. The next coats should be heavy. Heavy coats dry slow and flow out to a smooth finish. Rattle cans have a bad reputation for a fragile finish, this is mostly due to not using enough paint. When in doubt use more coats. When you‘re finished, whatever you painted should look like it was dipped in paint.

- If you screw up something - a run or something falls on it while wet - just walk away. Wait the required long recoat time (48 hours for rustolem), sand it with 220 grit, then red scotch pad, and paint it again. A really heavy run may take a few more days to dry.

None of this is hard, the key is the discipline to not cheat, and the patience to just let it it dry (and fix and repaint after the long recoat time if needed). I learned all this the hard way, I hope it prevents someone else from repeating the same mistakes.

I don’t have any pics now, I will add some later.

Thanks to all for your input. Probably won't be baking them in the new oven. My bride of 40 years has never really bought into the mentality of the self flagellation involving little British cars. Callaway- How long did you heat each wheel in your garbage can device? Valspar canned paint laid out well and seemingly bonded to the original. David. I do anything I can to avoid using today's paint removers. Back in the day they really worked but govt. regs knocked the punch out of stuff you can buy today. I feel your pain in bench stripping wheels. A dip tank might work if they soak long enough but the cost of that much product would be painful. Thanks, guys.

I left them overnight and that was plenty. All of them at one time.