painting wheel wells

[HarryL]

Hey Everyone !
Been away for awhile and have a question regarding
the painting of wheel wells. Should I just shoot them the color of the car? Is it possible to have a small coating
to prevent chipping ? Got about a month to figure it out.
Thanks Everyone,
Harry

 

[CJD]

Hey Harry,

I'm definitely no expert, but my wells were painted body color from the factory...bolts and all. Someone had added undercoating at a later date...from what I read the undercoating was never factory installed.

For my restoration, I have blasted, used an etching primer, and will then spray with a modern base/urethane clear. The result will be a million times more chip resistant than the original single color without primer. I know many don't like the clear, as it detracts from the originality...but hey...it lasts decades longer!

There are chip resistant paints that will give your wheel wells the original look and also be chip resistant, if you are concerned about rocks where you live. They are thick, so not appropriate for anything but the wells.

John

 

[mallard]

I went way overboard on the TR6 restoration, and I'm doing the same thing to the TR3. The fender wells and the rest of the bottom of the car is painted as nice as the top. It takes a few hours under the car to detail it every year. I was worried that a rock would come off the tires and put a pimple on the outside of the fender so I got some blank magnetic sign material and painted them body color and cut them to fit inside the wells. Now when a stone comes up from the road all I hear is a thud. They never move or come loose from the bottom of the car. To clean just pull them down and replace when you're done. After four years never a problem or dent.

 

[PeterK]

3M has a product called Body Schutz that is like a paint over undercoating to prevent stone chips. I was even thinking that truck bedliner (many types) could be rolled inside the fenders to prevent those pimples from rocks.

 

[Member 10617]

Avoid dirt and gravel roads.

 

[70herald]

There is a clear plastic film which is sometimes used on the fronts of cars to protect them from scratches. Almost invisible and very scratch resistant. Creatively called:
Paint protection film