Hey guys,

I read through the Cleveland bulletin on wheel restoration, one thing I can't seem to find is their paint. I'm considering simplifying the whole process and just bead blasting the outward half of the wheels and hitting them with some silver automotive wheel paint. I need to replace my brake rotors anyways, so I'd have my A&P pull all three wheels.

Has anyone else done this? I've found surprisingly little information all around on this.

Its Sherwin Williams, Cleveland, OH http://www.sherwin-williams.com

Primer: P60G2, P60G10, or PSE2130-WHITE

White Topcoat: F63W13
Silver Topcoat: F63BXS58-4337
Silver Paint (brake discs): F63BXS58-4337


That’s from Section M of the Cleveland Technicians Service Guide. You can google search and find a copy; it’ll be useful for what you want to do.

Chris




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Ah ok, when I searched it previously I only found an excerpt from that document. I have it now, thanks.

Are the wheels aluminum or magnesium?

I believe most wheels were magnesium. Some were aluminum when used for special purposes such as amphib landing gear.

If you’re not sure, just dab a bit of alodine on a bare spot and leave it for a minute. If it turns golden, you’ve got aluminum; if not, they’re magnesium.

Chris


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What's the consensus on the old paint?

I've seen a lot of discussion online about bead blasting vs. chemical stripping vs. just sanding if the primer is still intact?

Any reason not to have them powder coated?

My airplane came with powder coated wheels, and it's been a very durable finish.

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I called Sherwin Williams. Total cost for the special Cleveland specific paint is about $250 because I'd have to buy a whole gallon of the primer and paint (2 part).

If a bunch of other guys at the field also needed to refinish their wheels I would probably go for it. But since I'm just going my three wheels I'm going a different route. I found that Spruce has a conversion coating, and zinc chromate primer, both small quantities. I just need to find a spray paint that is similar to the original silver color. I'll probably just use some silver wheel paint and clear coat from the auto parts store. I can do all that for less than $100 and it'll be easy to touch up.

In my opinion there would be no better way than DuPont Epoxy Primer which is chromium based, with a top coat of Imron AF-400. Both these products are expensive but very durable, and would last a long time over a bead blasted wheel.
However; I have done quite a few wheels with a rattle can of Zinc Chromate primer and silver Rustoleum. If your prep is proper, such as a chemical strip or bead blasting, and you clean the surface really well with a good pre-paint cleaner, they seem to last very well. I've attached a photo of some wheels I just did for my 205.

Ron

Those look great!

After some consideration, I'm going to go ahead and order the legit Sherwin Williams paint that Cleveland specifies.

That being said, will I really see a benefit of the $100 wash primer or can I use some standard rattle can zinc chromate primer? I'll be using Prekote conversion before priming.