Antonio Piromalli Home and Art

Why scour vintage auto salvage yards for classic car rims with which to enhance your classic motor vehicle. Why not paint your own tire rims? This used to be the guise of only the professionals. Now as an amateur you can accomplish a professionally appearing job.

First things first you will need paint with which to paint your own rims. Duplicator is the first choice. Duplicator will offer you a full range of painting colors to match your style whether it comes in the ranges of classic silver, white or gunmetal.

Choose your color first. Of course you may have already purchased paint. Alternatively you may be lucky enough to find your color factory prepared – in which case the work is done already for you. As well the ever important cost factor may be less.

Many vintage vehicles will empty the pockets of a succession of owners before being completed as a final project. It is often quoted that many vintage vehicles will go through a succession of an average of 3 avid classic auto enthusiasts before completion.

The initial step in the process is to sand down your rims giving the surface a rough texture. This roughing of the metal surface of the tire rims is done in order that the paint has something solid and substantial to adhere and stick to firmly. It’s your choice about how much metal you wish to remove and abrade which of course depends on the condition of the rims, in terms of the quality of the original metal, its thickness and depth, and as well of course the current condition and quality of the metal of your auto rims. As a working material you can choose 300 grit sandpaper. Of course it all comes down to personal preference and expertise which in many cases goes back to our very training and mentors in our individual craft. Generally as long as the metal rims have had no major damage along their lifetimes and you sand evenly, the surface should be more than adequate for the paint to adhere to properly.

Now that you have passed the two steps of purchasing your paint product as well as sanding and preparing your rims you are now off to the races – or on the way for preparation for your next classic auto meet. It is most essential that the surfaces are clear of any residual sanding dust. This step is often glossed over. Its good enough is the standard line. Down the road you may find that paint will “flake” off your carefully laid project of wheel customization. Be more than perfectly sure that the surface is totally clean of sanding dust. Clean that wheel one more time just to be sure.

My rims are masked with newspaper and standard auto body shop masking tape. Obviously you do not want to turn your tires into the very colors that you are painting your rims with. You would not want white or classic silver colors sprayed onto your tires. It is the experience of many professional Autobody paint shops that spray from other auto painting jobs can accidentally make its way over amazing distances. In addition ensure that the lip has been masked off well. Carefully apply your masking tape on the “lip” areas to protect this from being painted or overpainted as well. Of course it never hurts to initially pump a little air into the mask to clear out any older residual paint traces as well, from previous jobs.

After the time period spent to ensure that the rims are dry, and of course you have masked off those areas that you do not want overpainted or sprayed you are ready for the major step. Put some newspapers on the ground, pavement or concrete in your shop. Place those rims, one at a time, on top of the newspaper. The newspaper covering will ensure that those surfaces will remain free of markings and paint damage/

You can now apply the first of perhaps several coats of paint. It all depends on your preferred final appearance and levels of quality desired. You can let the paint dry well and apply the next coat of paint as desired.

Watch out for the stares and jealous looks at your next Car Show & Swap Meet

Repairing A Rotted Soffit

If you don’t even know what a “soffit” IS, then chances are you’re not the best candidate to do repairs on it! Many older houses naturally start rotting at the weakness points, one of them being the soffit – or the underside of an arch, stairwell, cornice or overhang. Often times even newer houses need their soffits replaces because squirrels and birds tend to nest in the eaves, gutters or outer wall space next to the attic. The soffit, typically made of soft plywood, hardwood, or soft panels of vinyl and aluminum, routinely comes into direct contact with rain water, ice and snow from the gutters. If your gutters have been displaced or if a shingle tears, the soffit will rot out over time. Atlanta painting contractors often specialize in solving this external problem for you, thus preventing more serious damage to the interior as well.

To replace the rotted soffit, you would need to pry off the shingle mold running along the top edge of the fascia board and yank out all the nails that held the rotting board in place. Next, replace the board with a pre-measured or trimmed piece of hardwood, vinyl or aluminum. Remove any decorative trim beneath the soffit and remove the rotted soffit. Note that this part of the process is usually rather disgusting, since you never know what kind of dirt, dust, bee nest, squirrel nest, or debris will come off. Now you should be able to see the frame clearly and ascertain where the water damage and decay started. You may need to rip out additional plywood sheathing and use your saw to take out the section of rotted rafter or roofing. You’ll have to cut four or more inches from the decay, to account for stress fractures that may have left room for water to seep in. This is where the tools come in handy: you’ll need a powder-actuated nail gun with a .22 caliber blank to nail in the new section.

You’ll also be attaching a pressure-treated 1×4 or 1×6 onto the newly sawed rafter, fastening it with 2.5” galvanized screws going from the new into the old rafters. Now you can cut a new soffit from a 3/8-inch A/C plywood, first coating the front and back flat surfaces with an exterior primer and the edges with a wax emulsion sealer (like AnchorSeal) to protect from water damage. Apply sealer with a foam or bristle brush. Nail the soffit into place and replace the trim you’ve removed. Cut a new fascia board and replace it. (Warning: This requires careful measuring to get the right size!) Now prime all four surfaces of this board. Seal the end cuts and install it, then nail up the shingle molds along the fascia.

Sound like a LOT of work? IT IS! The process is extremely convoluted for anyone who isn’t a skilled tradesman. What might take a novice several days could be done in an afternoon by an Marietta Georgia painting contractor. Therefore, you may want to track down a contractor to meet your needs. Not only will your home look totally renovated and newer, but more importantly, you will be protecting your home from premature aging as a result of water and rot damage.

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Motorcycle and chopper painting tutorial

PAINT AND PREP SUPPLIES

Reducer

Plastic Filler

Flowable Putty

Epoxy primer

Epoxy Sealer

Base color Paint

Clear Coat

80,120,400,600,1500,2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper

IMPROVISED PAINT BOOTH

If you’re like me, you don’t have the luxury of a down-draft spray booth in your shop. Here’s what I did. I cleaned out a storage room that’s attached to the back of my shop. I lined the walls with white poly, and placed a variable speed fan in the window. I then went around with a roll of duct tape and sealed the perimeter of the fan to the surrounding poly on the walls. Now onto the lights. After the first time you try painting something, you’ll quickly learn just how critical good lighting is. In fact when it comes to lighting, the brighter your paint area the better. A buddy gave me two four-tube florescent light fixtures, which I hung on opposite sides of my new spray booth. It’s good to have reflective walls. Lining the walls with white poly not only saves your walls, but it’s also quite reflective.

SAFETY

Before I continue, I want to stress safety. It’s a very bad I idea to paint in a room that’s attached to your house. In fact, it may not be legal in some jurisdictions. Also, paint fumes are not only super toxic, they’re highly flammable. Make sure your fixtures are wired properly, and that your fixtures are fully encased with lens covers attached. Last but not least, make sure you have a good quality respirator with the correct filters for the kind of paint you’re using.

PAINT EQUIPMENT

For tools you’ll need at least two spray guns, a air regulator with a water trap, a compressor, and of course some air hose. As aforementioned, you’ll need 2 paint guns… one for painting primer, and another for painting base and clear coats.

PREP FOR PAINT

Be certain your fuel and oil tanks are pressure tested and leak free before you start. Ideally, it’s good to sandblast your metal parts, especially if they have old paint on them. If you choose not to sandblast, make sure to sand them really thoroughly and wipe them down with a non oil-based cleaner prior to starting the job.

The next step is to apply filler to the low spots and any trouble areas. It’s a matter of personal preference, but I like to spray a coat of epoxy primer prior to spraying on the base coat. This gives a nice base for the filler to adhere to. Prepare your filler in small amounts (it sets up fast) and apply it smoothly and evenly onto your part.

After the filler has dried, sand it smooth with 80 grit and look it over for any low spots or chips, then fill and sand again. After the necessary rounds of filler and sanding are finished, it’s time to prime.

Spray on a couple of coats of epoxy primer. After the primer has dried, get a spray can of black paint and very lightly spray it over your part. This is the guide coat. The light black coat will show any ripples, low spots or defects in your handy work. To repair the problem areas that the guide coat exposed, you’ll want to use flowable putty instead of filler. Apply the putty in thin even coats, then smooth it down with 80 grit sandpaper (wrapped around a rubber sanding block). Once you get the high spots leveled down, smooth it down even more with 120 grit, then finishing it with 400 grit. You’re now ready for the last round of primer. Once the primer is dry, sand it thoroughly with 400 grit to give it a toothy surface for the base coat to stick to. I like to spray on a coat of epoxy sealer just prior to spraying the base colour coat. In addition to providing a ideal surface for applying the base color, it also prevents any solvents from coming through and causing bubbles in your clear coat. Make sure to follow the paint manufacturers spec sheets with regards to mixing times, mixing ratios and painting temperature. Failure to following the instructions will cause you much grief…believe me.

BASE COAT/CLEAR COAT

Now comes the color coat. Lay down the colour coats as per your paint manufacturer’s spec sheet. Next comes the clear. After the first round of clear has dried, wet sand it down with 600 grit. You’ll notice rows of ridges appear in the clear as you sand. Keep sanding until the clear is even and the ridges are gone. If you’re painting graphics on, now is the time to put them on. After applying your graphics, cover them with another round of clear. It may take one or more rounds of clear to completely bury the graphics. Be sure to wet sand flat with 600 grit between rounds of clear. After the last round of clear has been sprayed, sand it down flat with 600 grit like before. When it’s nice and smooth, finish it off with 1500 grit. If you want to get it even more silky smooth, go for a final round of 2000 grit.

POLISHING

Now for the gratifying part. The final step is to polish it to a mirror finish. You’ll need a variable speed polisher, a buffing pad, and some polishing compound. There are many different kinds of buffing compound available. Your local automotive supply store will be able to recommend a good one.

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This little tutorial is meant to give you a basic idea of the paint process. For more in depth guide click on the link below.

http://www.torkypig.com/paint/