MTFCA Forum

I need to replace the tires on my 1921 Coupe as they are a bit hard and at least 32 years old. My intention with this car is that it be a reasonable runner not a show car but if I'm fixing something to upgrade it along the way.
The demountable rims were painted silver when the car was restored in the mid 1980's. If I'm replacing the tires I should do something with the rims. Powder coating comes to mind, rather than sandblast and paint. We have a local sandblast / powder coat facility.
Googling "silver powder" produces a great many variations in color and shine.
I can't be the first guy to do this. What have folks used for powder in this application? I want something that looks like cadmium plating and is durable.
I've had enough "fun" sandblasting and painting wheels over the years, so I'm ready to have somebody else do it this time. The wheels themselves are fine and I don't plan to mess with them.
Thanks in advance.
Jim Dix

Sandblast and Powder coat on rims is the way to go. Found that separate sand blast, then primer, then paint costs more than just getting them powder coated as the coater always sandblasts first anyway!

My local shop told them I was looking for replicating zinc galvanize, so the gal selected the base color as "Silver" and then after than, another coat of "Clear Matt" to cut down the silver sheen. Liked them!

Another choice would be to go original and galvanize them. When I had mine done about seven years ago the minimum charge was about $235, so my seven rims came to about $33 each. Recently a bunch of T guys went together on galvanizing a batch of rims because the more you do the lower the cost per rim. I haven't heard how many they did and how the cost worked out. Maybe Ignacio or one of the other guys will see this and comment.

Depends a little bit on whether you want your car to look like it came out of the factory? Or maybe how it looked six months or a year later? Looking at original factory photos of model Ts of the '20s sometimes shows the spare rim with no tire mounted on it. Gotta tell ya, at that point in time, they looked pretty bright. However, most era photos show that they dulled fairly quickly after they drove away from the dealer.

I seem to remember someone complaining about their tires slipping on a powder coated surface.
Anyone?

Rich I was kinda thinking along that same line. But then, people use it all the time on lower pressure drop center rims. Galvanize, they have a more bite/texture to hold the tires. I was also thinking about paint, depending on what type, might also have a bit more grabbing power over powder coating. I do mine in cold galvanized spray paint. They end up with a more gray color. The ones I did about 10 years ago, have held up pretty well. Of course if you read the Ford info on wheels, it was suggested to use silver paint to touch up.

I have used silver paint since 1964. I has held up well and easy to touch up. We had one summer of slipping rims and cut off valves stems. Changing brands and using flaps stopped that although I had not had trouble before that summer. I can't find silver paint I like as well as the old cheap stuff I used to use. Maybe I'm too set in my ways.
Rich

Yes, galvanizing loses its new brilliant shine.This is seven years old. Of course, some of the dulling may be from dust.

There is a difference in plating the rims. Steve's are hot dip galvanised. This is the most durable finish, but the rims need careful inspection before use to remove any little tits and burrs. I believe the factory finish was electro plated zinc. This is a smooth finish but it is less durable than galvanising. My plater charges me $7 each if I have 5 or more to be done. 'Silver frost' aluminised paint is the perfect match once they dull off after e few years.

Allan from down under.

I've clocked several thousand (& then some) on two of my T's with p.c. rims - no problem !