1974 Beetle - BEE Project

[freddiebooysen]

Since she has different colored rostyles on and I can see some rust forming I am going to get the rims sandblasted and will be doing the paint myself.



I have done a couple of small paint projects in the past which turned out ok.




Freddie Booysen
72 lowlight
74 beetle

[freddiebooysen]

Thinking of doing instead of the normal


Going for something like this


I know these are mg rostyles but the idea is to make the normal black part The same color as the car

What do you guys think?





Freddie Booysen
72 lowlight
74 beetle

[Tony Z]

I think the black breaks up the colour nicely instead of leaving you with too much of the main colour

[freddiebooysen]

Thanks tony I think I am going to try one the silver one and see what it looks like before I send it for sandblasting. Any thoughts on powder coating or even chroming the rostyles and then painting those portions ? Some say the powder coating seals the holes and some say rust gathers under the powder coating and underneath it which is worse cause you cannot see it.



Freddie Booysen
72 lowlight
74 beetle

[Jdt1976]

I prefer the black and silver but its still your choice.

My rostyles are also ready for paint. Was thinking to powder coate. Would it be best to powder coate the black and paint the silver or the other way around. What would work best?

[freddiebooysen]

For me what makes sense is to do the majority color in powder coat and just paint those inserts. Lots of little curls in that rim that needs to be covered if you start to look at it close. My opinion but others might differ.
Why powder coat and not chrome ? See my previous post ?



Freddie Booysen
72 lowlight
74 beetle

[freddiebooysen]

Have a look at these


They look painted comparing the silver with the centre cap

As suppose to these



The chromed once look awesome !!!

Might be more expensive but that look wow



Freddie Booysen
72 lowlight
74 beetle

[Tony Z]

Me personally... I would chrome them and then have the black portion vinyl wrapped
Otherwise, I would go the powder coating route and paint the silver. If you really do it nicely and have it sprayed, then it will look fantastic

[freddiebooysen]

I have taken off the silver one and have started my spray experiment. Will take a couple of hours to dry. This one will be silver with the usual black portions done in yellow same yellow as BEE. Will post a photo later when it is dry and you guys can have a look.

Tony thanks for the feedback. I am also leaning towards the chrome option just not sure about that vinyl wrap the bolts might tear the wrap if you fasten the wheel nuts. I am considering doing the chrome part and then maybe taking some 120 grid and roughen the chrome slightly where the black sections should go and painting them. Same protection just some paint on them as well.

Will post again in about 2 hours so we can check out the yellow rostyles.




Freddie Booysen
72 lowlight
74 beetle

[freddiebooysen]

Ok so 2 hours has come and gone damn the rust on these are really serïous but here if the tester let me know what you guys think. I think it looks ok. Color is not 100% a match but pretty close will have too do as a tester

Maybe needs some pin striping to finish it off nicely







Freddie Booysen
72 lowlight
74 beetle

[fourier]

Freddie, your car looks fairly stock, so I would opt for the stock Rostyle colour scheme.

I am not a fan of powder coating. Sure it's cheap and quick, with minimal effort required. My experience with powder coating in a coastal environment, is as you have suggested in one of your earlier posts. The metal rusts under the coating. You may be lucky, with rust not being an issue in Pretoria.

Another problem that I've experienced with powder coating these wheels, is the small gap/groove between the wheel face and the rim itself. The powder never goes into that gap properly, and often blisters there during the baking process. Rust starts there. All depends if that would bother you or not.

I prefer going the paint route. Have the wheels blasted (as fine as possible to remove rust), then put a proper bare metal primer on them. Seal the groove between the face and the rim with a small bead of paintable automotive sealer. Paint the wheel with a silver base/clear coat process. Mask the wheel, and scuff the areas to be painted black. Paint those areas in satin black.

Finally, add a new set of centre caps to finish things off. The wheels will look a million bucks, and will be a lot cheaper to refurb, than going the chrome route.

Ultimately, beauty is in the eye of the Beetle owner. Do whatever looks good to you!

[Tony Z]

Job well done.
I do have to agree with Fourier, his method does sound better than mine

[Jdt1976]

Thanks fourier.
That is the info I am looking for before I powder coate. I was in two minds if it is a good idea or not. Did blast it fine and treated it for rust. Need to make a decision on it.

[fourier]

All depends how long you want to keep it... If it's a quick flip, go powder coat. Otherwise, paint if you need it to last.

My 2c.

[retrovan]

Must disagree, all wheels are powder coated, for durability as well as Dog Piss, when you have blasted the rim, clear out the sand in the grove, then powder coat, when done, you drop 2K paint into the grove and let it soak in, keep filling till it fills the grove, let it dry and then paint in the black.

Now you will have a wheel for a 100 years and it will be sealed for tubeless, washable, take the punishment that wheel are subjected to more then paint can ever take.

OMO

Herman