What material are the base model 5 spoke rally wheels (ones that look like the oughta have hubcaps on 'em) made of.. looks like aluminum to me but I'd like to be sure since I'm polishing them down.. don't want to rust my wheels off.

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'86 Camaro SC, black /w silver racing stripes
2.8l MPFI/700r4 /w special 2nd gear delete option
In search of new v8 engine & transmission, now contemplating t5 swap to get me out of this mess.
MSD coil, Accel 8mm wires, SplitFire plugs, Gabriel hijackers, possible performance chip I don't know about.. gotta crack open the ECM and check sometime

 

You're polishing them? I always thought they were steel.

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New and Improved, ie Not so Cheesy
Sharons Virtual Junkyard

 

I got sick of painting them.. but they come down to a very nice metallic, far better than any paint I've seen.. I'm no expert on what metals look like, so I can't tell just by looking. Would clearcoat be enough to protect them from rust if they are steel? Does polished steel even rust (considering DeLoreans aren't usually rust buckets, but I don't know if they've got an overcoat.. the fact that it's an iron alloy would suggest such though)? I really don't want to go back to the crappy paint, but if need be I'm only working on one wheel for now just in case..

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'86 Camaro SC, black /w silver racing stripes
2.8l MPFI/700r4 /w special 2nd gear delete option
In search of new v8 engine & transmission, now contemplating t5 swap to get me out of this mess.
MSD coil, Accel 8mm wires, SplitFire plugs, Gabriel hijackers, possible performance chip I don't know about.. gotta crack open the ECM and check sometime

 

Hey! I believe they are aluminum but I'm not 100% sure on that. I'm doing a little custom paint job on a set of those wheels now. They are going to be black and red. The black laid down fine, no problems, but the red puddled up and made a gummy mess. What type of paint do you recommend?

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91 RS
Black w/ red tweed
t-tops
14x3 Open Element
80 Series Flowmaster
350TPI or Buick Turbo6 swap this summer


88 GTA
Red with grey cloth
K&N Filters
TPIS Airfoil

 

I've only been using wheel specific paints... but I don't think the company makes red.. =P.. Puddled up? It shouldn't be doing that if it was prepped right.. only advice I can hand you is don't put alot on at once, and make sure to sand the black with 600-800 grit once it's on to give the red something to stick to.. LOTS of thin coats for an application like this, as both colors will have to stand up to being sanded at the same time (800 grit personal preference) before you put on the clearcoat.. With enough thin layers of everything, it should come out ok. Btw, for color work I use Duplicolor paints. Note on the clear coat, don't use thick coats of this either.. but for the application you'll need multiple coats so you can sand it smooth and shine it up (1000 grit -> 1500 grit -> rubbing compound -> polishing compound) and still have enough clearcoat left to keep the paint protected from minor road debris.. main problem I've had with paints is chipping =\

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'86 Camaro SC, black /w silver racing stripes
2.8l MPFI/700r4 /w special 2nd gear delete option
In search of new v8 engine & transmission, now contemplating t5 swap to get me out of this mess.
MSD coil, Accel 8mm wires, SplitFire plugs, Gabriel hijackers, possible performance chip I don't know about.. gotta crack open the ECM and check sometime

 

DeLoreans are stainless steel. If they are steel, clear coat won't work. You will need some type of primer. The 5 spoke wheels I think your talking about are steel. But it's hard to say without seeing them.

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82 camaro--original steering wheel, brake/gas pedals, seats--everything else modified
82camaro