painting spokes

[Great Lakes Greg]

I use a 2k primer, then sealer, then color followed by a clear coat.
While this has given me great results on metal, I assume something different may be necessary on the bare hickory I will be covering.
Hope this isn't like a "what oil to use" question.
What do you guys use?

[Jack Innes]

I have used the sealer that is used on bowling alleys & gymnasium hardwood floors with good results. I also have used hot West System epoxy as a sealer & primer. It too seems to work well. The object is to make the paint stick & not sink into the grain. If you want show quality be prepared for a lot of work - After my sealing & preliminary priming & sanding, I paid a professional shop over $4000 to finish a set of wood felloe wheels. (Not T)

[A bones]

While a purist may want the same stuff Henry used, my wheels had been stripped of paint and clear lacquered when I bought it. My wife and I really liked the contrast and color wood spokes brought to the car. So when it came time to redo them we went with the wood look. I was busy at the time and left the chore to her. Internet research told her the best thing to keep the wood preserved was poly urethane. So she lightly sanded, then coated them with a cherry stain poly clear. Twenty four years later they look great. So ya know my avatar is a before shot.

PS BTW: It seems to me, "T" contributors don't get all worked up over opinions of others.

[tmodelman]

Spokes were already really nicely sanded. So brushed on coat of wood primer, white stuff sold in the box stores for priming exterior wood. Had to sand each spoke as that stuff brushed on left runs. Spray would be best.

Then used the compatible body gray primer as undercoat , sprayed it on the wood spokes and felloe, then light scuff sand, wipe with tag rag, and sprayed on a double wet coat of auto acrylic enamel with gloss hardener additive to make the paint hard and shiny.

When finally striped by professional, the wheels are a knockout

Works well, last years.

[Steve Jelf]

I used auto primer to fill the grain, sanded, and sprayed with Rustoleum gloss black. That was about seven years ago. So far so good. I prefer mine black, the way God and Henry intended.

[Great Lakes Greg]

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So I may have been making something of nothing. It sounds as though any variety of primers will get me where I want to be. Thanks fellers.

[oldmotorsguy]

Glad you got your spoke issue worked out. Now, did I see that you mentioned what kind of oil to use? That one's easy: 20W50 Valvoline racing oil.

Everybody would agree on that.

[yachtsmanbill]

Originally Posted by Steve Jelf

I used auto primer to fill the grain, sanded, and sprayed with Rustoleum gloss black. That was about seven years ago. So far so good. I prefer mine black, the way God and Henry intended.

Hey Steve... theres an expression between boat purists (insisting on wood boats and the others) that goes like this:

"If GOD had meant us to have black spokes, he would have grown black trees..."

If I said this across the hall they'd all be holding a prayer vigil for me in Ferguson. I guess theres always ebony eh?

That's actually directed at fiberglass boat owners, and fiberglass trees, so where does that put me? Mines aluminum. Hmmm...Bauxite trees???. All this wood in 1963 was painted white at the factory. The wood is beautiful but what a maintenance nightmare. Theres always a trade off. This gets sanded and varnished every two years BTW...Let those who ride decide. ws