Issue with argent silver wheel paint

[dnroe]

I had the local paint store mix me some argent silver to paint my ss wheels I am going to put on my car. The 9692L is the only code they were able to find in their system.  The paint was almost like a translucent clear tinted a black shade with some metallic in it. It covered very poorly and the final finish is not what I was expecting.  Did I do something wrong or is the paint code incorrect?   I am going to try to post a pic of the can and the painted wheel. Thanks for any advice!

[dnroe]

pic of can

[dnroe]

This is the wheel painted with 2 coats of Nason fulpoxy and 4 coats of the paint in question.   To me it doesn't look much different than it did with just the epoxy on them.   If this is what its supposed to look like I will mask and shoot the dark grey inserts but I don't think the color is correct.   I know the bright silver you see on lots of cars is not correct but all I see is grey.   No green or silver just grey.

[z28z11]

Hard to tell - looks OK, but pictures can't show hues like the old eyeball can. Paint code sounds correct - I'll try and dig mine out to compare.

Use the following gray for your inserts if you haven't found a match yet - perfect shade of charcoal gray. Did you use putty gray on the backsides ? Originals did.

The only other thing I recommend is to use a non-sanding primer when you start the process - I wore my fingers out sanding in the recesses. I hate the chore of painting, but I like the finished product -

Regards -

[dnroe]

Back of wheels was shot with what seemed to be a real close match to the existing paint left on the inside of the rim.   I believe it was called polar grey and is shown in one pic below.  I put up another pic of the front with the trim ring and center cap sitting in place to get an idea how the color will look on the car.  Anyone else care to give your opinion on if the front of the wheel looks like argent silver?   The stir stick I used to mix with had no pigment showing and looked like it had only been dipped in clear coat. 

[69Z28-RS]

No, it doesn't appear to be argent silver (not the argent silver that is/was used on Rallye wheels), but I'm not familiar with the SS styled wheels or their paint, and maybe there are 'different' argent silvers (depending on the wheel, year, mfg-( yes, even Ford and Chrysler had argent silver wheel colors).

I'd be concerned if I'd thoroughly mixed the paint and it *appeared* more clear than silver.   Had you had the paint awhile?  Did you stir to the bottom to make sure the pigments hadn't settled to the bottom?   Otherwise, I'd go back to the paint provider and ask them to *recheck* their formula and the paint they sold you.

[firstgenaddict]

According to my Nason Rep the paint does not have as much pigment as Chroma series however that looks like no pigment.
The thinning ratios of Nason are lower 2/3 paint to 1/3 vs 50/50 for Chroma one which would also lead one to the same conclusion.
Chroma Spies Hecker and Nason are Axalta Coatings formerly Nason and Chroma (and maybe Spies too) were part of Dupont Automotive finishes.
Anyway here is Chroma

[dnroe]

Gary you nailed it.   Checked on my lunch break and all the pigment was clumped together in the bottom of the can.  No idea how I didn't notice that before since I shook it up and stirred prior to pouring into the mixing cup.  The paint had been mixed less than a week as well so I guess I wasn't it expecting that.  Not gonna lie that's an embarrassing mistake but I will definitely learn from it and have many more to come.  Now do I try to spray what is left in the can or start with a fresh batch?  I used a little less than half the can but virtually all of was straight binder.  Think the color or consistency would be off with that much binder taken out of the mix?  Thanks for the help everyone! 

[firstgenaddict]

Not something I wold be willing risk on the body however it will probably be ok on the wheels, if you were planning on clearing them with semi-gloss there won't be any longevity issues, if not it is your call however my self I wouldn't lose a a minute thinking about it. 

[dnroe]

Thanks James.  I will scuff and shoot them and see how they turn out.  If the gloss level is too high I will possibly try to clear with semigloss but not sure yet.  Would a grey scotch brite pad be best for scuffing?

[firstgenaddict]

Yes then use a tack cloth to get rid of the dust.

[dnroe]

I scuffed and sprayed them this morning and am pretty happy with how it turned out. I might go with some semigloss clear after I finish the charcoal inserts. The silver is not the green tinted color you see on rally's but it is a good match for the factory silver that was on these before I blasted them.

[firstgenaddict]

The silver / argent color difference would be expected if Motor City Wheel supplied finished wheels (N66 only).  (Which I believe, is the theory we are gravitating toward.)

The reason being that as far as has been reported the plant had no way of 2 color masking within their wheel line. 

[dnroe]

That would make sense for the color to be different. These are ao code wheels off a 70 chevelle that still had sears super wide dynaglass tires still installed so I am pretty sure they had never been repainted before. The silver was definitely a bright silver but I really couldn't tell if the inserts were painted a dark grey or black. Three wheels are stamped made in Canada and a fourth made in usa

[z28z11]

My 12A L78 is equipped with a matched set of N66 YA rallys - unrestored, had Goodyear Polyglas matched tires on them until I sold the tires year before last. Definitely not bright silver, Argent with charcoal gray insets, putty or light gray backs.

I restored a set of AO's a couple of years ago for my '70 LS5 Chevelle - all original to the car, identical to the set of N66's on my L78. I found the Details SS inset color to be spot-on, that's why I included a pic of it. Charcoal, not black -

I used PPG Ditzler Argent for the '70's - pretty darn close if I do say so. I couldn't bear to put the trims on before it left - I was proud of the way the rims finished out (did not want to scratch them !).