Makes no sense

[Onbeachw320]

  I guess this is part of "adding lightness".  In taking an inventory of the Lotus, I have found 2 heavy metal plates intended, apparently, to be placed over what are sure to be already static suppressed spark plug wires.  I have found 2 tire tubes.  The radio chosen, years ago, had a hernia-inducing amplifier hooked up inline.  Just makes no sense.  This car is going to go like stink with the pile of ridiculous parts it's going to leave behind.  I now have the compressor I am going to need in order to move forward and get to work.  I have sandblasted the Cosmic wheels and am feeling, right now, pretty good about just clear-coating them as they are.  Bright and clean, they remind me of Campagnolo wheels on a Pantera.

[dakazman]

    Onbeach,
            I would not clearcoat the rims in their current, as is condition. I can see metal fragments, rust, on them. after you properly clean them and a little elbow grease to all the raised sections then, yes. pfreen had a shop that cleaned his rims up , search for that reference.

  Your compressor is built just like mine. I highly recommend a water separator on the outlet line, and a oiler downline of that. instructions come with a water seperator or on google/ you tube.
  Dakazman

[Lou Drozdowski]

Onbeach...

I too am a big fan of Cosmics and have had a few sets in my time...
Also agree with Dave, that extra time sanding and polishing should be spent before sealing.

Some examples... 

[Onbeachw320]

There is no rust!  It's dark in the garage.  Be assured that I sandblasted the (*&$(  out of them!  Now, though...  What are my next steps?  My questions at this point are:   a) I am going to probably want to do a darker shade of grey for the contrasting color, but what paint do I use, and do I apply a primer first?    b) spray, or just brush it on?   c) what grit do I start with (and what subsequent paper grits) as I work down to the polished rims?   d) are there any other items I need to consider?   
I also got lucky and have begun arrangements to acquire a stock spare wheel.  That might require different lug nuts as it is steel.  I think that we need to remember that these cars used that spare as part of occupant protection.  Our cars today don't even include that spare any more.  We have ABS.  Air bags.  Stronger construction.  All of that.  I have got to make sure I don't forget to build the meager safety measures back into the car as I go along.

[dakazman]

  onbeachw320,
  Okay, you may have blasted them to hell and back but the pictured you provided has some BROWN spots, where it should be gray tone.
 If you're going to spray the centers with a color, you are, good to go.
 
    Now let's talk about polishing/ sandind the outermost sections of the rim first. 
 
   How far you want to go is up to you.  Do you want an appearance of chrome?  mirror? or just something in between?
   
  sealing your finished look with clearcoats is after.  Temperatures and enviroment are another factor. with wheels, there is a wide selection of protectants.
   
   To answer your other questions, Yes, absolutely, a primer. ( as discussed , tape off the parts you want to highlight.)

  What Grit? on the parts of the rim you wat to Prime ?  just clean and paint.  spray , Spray , spray.
 dakazman

[Richard48Y]

Zinc Chromate before primer for Aluminum.
There may be a primer specifically for Aluminum that does not need the Zinc first.
Epoxy paint, and do the back side too.
Looking forward to having time to do mine.

[Bryan Boyle]

Zinc Chromate before primer for Aluminum.
There may be a primer specifically for Aluminum that does not need the Zinc first.
Epoxy paint, and do the back side too.
Looking forward to having time to do mine.

in the words of my (old) shop foreman: if you're shooting that green shi*, you better be wearing a mask.  It's the hexavalent chromium that's the issue...wear an organic filter mask.  Your lungs will thank you.

[Onbeachw320]

Yeah.  I found out that there are issues with zinc chromate during annual time for my airplane.  It isn't to be available to the general public, because it is rather hazardous if precautions are not taken.   A trip to the auto paint store (a 2 hour drive for me) will obviously be next.  Just another hour beyond, though, is an outfit that would refurbish the wheels at about $80 per wheel.  I would rather do it myself.  And believe me, there are no brown spots on my wheels.  Really.

[Bryan Boyle]

Yeah.  I found out that there are issues with zinc chromate during annual time for my airplane.  It isn't to be available to the general public, because it is rather hazardous if precautions are not taken.   A trip to the auto paint store (a 2 hour drive for me) will obviously be next.  Just another hour beyond, though, is an outfit that would refurbish the wheels at about $80 per wheel.  I would rather do it myself.  And believe me, there are no brown spots on my wheels.  Really.

Still available from Aircraft Spruce...I use an organic vapor mask, and the paint hood in the maintenance hangar if I have to shoot it. 

[Bainford]

Personally, and I realise I may be standing alone here, I really like the look of the blasted, unpainted finish. When I first opened the thread and saw the photo of the wheel, my instant thought was that it was about the nicest looking Cosmic I've seen. Just sayin'

[jbcollier]

Agree.  But, raw, blasted aluminium has to be protected or it will be filthy looking in short order, and uncleanable without blasting it again.

[Bainford]

For sure. They would need a coat of protective clear to stay looking good. The wheels on my Mazda DD were chemically stripped and left as is. They get nasty looking pretty quickly, though on the Mazda, that was the look I was going for.

[gideon]

Some people swear by Sharkhide metal & aluminum protectant.  It's sold for protecting aluminum boat hulls from salt water.  They claim it doesn't peel or yellow, but does need reapplying every few years.

https://sharkhidestore.com/

[Onbeachw320]

I bought a flat bar road bike about 13 years ago, and was really bummed out when the bright aluminum rims went dark (it rains here a lot).  I cannot remember what I did to bring them back, but I spent WAY TOO MUCH time getting them bright again.  Sure can't sandblast them!  I will try this stuff.  For the Cosmics, a clear coat is appropriate, but a bicycle uses that surface for its brakes.   I did note that the offset on the Cosmics looked a bit excessive, and I need to look up the particulars some time soon.  They are 1" wider than the stock wheels, and I intend to install pretty much the narrowest tires to keep the original profiles.  I took 2 Irish Dunlop 175R 75 X 13 from the front rims, but the rears were Goodyear 185R 70 X 13 and all were at least 30 years old.  Suggestions?  Did Cosmic offer differing offsets?

[jbcollier]

Yes, Cosmics came in a variety of offsets to suit different applications.  The Europas used 13” x 5.5 with a 103/105mm offset (can’t quite remember which).