Chrome effect painted road wheels

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Brett Johnson
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Chrome effect painted road wheels

#1 Post by Brett Johnson »

I'm going to start this over, because the previous attempt went to steering wheels rapidly. The Reutter information on my #54205 (9/55) states chrome effect lacquer on the wheels (Kardex has bupkis). My car came to me with 15" wheels so they are/were not useful. The first listing of this on a Kardex was in July 1955. This was well after silver paint was first used on wheels, so there must have been something special. I am interested on definitive information on chrome effect paint. I am also interested in cars later than 1956 that have it called out either on the Kardex/CoA or Reutter information.

I'm trying to compile and document information on known options for publication in the magazine and eventual inclusion on this lovely new website.

If you prefer to not share this publicly, you can email me at: 356drb@indy.net

My wheels are currently dark blue metallic -- just wanted to include a photo!
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Re: Chrome effect painted road wheels

#2 Post by Brett Johnson »

Also note my wonderful photo of a moon hubcap without me in the reflection!!!!
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Martin Benade
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Re: Chrome effect painted road wheels

#3 Post by Martin Benade »

You are invisible!
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Michael Doyle
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Re: Chrome effect painted road wheels

#4 Post by Michael Doyle »

Brett Johnson wrote: Wed Feb 16, 2022 8:10 pm I'm going to start this over, because the previous attempt went to steering wheels rapidly. The Reutter information on my #54205 (9/55) states chrome effect lacquer on the wheels (Kardex has bupkis). My car came to me with 15" wheels so they are/were not useful. The first listing of this on a Kardex was in July 1955. This was well after silver paint was first used on wheels, so there must have been something special. I am interested on definitive information on chrome effect paint. I am also interested in cars later than 1956 that have it called out either on the Kardex/CoA or Reutter information.

I'm trying to compile and document information on known options for publication in the magazine and eventual inclusion on this lovely new website.

If you prefer to not share this publicly, you can email me at: 356drb@indy.net

My wheels are currently dark blue metallic -- just wanted to include a photo!
Hi Brett,

Chrome effect paint on the wheels was a very light-bright Silver lacquer color .. as though no metallic in it. Many of the Steel/Alu wheels were painted this Chrome effect color as well. I have rarely seen it noted on the Kardex. More so on the Reutter Certificates that detail the materials and colors when the cars were first built.

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Joris Koning
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Re: Chrome effect painted road wheels

#5 Post by Joris Koning »

This is an interesting one. Depending on the color of the car it appears that most coupes and cabs upto mid '56? had the body colored wheels as standard. I always assumed the term to mean just plain silver wheels but guess I was wrong.

Curious why they would spec a different paint from the standard silver for the steel/alloy wheels. No direct apparent reason comes to mind why they should have had a different color.
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Re: Chrome effect painted road wheels

#6 Post by C J Murray »

Per Brett, I have added this option to the Reutter section of the VIN History Records database.
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Re: Chrome effect painted road wheels

#7 Post by Michael Doyle »

Joris Koning wrote: Thu Feb 17, 2022 3:20 am This is an interesting one. Depending on the color of the car it appears that most coupes and cabs upto mid '56? had the body colored wheels as standard. I always assumed the term to mean just plain silver wheels but guess I was wrong.

Curious why they would spec a different paint from the standard silver for the steel/alloy wheels. No direct apparent reason comes to mind why they should have had a different color.
Hi Joris,

The “Chromeffektlack” Silver color is noted on build Certificates for the Reutter T1 A into T5B series GT cars. I believe the T6 B/C GT models and 904’s wheels used same. Brett says he has it noted on some Pre A documentation as well which is interesting. There may be other production series model wheels too that were also noted this way. This Silver lacquer appears to have a lot of clear in it. Was it the same standard Silver paint as on all other steel wheels? … don’t know.

I have an old original 4.5 x 15 T6B GT wheel and a 5.5 x 15 (never mounted) 904 wheel in original Chromeffektlack paint. When I get to them I’ll take and post some photos.

Michael Doyle

From a T5B GT Reutter Certificate:
8EBEAA63-133A-49AA-8665-2E48F8609A6A.png

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Re: Chrome effect painted road wheels

#8 Post by Brett Johnson »

I have an old original 4.5 x 15 T6B GT wheel and a 5.5 x 15 (never mounted) 904 wheel in original Chromeffektlack paint. When I get to them I’ll take and post some photos.
I suspect that the inclusion on the Kardex was likely done only when it was first used. There are only a handful of Kardexes that list them, but it seems to be commonplace on 356s immediately prior to the 356A introduction per the Reutter information. I'm hoping to write about this in the next column along with chrome-plated wheels, so hope you can send me an image for the article/website.

Also if anyone has Reutter info showing this on T 6 cars, please let us know.
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Re: Chrome effect painted road wheels

#9 Post by Joris Koning »

Brett, seeing them on the kardex of early A cars makes total sense as the early A cars came with body colored wheels as standard. As such, someone wanting silver wheels would have to special order them unless they ordered a silver car
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Re: Chrome effect painted road wheels

#10 Post by James Davies »

Michael Doyle wrote: Thu Feb 17, 2022 2:11 am Chrome effect paint on the wheels was a very light-bright Silver lacquer color .. as though no metallic in it.
Thanks for the description Michael. I would describe the body color Nitrolack paints used for the early metallic colors on Reutter 356 cars the exact same way. No discernible metallic grain in Fish silver grey, Adria blue metallic or Radium green metallic, nor Silver metallic. See below for Fischsilbergrau ME from my '53 coupe from the protected area under the Reutter tag, compared to a modern "match" spray out card in the background. Beside the difference in hue, the difference in grain (or lack thereof in the original paint) is the most obvious difference.

So yeah, "metalleffekt" paints Reutter used as supplied by Lechler had no discernible grain. Sounds like "Chromeffektlack" was the same, though it would be great to see a actual sample.
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Re: Chrome effect painted road wheels

#11 Post by Ralph Ichter »

Hi :

My 356 A T1 cab Right Hand Drive ( original ) has chrome effect lacquer on the Reuter production certificate . I read the threads , I am not any closer finding a modern replacement lacquer . Anyone ?
Production date is Sept 1957 . Interestingly , the car has a lot of early T1 specs , such as beehives and shine down . Maybe it is because it was a rare RHD cab delivered to honk hong in 1957 …. Don’t know ….maybe it sat on the production floor for a while

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Re: Chrome effect painted road wheels

#12 Post by Brett Johnson »

Hi Ralph,

What's the chassis number?
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Re: Chrome effect painted road wheels

#13 Post by Martin Benade »

Chrome effect is just plain silver paint. Stoddard has one, Mr lots of generic silvers would look fine.
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Re: Chrome effect painted road wheels

#14 Post by Brett Johnson »

This is the text from my column in 2022:

Chrome effect paint is a little more complex than the rattle-can stuff you get at the hardware store. Registry member Robin Walker was in the paint making industry in the UK for fifty years and provided the following information:

From the knowledge I have, my best guess for Chromeffektlack as used in the 1950s is that it was a fine particle size, bright aluminum pigment mixed into a Nitro Cellulose type of resin. These cellulose type paints were often called “lacquers” whether they were pigmented or not and were the main car finish paints for all manufacturers during the 1950s. The main reason being that they dried quickly and were forgiving to spray paint in that there were fewer sags and runs due to the fast evaporation of the Acetone and ester solvents. They were available as primers, undercoats and finish paints.

The main disadvantage was the low film build which often meant applying many coats. Inter-coat adhesion was always good because the thinners in the next coat slightly dissolved the previous coat, giving a good key or adhesion.

This softening effect on metallic base coats is apparent when they are overcoated with a clear Cellulose lacquer. The silver would be attacked by the next coat’s thinners, which often changed the appearance of the silver, usually dulling it, or even giving the metallic a hammered appearance. The silver paints would normally be a single coat of the silver without any clear lacquer.

The chrome pigment is a leafing pigment very much like fish scales in miniature made from highly polished aluminum. The problem with these pigments is that they are extremely susceptible to being easily marked by moisture like perspiration from fingers or salt from the road if used on a wheel.

I personally would not recommend chrome effect paints on anything that would be used in an exterior environment like road wheels. I think the silver paint used by KPZ is very good but triple plated chrome (i.e. copper/nickel/chrome) is the only finish that works well on road wheels.
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Re: Chrome effect painted road wheels

#15 Post by Martin Benade »

The KPZ silver paint is not the same thing?
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