Paint Code for Turbo "Bottle Cap" Wheels

[j2002tii]

I have searched all over but I cannot find the original paint code for the turbo "bottle cap" wheels.  My recollection is that they were darker than the steel wheels and other alloy wheels.  I find paint codes for the exterior colors and descriptions of wheels but no paint codes for wheels.  Would anyone out  there know what it is or a resource where I may find it?  Thanks so much.

[Brandon]

Don’t know the factory paint code but I had a set of these alloys, they were a mix of both FPS and Mahle versions and I used the standard Wurth silver wheel paint on them.  Thought the match was pretty good on both versions.

[Conserv]

8 hours ago, Brandon said:

Don’t know the factory paint code but I had a set of these alloys, they were a mix of both FPS and Mahle versions and I used the standard Wurth silver wheel paint on them.  Thought the match was pretty good on both versions.

 

+1

 

I have a number of the late OEM alloy rims, some still in original paint — I’m currently running them on the ‘76 — and they don’t appear to exhibit any color different from the stock steel, or the early OEM alloy, rims. Wurth Silver or Krylon Dull Aluminum will get you close to the factory color.

 

Now the steel rims of the factory turbo, did, indeed, have their center disks painted dark gray, while its barrel was silver. Could this be what you’re recalling?  By the by, I’ve been asking on this forum for years whether someone has a close approximation for the dark gray center disks.  No one has yet stepped forward with a suggestion....

 

This style of rim came in three widths:  5” for 2002’s, 5 1/2” for e21’s, and 6” for 2002 turbos.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited January 25, 2018 by Conserv

[j2002tii]

Brandon, Steve  Thank you.  Indeed, Wurth silver is a very good match for them.  I have used it many times in the past and it does a great job.  I just wanted to make sure that my recollection was correct which apparently it is not.  I appreciate you saving me from a mistake.  I have the 5" so I guess that I will have them sprayed that color.  I always prefer to go the original route but like so many other things with these cars, they used what they had to build the cars.  I would bet that the Mahle color is different than the FPS.  It would be awesome if we could add paint codes to the existing wheel database but that would be a big undertaking.  I actually have a bent steel wheel from one of my fathers '74s with about 150 miles on it.  Even that wheel is a different color from the new BMW wheels that you get today.  I kept the wheel as a memento.  Of course, I have no idea how it got bent!  Must have been my brother!  At the end of the day, I think any close color will work fine.  Thanks again!

 

There were so many variations of variations of these cars that most anything will go.  Of course my all time favorite all time debate is the "snorkel" on a tii.  Maybe this belongs under a different topic but I throw it out there because there is so much controversy.  I am a BMW nut since I was about 10 years old when my father, in the late 60's got his first of many.  The very same '74tii that had the bent wheel had a snorkel from the factory.  Because my dad was such a nut over these cars we were in our garage with a friend of dad who worked for BMW in Germany and dad's mechanic.  We, they mostly, were talking about the snorkel on that car.  They were discussing if the car was damaged at the port or dealership and if it had been repaired with a new nose.  There was no evidence of replacement and my dad's friend said no, it was not replaced.  He said that the car came from the factory with the snorkel because they ran out of tii noses.  That happened more than once, just like it does today.  Far less tii noses were made than regular 2002 noses because the tii was built in far smaller numbers. It was less expensive to manufacture the tii nose because the snorkel required addition manufacturing steps.  Rather than stop the assembly line and wait for a new supply, they simply used whatever was in the parts bin.  So, just because a tii has a snorkel does not necessarily mean that the car is not "real" or the nose was replaced.  It might have been sometime in the car's life but it does not definitively mean that the car is not a "real" tii.  Also, if the nose was damaged in shipping or elsewhere, they could have simply replaced the old tii nose with a new tii nose.  My dad's friend was in a position to know this.

 

For what it's worth, I hope this doesn't add to the debate or cause confusion.  I want to put it out there because this guy would have known.  Perhaps I should put this out there separately.

[JohnS]

What type of clear coat do you guys recommend to spray over the silver coat?  I refinished a set of Ronal Kleeblatt wheels in silver (1Z Einszett brand) and then sprayed Wurth clear coat over them.  They looked great for a while, but I was disappointed in how quickly the Wurth clear coat started to yellow.  Now I need to strip the wheels and refinish them again.

 

Edited January 25, 2018 by JohnS

[John_in_VA]

3 hours ago, JohnS said:

What type of clear coat do you guys recommend to spray over the silver coat?

 

Most have recommended 2K paints.  Here's an example:

https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-s-2k-aerospraytm-high-gloss-matte-clear.html

 

[Mike Self]

4 hours ago, JohnS said:

What type of clear coat do you guys recommend to spray over the silver coat? 

I re-did my early style factory alloys 4-5 years ago with grey self-etching primer, front and back, then Krylon dull aluminum on the front side only (the factory didn't paint the back side of their wheels) followed by Krylon "crystal clear acrylic."  Hasn't yellowed yet, and looks very factory when compared to one NOS wheel I have with the original finish (except that the OEM clearcoat has definitely yellowed).

 

mike

[Swiss 2002Tii]

Mike, I will be painting/coating a set of plain steel rims to use with chrome hubcaps. Any info on factory color for steelies?
Paint versus powder coat?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Conserv]

1 hour ago, Swiss 2002Tii said:

Mike, I will be painting/coating a set of plain steel rims to use with chrome hubcaps. Any info on factory color for steelies?
Paint versus powder coat?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Same answer as factory alloys....

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[Volkscafe]

On 1/25/2018 at 3:15 PM, mike said:

I re-did my early style factory alloys 4-5 years ago with grey self-etching primer, front and back, then Krylon dull aluminum on the front side only (the factory didn't paint the back side of their wheels) followed by Krylon "crystal clear acrylic."  Hasn't yellowed yet, and looks very factory when compared to one NOS wheel I have with the original finish (except that the OEM clearcoat has definitely yellowed).

 

mike

With the Krylon clear did you use gloss or matte? 

[Conserv]

1 hour ago, Volkscafe said:

With the Krylon clear did you use gloss or matte? 

Not gloss, if your goal is to duplicate the original appearance. Neither the alloys nor the steel rims were glossy during the period — today rims are often finished like jewels, which was not the case in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s.

 

A satin finish could certainly work, and look original.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[02Les]

No clue where I got this info, but...……..

BMW Felgensilber code 144, reportedly for all BMW silver wheels up to the E46.

 

Don't shoot the messenger

[Conserv]

33 minutes ago, 02Les said:

No clue where I got this info, but...……..

BMW Felgensilber code 144, reportedly for all BMW silver wheels up to the E46.

 

Don't shoot the messenger

It’s worth a try, Les. I can’t help but think that the color, probably referred to as BMW’s “Wheel Silver”, came up in prior discussions of this topic and was rejected for X, Y, or no reason!

 

Best regards,

 

Steve