# Rattle Can Paint: Einszett, Wurth, VHT, Duplicolor, Eastwood: Feedback?



## Rassig (Feb 4, 2001)

*Rattle Can Paint: Einszett, Würth, VHT, Duplicolor, Eastwood: Feedback?*

I need to respray two snowflakes, so I've been doing some research. Würth has a spray to match German OE alloys, but it's kinda pricey...$16 for a can (20 oz, covers 2 wheels) plus they recommend using their clear coat (another $12). Einszett has a silver ($15 for 13.5 oz, also for two wheels even though it's 6.5 oz less than Würth)... but mentions nothing about a clear coat being needed. 
VHT and Eastwood have a silver, but no one seems to be able to tell me whether the color matches the VW OE alloy color. 
In this old thread, Bandit007 said that with Duplicolor, it's really hard to get the finish right... too close and it runs, too far away and the surface looks rough.. and the silver has pretty big flakes, which obviously I don't want. 
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2305880
So... anyone have experience with these paints re: application, longevity, results, etc?
My thanks in advance.
Here's the link to Einszett: 
http://1z-usa.com/miva?/Mercha...paint
...and Würth:
http://www.properautocare.com/wusilasppa.html

EDIT: I also did a search of the Detailing and the Preservation & Restoration forums...
but no luck there.


_Modified by Rassig at 6:42 PM 4-12-2006_


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## GLSJet20 (Feb 15, 2006)

Don't have experience with any VW-matched paint, but DO DO DO DO DO use clear coat...


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## aloosecannon (Aug 3, 2004)

*Re: Rattle Can Paint: Einszett, Würth, VHT, Duplicolor, Eastwood: Feedback? (Rassig)*

Bump for a good question.


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## Brake_Dust (Sep 24, 2001)

*Re: Rattle Can Paint: Einszett, Würth, VHT, Duplicolor, Eastwood: Feedback? (Rassig)*

I have a can of the Einszett Silber I'll try to post up later what it looks like up against OEM aristos...


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## aloosecannon (Aug 3, 2004)

*Re: Rattle Can Paint: Einszett, Würth, VHT, Duplicolor, Eastwood: Feedback? (Brake_Dust)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Brake_Dust* »_I have a can of the Einszett Silber I'll try to post up later what it looks like up against OEM aristos...

Great, I'd like to see that.


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## firstorbit84 (Feb 25, 2006)

*Re: Rattle Can Paint: Einszett, Würth, VHT, Duplicolor, Eastwood: Feedback? (aloosecannon)*

Just Refinished two of my Long Beaches on the same side of the car with the Wurth Silver Paint and Wurth Clearcoat. (primer shouldn't matter but I used Duplicolor) Here's what i found:
- I barely had enough propellant for two coats of each on each wheel. So, I might even suggest buying extra paint if you're doing more than one wheel, because the suggested coverage of two wheels per can is a low estimate.
- When Using the clear coat, make sure that the surface is completely smooth or else you'll never get that luster that the factory wheels come with. Also the silver isn't sandable at all, so if you find imperfections and have to sand again, you'll also have to respray the silver. (Maybe that's why my paint started to run out







)
- But the color is as close to stock as you're gonna get for a DIY. So, if color matching is what you want then I'd suggest using the factory paint. It's "worth" it for the "Wurth." Ha Ha, alrite no, bad joke. Just my .02


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## Rassig (Feb 4, 2001)

*Re: Rattle Can Paint: Einszett, Würth, VHT, Duplicolor, Eastwood: Feedback? (firstorbit84)*


_Quote, originally posted by *firstorbit84* »_Just Refinished two of my Long Beaches on the same side of the car with the Wurth Silver Paint and Wurth Clearcoat. Here's what i found: 

Thanks for the useful feedback! 

_Quote, originally posted by *firstorbit84* »_(primer shouldn't matter but I used Duplicolor)

If you didn't have any bare metal, why use a primer? 
Also, how was the spray pattern? I saw that one vendor mentioned their formulation had changed as of March 2006 given a previous problem with spray nozzles clogging up.


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## Rassig (Feb 4, 2001)

*Re: Rattle Can Paint: Einszett, Würth, VHT, Duplicolor, Eastwood: Feedback? (Rassig)*

I sprayed on one light coat of Einszett before the wind kicked up...
since my spray booth is my deck out back!








My initial impression is that the silver is considerably brighter and slightly more metallic than the original snowflake color...
and I don't think they faded THAT much since new. I even checked out some old pics to be sure. 
Anyway, I hope I never do this project again... the snowflakes are a major PITA to sand. Plus, even though Einszett doesn't require a primer unless you have bare metal, I decided I should prime the whole wheel since they were the Mk1 GTI version... polished, except the PO painted the inserts maroon and since I didn't know if it was a lacquer or enamel, I figured I should play it safe to ensure maximum paint adhesion. I used the self-etching DupliColor primer (for painted or bare metal, incl aluminum) and then covered that with a DupliColor Primer Sealer... 
which I mistakenly thought would result in me not having to sand before painting the top coat. So, once again, I embarked on a sanding routine similar to the "Myth of Sisyphus".








Unlike Würth, Einszett does not offer a clear coat, yet the print on the can states that a clear coat should be used.








Lucky I called their US distributor so I knew that already... 
but the website doesn't mention it.
So, I picked up some VHT clear, which was 1/2 the cost of the Würth clear.
I'll report back on the final results when the weather and time allows....
hopefully this weekend.


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## Rassig (Feb 4, 2001)

*Re: Rattle Can Paint: Einszett, Würth, VHT, Duplicolor, Eastwood: Feedback? (Rassig)*

Jeezuz, this has become the project from hell.
Even reading up on a topic does not make a layperson out of a paint newbie.








The silver top coat was soft enough to scratch off with a fingernail… 
even after a week.
Thankfully , Mike from Einszett was helpful in researching my problem.
First he theorized that the problem was the self-etching primer, 
but now it seems the primer-sealer is the culprit: _ The Dupli Color paints
are lacquer based for the 1690 Primer and another formulation (which I'm
not familiar with - vinyl based) for the primer-sealer. It seems that the
primary issue is the primer-sealer. It may have either reacted with the 
acrylic resin in the 1Z paint or the reducer (solvent) in it may not have off 
gassed completely. Avoid primer all together unless you're painting on 
bare metal. If you use a primer, I suggest using the 1z Primer for
compatibility. 1z Primer is suitable for synthetic resin, acrylic and nitro
combi paints. All standard spray paints can be used to paint over it. It's 
lead and cadmium free and provides good adhesion on critical substrates. 
If you do want to try the Duplicolor Primer 1690 again, apply it on any 
surface type (paper, foil, etc) and then apply 1z Silver on it after it dries. 
See if there's a reaction, if the Silver dries. I would avoid the 1699 sealer 
completely. My conclusion to all this is that you keep acrylics with acrylics 
to avoid any conflicts. Therefore, you will probably have problems spraying 
a polyurethane clear on top of the acrylic resin. _
As it turns out, the VHT clear is a polyurethane, and Mike stated that
_you will probably have problems spraying a polyurethane clear on top of the acrylic resin. _ 
So… I sanded 'em all the way down to the original paint, yet not down to the bare metal and... 
the 2nd respray worked nicely... except the silver absolutely, positively needed to be wet sanded with 2000 grit since the finish was way too rough. 
Obviously, all the snowflake nooks & crannies makes it very hard to lay down a smooth topcoat, but even when I sprayed down several light coats the on the (flat and easy to spray) center caps, the finish still needed to be wet-sanded. 
I wonder if the Wurth is similar in that regard?
Also, a buddy of mine who is a paint/ink/coatings SME said I could use a clear enamel over the silver (acrylic lacquer), so I picked up a can of Dupicolor engine enamel... their customer service rep thought their regular acrylic clear coat wasn't robust enough for wheel painting. 
Oh, and a huge FYI...
the 1st gen snowflakes (polished face & black inserts) are different from the 2nd gen (all silver with flat center cap)... the wheel hub on the 1st gen seems "shorter" than the 2nd gen and the "bowl" area where the lug holes are has a slightly different profile. This necessitated me shaving down the circumference of the center caps so they will fit. They now rest about 1/8 deeper into the wheel center... that was a PITA to shave 'em down as round as possible... and then cut in a new "slot" so you can pop 'em out with a screwdriver. Thank God for Dreml moto-tools! http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif



_Modified by Rassig at 11:40 AM 5-8-2006_


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## Banditt007 (Oct 23, 2002)

*Re: Rattle Can Paint: Einszett, Würth, VHT, Duplicolor, Eastwood: Feedback? (Rassig)*

my buddy has used rustoleum BBQ high heat paint, comes in a rattle can, comes in like red, silver, black ect.
worked out pretty good and holds up nice. finish comes out much easier than the dupli color wheel paints but unlike the duplicolor its kind of 'thin' and 'dry' paint.


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## Mike @ einszett (Apr 1, 2006)

*Re: Rattle Can Paint: Einszett, Würth, VHT, Duplicolor, Eastwood: Feedback? (Rassig)*

This is Mike from einszett. I was helping Rassig with this project. I wish I had known about this thread (I'm over at the Detailing Board which einszett sponsors) so I could give some input. Thankfully he did what few customers do, he called us!








Anyway, I wanted to elaborate on two points. The first one was the size of the can. 

_Quote, originally posted by *Rassig* »_Würth has a spray to match German OE alloys, but it's kinda pricey...$16 for a can (20 oz, covers 2 wheels) plus they recommend using their clear coat (another $12). Einszett has a silver ($15 for 13.5 oz, also for two wheels even though it's 6.5 oz less than Würth)... but mentions nothing about a clear coat being needed. 

Both cans are exactly the same size and same style. The difference is this, we describe the size with the _fluid_ ounces and the retailer referred mentions the _weight_ in ounces. Both cans are 400 ml in volume.
As far as the roughness of the finish, Rassig and I talked about this the other day, I'm not really sure why the finish came out the way it did. I said there must be an X factor that effected the finish. We believe it might be the primer. Prep is everything in painting. With the 1z Silver Spray Paint, you can spray on the painted surface UNLESS it's bare metal or filler which is why we suggest our primer or a comparable acrylic based primer. If you spray these self-etching primers on paint, it will soften the paint because it etches into the surface trying to create a stable base. Great on bare metal or filler but not on paint.
I have personally sprayed my BMW wheels and the finish came out stock smooth. The only prep I did was clean them with a strong soap detergent (oil-free... dishwashing soap is fine), dry them thoroughly and wiped them down with a prep agent (you can use rubbing alcohol). Then you spray light, even coats. If you're unsure, spray on the back of the wheel first as a test.
Regarding not having a clear coat: I agree we should have it in our product range again. It was discontinued from the range long before einszett North America came into being in 2000. The paints are not as popular over in Europe like they are over here. And that was the least popular item.
Also, a number of restoration shops here, who use our silver paint for restoring a variety of European wheels, are more interested in matching the silver correctly than the clear (which they already have). But I will pass it on that we have DIY'ers needing the clear for personal projects http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 
However, the Silver Spray paint is durable against rock chips and deterioration. The finish should last between 5-10 years. If well maintained/cleaned, it won't discolor.
If you ever have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. We do our best to respond as quickly as possible. Also, feel free to post any questions about restoration in the detailing forum. The two topics are almost one and the same.
Thanks and best regards,


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