What colour should I paint my winter steel rims?

"zipfuel" (zipfuel) 11/03/2019 at 10:45 • Filed to: wheels, rims, paint, Winter Beater

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So over lunch some coworkers and I came to the conclusion that we should all bring our rusty winter steel rims into work and hold a pai nt party in the back shop after work one night.

The question is what colour should I paint them?

That one in the topshot is the dream but realistically I have neither time nor talent to create it.

Current status only grimier and rustier

Currently they’re basic black but given the opportunity why wouldn’t I pick a different colour (this is how my brain works)

This is the paint I intend to use from Canucky Tire, it’s cheap and comes in a pretty wide range of colours.

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So here are the choices:

White: I love the look of white rally wheels but on my car I fear it’d look like wearing white new balance with a three piece suit...

Fire red: this would pick up on the red accent on the GLI grill I swapped onto it but that would be better if it was subtle, like just red calipers. Plus I’m not sure about bright primary colors in general.

Court/Mist grey: dark grey would merge with the Paint or more likely just look slightly off. Lighter battleship grey seems to be in as a car paint now (see Stinger, Kia and 300, Chrysler however I suspect it’ll just look like I got lazy and stopped at primer

Orange: love orange wheels but I’m not sure it’s extrovert enough to pull them off.

Yellow: might just look like I’ve got the donuts on all winter

Oxford blue: see above on primary colours, I suspect neutrals are the way to go.

Aluminum: My friend needs to redo his Taco’s wheels silver anyway and it works really well on the RAV4s and Subarus I see with factory winter st eels but still seems a bit basic.

Green: this is a strong contender as I love British racing Green on anything but it’ll probably end looking more like camo and just be confusing.

Brown: this is where I’m leaning as bronze alloys are what I really want for this car. It should look different without being overdone. However I am concerned about it actually just looking like poop . Think I’ll try it and go splurge on bronze spray paint if it doesn’t work.

Ideally I’d go brown/bronze with a chrome or VW brand center hubcap: sorta like these.

These are off a eurovan so not sure they’d fit, also theyre pricey OEM. Anyone got any tips on where to get the type of center caps they put on police Chargers etc?

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > zipfuel 11/03/2019 at 10:55

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I’ve always thought bronze looked really nice...contemplated doing that to my Accent!

Echo51 > zipfuel 11/03/2019 at 10:55

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One thing i want to try atleast with painters tape before committing is a spiral ala. the jet engine intake cone one :D

Cash Rewards > zipfuel 11/03/2019 at 10:55

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How much time would the top take, really? Couple coats gold. Letter decals from arts and craft store and tape for the edges. Couple coats white. Remove tape and letter stickers.

TheRealBicycleBuck > zipfuel 11/03/2019 at 10:56

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It sounds like you prefer bronze. Keep in mind that it’s easy to repaint the wheels when they’re off the car , so if you find you don’t like the color, you can repaint them again next year!

dogisbadob > zipfuel 11/03/2019 at 10:58

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Paint them silver or black

A bright color will make it look like a donut (many donuts, especially European cars’ donuts, have a bright-color wheel of shame)

If your car was white, I’d say paint the wheels white. If the car was blue, I’d say paint them gold :p

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > zipfuel 11/03/2019 at 11:07

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Forget the paint and just get some Moon discs.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > zipfuel 11/03/2019 at 11:12

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Orange. Embrace the garish! It’s okay to look batshit insane for a bit, plus it’s only for a few months.

subexpression > zipfuel 11/03/2019 at 11:16

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Why not... glow in the dark paint!

zipfuel > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 11/03/2019 at 11:19

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I initially started looking for decent hubcaps and would love a set of those but they’re spendy for a car that’s developed a rust hole I ca n get my hand through...

vicali > zipfuel 11/03/2019 at 11:24

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I vote dark colours.. I’ve got white Steelies on the Tacoma and they look great for a season then need a refresh. They show rust super easy/ugly..

Gold on the Subaru obv. But they are wrx alloys not steelies.

My go to for gunmetal is VHT hedder paint in Cast Iron.. it leaves a rough matte finish though so if you get oil on it it’s wrecked.

Shoop > zipfuel 11/03/2019 at 11:27

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White, and just clean them every week

zipfuel > Cash Rewards 11/03/2019 at 11:32

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Yeah, you lost me after the second coat 

I probably could do that but not with the month I've got coming up...

Wacko > zipfuel 11/03/2019 at 11:40

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I painted my gold with duplicolor wheel paint then clear coat. I found them a CND tire but they are 16-17$ a can. Needs 2 cans colour and 1 can clear. Ten minutes between coats and all coats done in less than an hour. 3-4 coats colour 2-3 clear

My winters

And my summers

Bonus rust should show less on gold than on white

zipfuel > Echo51 11/03/2019 at 11:41

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Oh that’d be a bit mind bending to apply over the shape of the wheel. Maybe a spray template might get you 90% of the way

Nom De Plume > zipfuel 11/03/2019 at 11:43

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Portray your personal aesth etic in large across both tire and wheel. Nothing is going to look stylish covered in Winter muck.  Something may still look interesting enough to draw stares.

zipfuel > subexpression 11/03/2019 at 11:50

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Hmmm I was also considering a cheap RGB under glow system 

zipfuel > Wacko 11/03/2019 at 12:07

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Oh this may be the way I go, they have the dark bronze I like too...

I was looking in the rust paint aisle not auto paint since my rims are pretty beat and was thinking of just brushing some on. Now I might actually bother to clean and prime them if that’s the result.

zipfuel > Shoop 11/03/2019 at 12:09

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Yeah I’ve never cleaned my winters except at a drive-thru wash in the 7 years we've owned the car. Clearly the white life is not for me...

subexpression > zipfuel 11/03/2019 at 12:17

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In that case, I say UV-reactive paint and add some UV lamps to the underglow system.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > zipfuel 11/03/2019 at 12:24

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I know that originals can be kind of expensive, but I figured that there would be some cheap Chinisium knock-offs by now.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > zipfuel 11/03/2019 at 13:04

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Two of them s chool bus yellow, and the other two red.

boredalways > zipfuel 11/03/2019 at 13:14

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Suggestions

You pick the color

Tapas > zipfuel 11/03/2019 at 13:47

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Baby blue, because why not?

Dogsatemypants > zipfuel 11/03/2019 at 16:41

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Copper with green sponge finish

Dogsatemypants > subexpression 11/03/2019 at 16:41

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Why not electro luminescent?

Dogsatemypants > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 11/03/2019 at 16:42

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I was thinking of getting those for my winter rims

zipfuel > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 11/03/2019 at 16:55

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AliExpress was my first stop but no sign regrettably

Wacko > zipfuel 11/03/2019 at 17:07

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Surface prep is key to a nice finish

Wacko > zipfuel 11/03/2019 at 18:09

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Here is what they looked like before mounting the tires

after a week of drying compound then wax

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > zipfuel 11/03/2019 at 21:00

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SlideshowOhNO - Fixit Union, Chapter of Kinja > zipfuel 11/04/2019 at 00:50

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I am all about painted steel wheels. I went with an aggressive blue on my German Motorsport Silver 8v Scirocco, but if I were to ever revisit the idea, I think I’d go for a more mature gold. Add in a VW center cap and be in design-simplicity heaven!

The white design shown is lovely but not apt to a modern VW in silver/gray. It’d be brilliant on blue or black, maybe white as well if perfectly matched.

You can achieve the white wheel’s design by painting a base color for the font, apply a decal in the shape of the desired design or text over it, then paint the intended wheel color, wait for the paint to tack (20-60 minutes depending upon climate) then remove the decal gently, allow to cure, and then clear coat the whole wheel.

zipfuel > Wacko 11/04/2019 at 18:30

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Bought the dupli colour spray, primer, acetone and a big wire brush today. Think I've gotta do it all tomorrow then it gets a day to dry before I need them for the snow on Thursday!

zipfuel > SlideshowOhNO - Fixit Union, Chapter of Kinja 11/04/2019 at 18:41

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I’m going bronze, worst case I black it out again with rustoleum. The elaborate lettering etc is a project for a future car.

I did find this center cap assembly which latches onto the bolt pattern; it’s pretty great - not certain it it’s $68 CAD of great yet though ...