which wheel paint?

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

I am curious how you did the center cap.

Wheels look good! Pic on van before mounting?

Aaron_King said:

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

I am curious how you did the center cap.

It was pretty simple.  It's almost like they engineered the center cap so it could be painted.  The cap itself has the letters die-cut out of it, then the letters themselves stick through the center cap.  Three screws and the letters pop out the back allowing you to paint them separately.  Let me see if I can find a picture...

Edit:  Didn't find a picture.  I was hoping that one of the snapshots I took caught them disassembled in the background, but alas, no.

I am considering finding some candy red to go over the letters on the center cap.  The bronze is ok, but red might tie it in with the body color.

STM317 said:

Wheels look good! Pic on van before mounting?

Will do

Those look really good!  

They look nice, anxious to see the final product.  Interested in this whole project.  My son picked up a low mile, good condition AWD Astro van from his FIL.  Kind of like a mini-me of what you have. 

I think the color is a win. I do wish it were one shade darker and one tiny step toward charcoal, but I think I will leave it as is

A little dirt and brake dust, you'll be there.  All kidding aside, looks very nice.

I'm currently baking them in the sun.  That makes them organic, right?

Sustainably-baked enamel coating?  I'm environmentally conscious!

 (as I watch the hydrocarbons curing out of 6 coats of color and clear)

Mmmm!  Fresh baked hydrocarbons just like Mom used to make!

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

I'm currently baking them in the sun.  That makes them organic, right?

Sustainably-baked enamel coating?  I'm environmentally conscious!

 (as I watch the hydrocarbons curing out of 6 coats of color and clear)

Everything is organic.  It's not like man has imported a ton of off Earth stuff, yet.

In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :

That's true.  The hydrocarbons partly came from free-range dinosaurs.

I don't have the center caps on yet because I had to order the right bolts, but here is the big reveal.

I think you should paint the bow tie to match :)

In reply to Keith Tanner :

My thoughts exactly

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

Now thats a van i would hop into with strangers!

Im not a fan of super busy wheels like that but they do look good, especially not black. 
 

it looks like you could almost use those trim screws around the edge to balance the wheel. Remove one/put a heavier one in? Random thought. 

Bronze wheels always look better than most think they will.  I need to find a photo of my 91 ZR-1 with bronze wheels.  Everyone said don't do it, but then begrudgingly admitted they were wrong.  It was stunning.  The engine was stunning too....  it's all that C4 stuff though.

I'm actually pretty ambivalent about the color.  It's one step too gold for me.  I wish it were halfway between what I have and the grayer version on the Saab on page 2.  But, the color itself I LOVE, just would have gone grayer with the red on the van.

I'm pretty happy with the overall look.  I might try hitting it with a smoke clear or something.

But DAT OFFSET, YO!  Perfect.

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

I think a set of black fender flares will kind of "separate" the wheels a bit more from the body of the van, and make the color look better.

In reply to eastsideTim :

Good thought.  I'll get some flares figured out and see how it looks.

In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :

My wife and oldest son looked at me like I was crazy when I started doing the wheels Bronze on the 9-3, but now at least my son says its "cool".

Nice results! The fender flares may help but you might need some real deal mudflaps with DAT OFFSET (yo)

Color matched bow ties FTW

Mudflaps are in. I went with understated instead of the big ones with chrome naked ladies.

Also, I ordered the Pacer fender flares and they appear to be a nice project, but the smallest ones (1-3/4") were still too big.  If there's one thing I really don't like, it's fender flares that are unneccessarily too big.  I returned those and ordered the 1" EZFlares but not sure I'll like them.  They're pretty soft and use double sided tape.

Worst case, I have some ABS sheet that I've already cut into 3" strips and tapered the ends.  They look pretty good in an 80's A-team kind of way.

EVA Plastic Wearing Mud Flaps Splash Guards Fit For Car Front & Rear Fender 4PCS | eBay

And these flares:

Amazon.com: EZ Flares – The Original Universal Flexible Foam Rubber 1-Inch Fender Flares : Automotive