was wondering what i could use to paint some hubcaps i might be getting..they would be 10-15 years old, oem of course, and probably scratched and scuffed up...i could tape off the subaru and then paint but dont know what kind of paint or what "color" to use...car is light blue...any ideas/tips/suggestions would be greatly appreciated...wheels are the basic black steelies....

 

in fact, here is a link to the kind i am hoping to get:

 

http://www.hubcaps-wheelcovers.com/photo/Su160504.jpg

 

thanx!

silver? no, something different.

black chrome? on silver blue, it will just drowned out the wheels and tires and make the body(of the car) stick out.

how about like a pewter gold?

 

pick that shade carefully though, it's got to blend in with the car as much as possible while at the same time saying, yeah i got a subaru(like RS's and WRX rims).

how bout some color shifting paint,walmart carrys it for about $18 bucks.also guess it depends on color of body.they also carry the anodized paint look for plastic pieces.

Yellow, I would go with YELLOW.... ...okay, okay, just kidding.

I've painted that style in silver, and contrasted the "SUBARU" lettering with body color paint (you'll need an artists brush to do the lettering).

Those hubcaps are made of some kind of soft pourous plastic, and will need some prep work to look good. I would scrub them down with detergent and a scotch brite, then prime with sandable primer - as you would a car. You may need some glazing putty for any deep scratches for a superior job.

 

Just about any paint will work, but I would reccomend a clear coat to protect the finish coat. Eastwood's Diamond Gloss is a good one.

 

good luck, John

why not just paint the wheels instead of spending all that effort on hubcaps? get some nice chrome center caps and paint the steelies...

 

I had those same hubcaps and took them off and ran with the black steelies until I got some alloys... now I'm trying to give away the hubcaps... but they're scuffed up pretty good... but if you're just gonna sand and paint them they'd work...

 

personally I'd just paint the wheels and get center caps... (:

 

--Spiffy

Walmart and the auto places carry a special "wheel and wheel cover paint" or something similar. It's a tougher formula that resists the nicks and chips that happen to wheels. I used some of the bronze color on some Legacy hubcaps and have been running them for a year now, and they look just like the day I painted them.

 

Couple years ago I used regular spraypaint on some hubcaps, and they had to be touched up every 6 months. Every little piece of gravel or road dirt that hit them would take a bit of paint off.

maybe they were painted a year ago? who knows...

 

 

rllywgn

 

 

:banana::banana::banana::banana:

why not just paint the wheels instead of spending all that effort on hubcaps? get some nice chrome center caps and paint the steelies...

personally I'd just paint the wheels and get center caps... (:

 

--Spiffy

This is a good point. Nicely painted wheels look pretty damn sporty, and also give that "old school" look, if you are into that sort of thing. To do it right, though, takes some effort and a little $$.

 

I like to sandblast steels before painting. Dont start off with anything less than a good, non-warped, non-corroded set. Blast and paint both sides at each stage. They need primed with a rust inhibiting primer of course. A finish coat of black or alumnimun looks stock, but other colors (including body color) can give the car a totally different look. A clear coat is well worth the time effort and expense. Another paint possibility is powder coating.

 

Dressing the wheels up with a subie centercap, new chome lugs, and maybe even a chrome beauty ring, can make these rims look totally sharp!! This is the look that will remind you of the Japanese cars of the late 70's early 80's. Much sportier (IMO) than those lame-rump roast hubcaps they used on the ea82 series.

good luck, John