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Can I paint my hubcaps?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by Godiva, Jul 18, 2005.

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  1. Godiva

    Godiva AmeriKan Citizen

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    I think I read here somewhere that the hubcaps aren't metal but plastic. I don't much care for the matte silver finish on my black Prius. I think I'd like them to be black. Rather than go out and buy some other hubcaps that might not be aerodynamically optimal for my car, I think I'd just like to paint what I have.

    Has anyone done this?

    Is it doable?

    Would I use that made for plastic Krylon paint or would it be better to take them to a professional. And if so....who? Is this something a car body shop would do?
     
    #1 Godiva, Jul 18, 2005
  2. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    my husband did this on his old Saturn. he just used the basic spray-on paint on the plastic hubcaps. looked just fine.

    i don't know of anyone who's done it, but my husband mentioned the same thing to me when we got the car. :)

    are you going to use flat or glossy paint?
     
    #2 galaxee, Jul 19, 2005
  3. Godiva

    Godiva AmeriKan Citizen

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    I want to use a glossy black to match the car.

    But now I'm rethinking my plan.

    I took another look at the wheels. It looks like there are no "hubcaps". Instead there is a plastic wheel. But then center seems to be metal and seems to be part of the wheel.

    I don't want to just paint the plastic donut and leave the silver in the middle.

    And I'm not sure I want to try to paint the metal myself. I'm confident in painting the plastic, but don't want to take the chance of really messing up the metal. That's undoable. If it was an entire hubcap and I messed it up, I could just buy another hubcap. But if I mess up the metal wheel, I have to buy new wheels.
     
    #3 Godiva, Jul 19, 2005
  4. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    yeah, that was the reason we decided to leave it alone. the only part that's plastic is the outside edge part.

    i imagine you could take your wheels in and have them done up with some kind of coating but i don't think it would be cheap.
     
    #4 galaxee, Jul 19, 2005
  5. Godiva

    Godiva AmeriKan Citizen

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    I think I'll table the decision until it comes time to get new tires. Then, if I decide to get a slightly different size tire that requires I buy new rims, I can consider either getting them powdercoated and painted or see if I can find either black rims or a black hubcap for them.

    Too bad really. I think a gloss black would look awesome on the black car.
     
    #5 Godiva, Jul 19, 2005
  6. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    i know. i'm also going for that "complete stealth" look. :)

    well if you ever do decide to go for it, please do let us all know!
     
    #6 galaxee, Jul 19, 2005
  7. Bob Allen

    Bob Allen Captainbaba

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    Painting the rims? curbfeelers?

    I thought about painting the plastic rims too, but decided that they would too easily get scuffed up. Thought about painting them to match the body color, but when I tried a mockup in Photoshop, the blue rims against the silver wheels made the wheels look really tiny.

    To prevent scuffing, I'm going to instal curb feelers on the mudflaps. Remember curb feelers?? Is this to hokey?

    Bob
     
    #7 Bob Allen, Jul 19, 2005
  8. king_of_the_huns

    king_of_the_huns New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(\"galaxee\";p=\"108679\")</div>
    Try this for "stealthy" look... It certainly would make people to have a good look at your Prius, but it's also easy to remove in case you need to be less, well, "avantgarde"...

    http://www.vassfamily.net/ToyotaPrius/rims...s/RimsCaps.html
     
    #8 king_of_the_huns, Jul 22, 2005
  9. silentak1

    silentak1 Since 2005

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    Tons of people do it.

    My only recommendations is 2-3 LIGHT COATS and 2 clear coat layers. 15-30 minutes BETWEEN each coat.

    Due to road debris, you may see that your hubcaps will start chipping off after 6 months at the most.
     
    #9 silentak1, Jul 22, 2005
  10. Sid

    Sid New Member

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    Very creative use of pizza pans :)
    Certainly looks unique, do your custom wheel covers reduce the drag coeficient?
    How about ventilation for the brakes, is there still enough.
     
    #10 Sid, Jul 28, 2005
  11. Godiva

    Godiva AmeriKan Citizen

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    I'm too old and too busy to take the build it yourself out of pizza pans route. Likewise I don't want to rivet them to my existing trim rings either.

    So I'm going to give these covers from eBay a try. He said they'll spring clip onto my existing wheel. I'll see how I like them as is. But I'm thinking of painting them all black.

    [​IMG]

    If they arrive before I take my car in to have the door repainted (it was keyed at school) I'll take the covers with me and see if the paint place will either paint them for free, or really cheap since I'm already having the door done.

    I'll be sure to post pics when I'm done. I know a lot of people with black Prii have been toying with going really stealth. If it's too much black, I can always remove them and put the trim rings back on, or repaint them.
     
    #11 Godiva, Jul 3, 2006
  12. mssmith95

    mssmith95 Michael

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    Hi Godiva,

    I know that you can have your wheels custom painted...just ask around at the local tire shop and they can direct you. I think they use some sort of high heat paint, followed by a clear.

    In a pinch, they best paint for a do-it-yourself job is the paint used for off road motorcycles. It is made to take a beating and will flex on plastic surfaces without cracking or peeling.

    Make a run to your local motorcycle parts shop and maybe they can help.

    Boy, you are going to take "stealth" to a new level!
     
    #12 mssmith95, Jul 4, 2006
  13. Godiva

    Godiva AmeriKan Citizen

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mssmith95 @ Jul 4 2006, 01:04 AM) [snapback]280868[/snapback]</div>
    I've decided not to paint the wheels or the trim rings. I'm going to take the trim rings off and use these hubcaps. If I can get them professionally painted when my car is done for not a lot of money, I'll do that. Other wise I'll prime, paint and clearcoat myself. Thanks for the suggestion about the off-road motorcycle paint. These are not plastic but either steel or aluminum. They are metal.

    That way when I sell the car I just take the hubcaps off and put the trim rings back on. I can then repaint the hubcaps to match my 2009 Prius. (Hopefully dark blue.)
     
    #13 Godiva, Jul 4, 2006
  14. darelldd

    darelldd Prius is our Gas Guzzler

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    Wow. Year-old thread back from the dead...

    Godiva... do you have a pointer for those nice wheel covers? If they just clip on, that would be pretty slick! I'd like to see what the profile looks like... and cost?
     
    #14 darelldd, Jul 4, 2006
  15. cagemo

    cagemo Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Jul 3 2006, 08:44 PM) [snapback]280804[/snapback]</div>
    [attachmentid=4015]

    GODIVA! Those are sweet! Did this fast (not-geometrically-perfect) photo mockup. I may have to go for those too. Oh the joys of ebay. Group buy? http://tinyurl.com/l38zn

    I will also try to do a mockup of them with a near-black finish.

    Cheers!
     
    #15 cagemo, Jul 4, 2006
  16. cagemo

    cagemo Member

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    And here they are in a nearly solid black. This would be similar to an anodized finish, like you find on Calphalon cookware. Finishers can do this with black oxides on stainless steel.

    Can't resist. I got one more version coming.

    [attachmentid=4016]

    Last one. This wa a little harder to mock up, but if I was going with black, I'd leave a little silver exposed around the edge of the hubcap. Make my Prius a little UPS truck. :lol:

    [attachmentid=4017]
     
    #16 cagemo, Jul 4, 2006
  17. hobbit

    hobbit Senior Member

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    #17 hobbit, Jul 4, 2006
  18. B Rad

    B Rad New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cagemo @ Jul 4 2006, 05:18 AM) [snapback]280931[/snapback]</div>
    What I would like to do is put 5 holes into these hubcaps in a star/spoke pattern. This would help cool the brakes and still give a good look, I thinkn!!! Can someone do a mock up of this idea ??? or give ideas on how to do it. Would like to find some small port hole like plastic things for this, IDEAS ??????????
     
    #18 B Rad, Jul 4, 2006
  19. Bob Allen

    Bob Allen Captainbaba

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    You can paint the plastic rims with spray on paint. You could even have the wheels painted, but that would likely be a pricey proposition and probably not worth the effort.

    As a artist, I'd caution against painting the wheels. If you paint the rims black, and leave the inner portion silver, your Prius will look like a roller skate (big body "tiny" wheels). If you paint the whole assembly black, your car's shape will lack definition; the wheels set off the shape of the body and if they are the same black color, your car becomes a black color field with no clear definition. That's a purely subjective opinion, I know, but thought I'd share it.

    Somewhere in this forum are photos a guy submitted of the wheels blacked out in various configurations. He used black tape just to see what it would look like before committing himself to paint. Check the forums and you might find the photos. They were posted a few months ago.

    Show us the results, if you go ahead.

    Bob
     
    #19 Bob Allen, Jul 5, 2006
  20. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    I thought about painting my caps all red or all red with the Toyota emblem in the center. After doing some photo shopping The car just did not look right. I'm happy with the plain brushed steel look. :D
     
    #20 TheForce, Jul 5, 2006
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