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Rice your trim rings

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by hobbit, Mar 11, 2006.

  1. hobbit

    hobbit Senior Member

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    So, following up on a recent post about trim rings, mostly having
    to do with selling them, I've been playing around with what one
    might be able to do with them. I think most of us agree that the
    wheels look better without them entirely and there's no perceptible
    mileage loss, but not being quite content to leave it at that I've
    generated a few "artists conceptions" of what painting them black,
    or roughly matching the tires, could do for the overall look.
    Opinions and discussion encouraged. Maybe there's actually a use
    for these things after all, or maybe I'm just nuts.
    .
    First, the "basic black" which here, given the mistiness of the
    original pic, is a little *too* black but might be close to the
    look one would get with a heavy coat of matte:
    http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/pix/tide-black-rings-1.jpg
    .
    But the rings have features that would easily allow masking off the
    continuation of the wheel spokes, lending some possibility to a
    larger "floating asterisks" look:
    http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/pix/tide-black-rings-2.jpg
    .
    Of course one could mask or hand-paint parts of the rings in any
    fashion at all, with one fairly obvious follow-on giving that
    "Ben Hur war-chariot" look...
    http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/pix/tide-black-rings-3.jpg
    .
    Or the obvious spinning checkerboard:
    http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/pix/tide-black-rings-4.jpg
    .
    Original photo credit is from Ben Anderson at Priusonline,
    http://priusonline.com/viewtopic.php?t=7328
    .
    _H*
     
    #1 hobbit, Mar 11, 2006
  2. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    i will say one of the best color repro's of a tidelands i've seen... at least on my monitor
     
    #2 DaveinOlyWA, Mar 11, 2006
  3. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    I like the 2nd and the 3rd. Good thinking!
     
    #3 Tideland Prius, Mar 11, 2006
  4. DocVijay

    DocVijay Active Member

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    The "Ben Hur" thing looks pretty cool.
     
    #4 DocVijay, Mar 11, 2006
  5. hawkjm73

    hawkjm73 New Member

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    I also think the "Ben-Hur" look is really neat.
     
    #5 hawkjm73, Mar 12, 2006
  6. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    numbers 2 and 3 look the best to me. Number 3 - checkers - looks a little too busy in my opinions.

    Can you try one modifying number 2 and coloring the triangular pieces next to the 'spokes'? I would give it a go but I don't have graphics software on this PC and someone spilled coffee on my work PC. What I mean is that the tires would look something like this: /-\ /-\ No, not the Ben Hur points; still flat on top like number 2. Sort of like flat-tipped arrows.
     
    #6 TonyPSchaefer, Mar 12, 2006
  7. hdrygas

    hdrygas New Member

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    The Ben Hur is good but how do you do the extendable central hubs to rip out the tires of Hummers? Oh yes how far do they go out, I don't like getting close to those things.
     
    #7 hdrygas, Mar 12, 2006
  8. Allannde

    Allannde Just a Senior

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    I actually did # 2 to my disks with black tape. This is what it looks like.
     
    #8 Allannde, Mar 12, 2006
  9. hobbit

    hobbit Senior Member

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    Hmm, that's actually kinda sharp. A little more of the rim shows
    than I expected, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
    .
    _H*
     
    #9 hobbit, Mar 13, 2006
  10. jbarnhart

    jbarnhart New Member

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    Wow -- that looks great! Hmmm... I'm suddenly thinking of an airbrush and some masking tape. I used to paint model cars, but that was a long time ago. I wonder what sort of paint would be best -- probably the same kind I used on the models.
     
    #10 jbarnhart, Mar 13, 2006
  11. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    Yeah, that does look pretty neat. Black tape? What kind of black tape and aren't you concerned with it peeling away?

    Thanks to hobbit for starting this thread. And since I have four currently-unused rims hanging in my garage I might try some black tape experiments of my own. (once the weather turns and stays warm)
     
    #11 TonyPSchaefer, Mar 13, 2006
  12. Allannde

    Allannde Just a Senior

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    Not worried. It is the kind of tape which is used on packages for mailing. The real common stuff which is either clear or brown. If you look, you can find it in several bright colors including black. I got mine at the local hardware store. If you can't find it there you might try a hobby shop which supplies RC airplanes. They use it to cover the wings of Foam airplanes. It is really quite durable. If it does come off it is easy to replace. Of course it will stick better if the surface is clean when you apply it.

    I took a razor blade and cut a narrow strip around the outside edge to expose just a little (you can see it) because I didn't like the look of black on black. That is a matter of what looks good to you. After all "beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
     
    #12 Allannde, Mar 13, 2006
  13. Bob Allen

    Bob Allen Captainbaba

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    What a hoot!! I've thought about painting mine to match the car (seaside pearl), but I like what you've done. My rims are as yet unscratched and I'm reluctant to actually paint them because if it doesn't work, I'm out the 200 bucks for the set of four.

    Has anyone actually painted his/her rims? If so, what kind of paint? I wonder how paint would hold up under the continuous assault of road grit.

    I like the "floating asterisk" best.

    Bob
     
    #13 Bob Allen, Mar 14, 2006
  14. Allannde

    Allannde Just a Senior

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    I had the same reservation about painting which is why I used tape. This tape can be removed without leaving damage. The "floating asterisk" would be easier to do. Simply don't cut the tape off the outside edge of the disk like I did.
     
    #14 Allannde, Mar 14, 2006
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