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*
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.
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.
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*
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.
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)
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."
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
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.
