Painting

[Vahagn23]

My hubcap fell couple months ago, and the black rim looked kinda ugly on my V, so i decided to spray paint it today. It came out looking uglier in white. Is it bad to spray paint? will it damage the rims? Ill get picks after it rains

[Vahagn23]

Took some pics.

[frankoV]

I see fun times ahead . . .

[brainguyus]

Whitewalls?

[Johniboi]

no ooffense, and dont take this as a flame or anything but that looks UGLY dude...

[ElDiablo]

you do take a pretty good picture on the other hand.

[Vahagn23]

Thinking of buying new rims, it cost $40 more than the hubcap

[bigdog]

you could repaint all the rims gloss black or even silver,i think that would look better than the white. btw try to mask your wheels better to keep overspray off them.

[Vahagn23]

you could repaint all the rims gloss black or even silver,i think that would look better than the white. btw try to mask your wheels better to keep overspray off them.

I tried it, but the tape ripped off, because of the wind

[Driving Instructor]

WOW...... great job! I think I will paint mine! Hot pink!

lol

[AG]

Sorry, but I really laughed. Again you can still paint them black.

Btw, the last pic: is it just the pic, or your rim is so bent?

[Ever Victorious]

My hubcap fell couple months ago, and the black rim looked kinda ugly on my V, so i decided to spray paint it today. It came out looking uglier in white. Is it bad to spray paint? will it damage the rims? Ill get picks after it rains

Well, you generally don't want to paint rims while they're on the car. You can actually fuse the lug nuts to the rims with the paint. A thin coat of spray paint like you've got isn't likely to do that, but yeah... I think you've figured out a couple reasons why people don't randomly spray paint stuff.

When I did this to the Rambler, this is what I started with...



and this was the finished product.



EACH WHEEL COVER took approximately 8 hours to complete. That's 32 hours of work and about $35 in paint, sanding paper, and tape. Doesn't include the drill or paint stripper that I already owned prior to the project.

I had to disassemble them, clean them, strip the old loose paint off of them, clean them again, mask them, prime them, paint them, clear them, unmask, and reassemble. And yes, I spray painted them. Kept the chrome accents, made the bulk of it bronze, and the inner cups are black.

Also, one of the 4 doesn't look terribly good because I couldn't get off all the loose paint that used to be on it. I would have had to have it media blasted, which is something I wasn't willing to spend the $$ on for what I was doing.

You CAN spray paint something and make it look good, but it takes a LOT of time prepping and masking the surface properly. and that's impossible to do while it's mounted. Or while the tire is on the rim, for that matter.

I think at this point you've recognized that the easiest, cheapest way to do this is to just buy new rims.

[bigdog]

or go to the parts store & spend 30-35 bucks of aftermarket hub caps which even the guys @ my dealership think they look sooo much better than the factory "old man" hubcaps. if you want to see them go to versa section on car domain & look for bigdog scott for pix.

[Ever Victorious]

It probably also bears mentioning that it's a good thing that it wasn't a FRONT wheel you sprayed while still attached, since disc brake hardware doesn't like it when it's painted in the wrong places.

[Vahagn23]

I didnt want to take out the tire, then take it home and leave the car with a missing tire on a jack half a mile away from where I live. Anyways looking into buying some new rims now. If im going to spend 35-50$ on a hubcap which eventually will fly off again, might as well spend a little more on new rims.

Are the alloy rims better than the steel rims? Not in performance, but in strenght.

[superskunk]

i have 4 hubcaps if you want to buy all 4, $ 50 bucks for all 4 if you want them....

[bigdog]

go to advanced auto or auto zone which i would think you have up there & you get a COMPLETE set of hubcaps for 30-35$ and iv never had one even remotely come loose. just ck out my cardomain site i mentioned earlier.

[Vahagn23]

im taking car to the dealer tomorow for check up, maybe they will give me one.

[AMD]

I'm sorry, don't want to be mean, but I think this is the worst paint job I've seen.

You should have at least taken the wheels off the car!

And covered the tires properly.

Also I'm sure now your brakes are two-tones black and white from the paint that went through the holes in the rims...

[Ever Victorious]

I didnt want to take out the tire, then take it home and leave the car with a missing tire on a jack half a mile away from where I live. Anyways looking into buying some new rims now. If im going to spend 35-50$ on a hubcap which eventually will fly off again, might as well spend a little more on new rims.

Are the alloy rims better than the steel rims? Not in performance, but in strenght.

There is a known issue with the hubcaps on the S model falling off. It's likely that aftermarket hubcaps would actually hold onto the wheel better, plus you can get a whole set of them cheaper than ONE OEM hubcap.

As far as alloy vs. steel in the department of strength, steel wins. BUT, that's not to say that alloys are weak. Steel wheels, as far as their strength, are usually overkill for most drivers. They still exist simply because they are cheaper to produce and replace than alloys.

If you're planning on off-roading that Versa, or like hitting your wonderful New York-sized potholes at between 40 and 60, then you should stick with steel. But if you're going to drive like a normal human being, alloys are strong enough. Plus they have the added bonus of being lighter, which hels with acceleration and economy.

[bigdog]

definatly true on the aftermarket hub caps fitting better changed mine within a week of getting car brand new off lot 1yr ago & havent had a single issue with my aftermarket caps.

[frankoV]

im taking car to the dealer tomorow for check up, maybe they will give me one.

nothing wrong with dreaming . . .

[bigdog]

depending on how much you press them, they may very well give you a new one since the factory hub caps are so notoius about coming off,there have been several post on this issue, i'd still go with 35$ aftermarket ones tilll you can afford some nice rims(i myself am trying to save for some konigs).

[pfc369]

check ntsa recall site for versa. i read some thing concerning hub cap not holding in place.

[KimberKenobi]

I think you've figured out a couple reasons why people don't randomly spray paint stuff.

rofl.

Anyway... would've probably looked a lot better if both wheels were the same color... you still have a silver hubcap on the front one, so maybe silver would've been less... obvious?

[Vahagn23]

rofl.

Anyway... would've probably looked a lot better if both wheels were the same color... you still have a silver hubcap on the front one, so maybe silver would've been less... obvious?

after I saw I sucked at painting I just stopped untill I would ruin another rim and the disks.

[kcourtad]

after I saw I sucked at painting I just stopped untill I would ruin another rim and the disks.

if it was me... i would go ahead and paint all four of them to match... but hey thats just me... other then that... EV is right it took me 3 hrs just to paint my grill and back peice

[mayahmed423]

No offence but dude WHITE itz ugly, instead you would have paint the other 3 black......

[illf8ed]

Vahagn- If you're ever in the Baltimore area let me know. I have a sandblasting cabinet (well it's actually a converted tanning bed) and we can paint those wheels the right way.

[Nismo V]

Not trying to change the subject but that is one clean looking 64' Rambler EV, how long have you had it?

Looks mint, no wonder the dutch said this way back..