Should I paint the center of my wheels?

[streetk14]

Hey guys,

I know Torque Thrust II's are more than a little played out, but I'm looking to add a little spice to mine and need some advice. I do have plans for a new set of wheels in the future (Boze, Fikse or Forgeline maybe), but I have other areas of the car where I'd rather spend the cash. Plus, I already have 17X9.5" and 17X11" wheels on the car that fit some nice sized rubber. SO, I'm fairly happy at the moment.

I have been thinking about having the center spokes of my TTII's powdercoated a charcoal gray to match my stripes (or maybe black). I'm just trying to figure out if it will look good, maybe somebody with some talent could do a little photoshop for me. I can get them done for $75 a wheel, which is much cheaper than getting a new set of wheels with gray centers.

What do you guys think?

Andy

[larknut]

Cant do the photoshop thing but I'd say go charcoal. To me Black does not look right on Torq Thrusts

[skatinjay27]

charcoal over black for sure!!!! if you want a more race look the charcoal BUT they look very good on your car polished now.. and im not really a huge fan of tt2s

[Smock67]

Go for the charcoal it would be a perfect contrast and look killer

[West Texas Z]

leave it. Just my .02

[MrQuick]

yes, same as the stripe....

[qwik1320]

Do it!

[KreativeBodyWerks]

I'm with Blazed67 on this!!!

[Vegas69]

It looks good now. I would save the money and have them done in charcoal for your new wheels if thats what you like.

[EastCoast]

I was faced with the same decision (silver car). I ended up changing wheels but could only get them in a black center. Now that I've run them for a summer I will get the centers painted gun metal grey. So my suggestion is to paint them, but I personeally wouldn't go with black. I find it's even hard to get a decent pic of the car as the wheel spokes get lost....

Nice car!

Robb

[Boesch]

I personally think it would look good the same color as the stripes. We have a lot of people who request that we paint the centers to match a color on their car.

[Tony_SS]

I personally think it would look good the same color as the stripes.

I agree!

[ALLKAR]

[MarkM66]

Paint the spokes and brush the lip.

[streetk14]

Thanks, you are the man! That looks really good to me, and I think that's what I'm going to have to do to bet my fix.

Andy

[CarlC]

Andy,

If you are planning on selling the rims later you may want to consider if they will sell as easily or for as much vs. leaving them alone.

[streetk14]

Andy,

If you are planning on selling the rims later you may want to consider if they will sell as easily or for as much vs. leaving them alone.

Thanks for watching out for my well being, Carl


If I end up doing this, I will be keeping them on the car for a while. I was really thinking about going to an 18" wheel so they could clear a set of C6 Z06 front brakes, but then I stopped myself before this whole front subframe swap gets out of hand. I ended up just getting a new set of GM Performance parts drilled/slotted C5 rotors to replace the stock ones I have, and I'll throw on a new set of pads when the car goes back together. I'll save the 18's and Z06 brakes for another time.

Andy

[vp23271]

I know this is a little left field, but I really like the look of the brushed finish on the centers and then a polished lip. I have not seen it on the TTII yet. I also like the TT with the casted centers. Just my 2 cents. I know the TTII rim is everywhere, but I still like the look on certain cars.

If your gonna have them painted, you could always experiment a little first. If you don't like the look, you can always go back to "Plan A" and get the centers painted.

1) Polish the lip
2) Mask off the rim with some painters tape leaving a clean line at the base of each spoke
3) Then use some scotch brite to dull the surface

Just an idea. I should let you know that I have NOT tried this idea, but was thinking about doing something similar. I am not far enough along with my project yet, so I am still brain storming.

Has anyone on this forum ever used scotch brite on a polish surface to get that brushed look? Is scotch brite the right media to use?

Either way, your Camaro looks great! I got a 68 Camaro project and slowly making progress!

[streetk14]

[quote=vp23271]I know this is a little left field, but I really like the look of the brushed finish on the centers and then a polished lip. I have not seen it on the TTII yet.



I was thinking of doing the brushed centers if I got new wheels. I'd really like to get a set of Fikse FM 5's with a brushed center and polished lip, but those things are expensive and really not a priority right now. I'm not sure how that would look on a TTII, but it is a cool idea.

Andy

[MrQuick]

Andy,

If you are planning on selling the rims later you may want to consider if they will sell as easily or for as much vs. leaving them alone.

Don't worry, i'll still buy them painted. LOL