Pete5150

I have to admit, I got choked up today from epic fail and I need help/suggestions/opinions. I got my tires changed a little while back and in the process ALL FOUR RIMMS were scratched. Being friends with the manager of the tire shop there was no hassle from them. Told get my rims fixed and they'd pay in full. Ok...so I find a place (currently unnamed in case there is a happy ending to this story) and he tells me, I can fix it and they will be as if they just came from the factory. Great. I decide to stick with the same color seeing I couldn't decide on changing a color and I really like the aluminum look. Went to pick up the car today and they were WAY off! It looked like plastic rims. He says he used the code number from the factory, so why the difference?! Do any of you know what went wrong? To add to it, he got all bent out of shape because I didn't like it and he was pissed about all the labor. F that. He says like factory, he could at least get the color right!!! For the record, the metal work was really good and all the rims were smooth. I've attached pictures of the rims. One has a picture straight on. The one on the right is original and the left is painted. In the picture of the wheels on an angle, it's the other way around. The best way to see the difference is compare the rim color to the center cap.

So really the question is where do I go from here? He still has the car and says he's going to go to Nissan and bring cards to try to match the paint of the factory rims and have me pick one, "then I'll spray them and that's IT!" That makes me uncomfortable for one thing because I want him to put a little TLC into his work on my beloved z! Second, if I can't decide on a shade of aluminum, I was thinking black. But the problem is I think gloss black painted stockers look like they were just dipped in chocolate, and while delicious, I don't think they look so good. Then I was thinking flat black, which could potentially look really good, but two problems. I think you have to be a really good painter to do flat black, and I'm skeptical in this case. Also, for those who have flat black painted rims, any problem or special instructions in cleaning or caring for them? Please help...I actually got choked up about it coming home. I've included some pics of my car for reference on suggestions.

Pete5150

Couldn't upload, here's my car.

JDM555

iTrader: (18)

Hmmm, pictures aren't that great, but I guess it doesn't have the shiny aluminum looking finish and it's just a dull and satin light silver? Hmm.....I don't know what to tell you.

Black on Gloss Black wheels is ehhh...doesn't look good imo. Maybe satin black, but you have to be lowered. A nice gunmetal would be nice too. Personally, on your black, I like the stock look cause it matches the lights, reflectors, badges, and door handle. But Gunmetal would look nice.


I can try to Photoshop some for you, i'll be back in a few.

JDM555

iTrader: (18)

Ehhh, not so great, but you get the idea.


Flat Black


Gunmetal


I like the flat/satin black look. You definitely need to drop it though and don't get gloss cause your tires will always look grayer than teh wheels and that's ehh.

Pete5150

I agree gloss black wouldn't look right. Gunmetal is nice, but wouldn't match anything else on my car. I figure black or silver. What you pointed out is exactly the problem. I was thinking satin black too, but my buddy mentioned there was no such thing like interior paint! haha. And my going with the stock color was exactly the same reason you mentioned (handles, lights, etc.) I really appreciate photoshopped pics. For the flat black, I was thinking of going with flat black veilside lip and rear diffuser which would tie in the color a little.

JDM555

iTrader: (18)

Personally, I wouldn't mod the car while keeping the stock wheels. If the car is stock, then keep the stock wheels. As soon as you get a VSV1 Lip and a diffuser and lower the car, the stockers will need to go ASAP. You can have him paint it black for now or silver, then imo get new satin black wheels or something that are bigger/wider to give it that mean stance.

Pete5150

DIGGING THE FLAT BLACK! Can't lower it yet (live with potholes!) I'll lower it when I go back to Fla! Will put spacers, though to get rid of some gap.

Waiz

iTrader: (57)

Cliff notes?

davidv

iTrader: (2)

Did you paint 4 wheels?

Pete5150

Cliff notes and to answer the last question:

New tires resulted in all four rims damaged. Brought them to wheel repair shop, metal fixed and all four rims resprayed. I think it's the wrong color. If guy cannot match original color, was thinking of changing color. Suggestions/comments?

T_K

iTrader: (5)

Paint code for the wrong year maybe?

davidv

iTrader: (2)

I like the painted wheels better than OEM.

BillytheKid

iTrader: (2)

thats what i was thinking

Pete5150

So I talked to the paint guy today and tensions had smoothed out a little. I suggested the year of the paint code because that seems to make good sense. The pre-06 rimms were a lighter color and that may be the problem. He says he's going to go to the Nissan dealer and spray come cards to try to color match. If not, I'll go with the flat black.

GriffinZ33

iTrader: (2)

hers what gloss black looks like
[IMG][/IMG]

GriffinZ33

iTrader: (2)

umm thats what tire shine is for

alove112

iTrader: (5)

Forgive me if I'm wrong but aren't the factory wheels powder coated not paint? Painting the wheels will not give you the same powder coat finish.

Xonatron

I know this is from 10 years ago -- so crazy. What colour was this? I am about to redo my 2006 rims with Brilliant Silver K23, black car: xona.com/350z. Curious how it will look. I want more contrast, a bigger difference between the black of the car and silver of the rims. Almost like how the door handles look. But, I don't want it to look cheap or plastic as you mentioned.

ZZ Topless

Ten years ago or not, it amazes me that no one did what I did (in some manner or another) to solve this. Without getting into a long background dissertation I brought my Z to the auto paint store (Wesco) today to "replay" a process I recently did for the nearly impossible to match metallic paint on my jet ski. They have a digital gizmo... like a cross between a Star Trek tricorder and a digital camera which they use to break down the color characteristics of a particular paint. (my local Napa said they have the same device) They need a flat surface at least the size of a credit card for it to work. Fortunately the factory (2006) Z wheels do have a flat spot that suffices. He places two electrodes (for lack of a better term) on the gizmo against the wheel, records the info, and then plugs it into their database for a match... or approximate match. As every source (this forum and others) say there is no touch up paint for this wheel, I expected to find something absurd, like a Chevy engine color from 1969 was the closest match. But coincidentally (or not?) the winner is.... drum roll please, a Nissan color. It's KYO Chrome Silver, which I just ordered from E-bay. For instance: https://www.ebay.com/itm/TOUCH-UP-PA...-/192288801953 It's likely that you can find one of those little tubes of touch up paint at your local auto parts dealer, or even a spray can such as those from Dupli-Color (crap IMO) but I checked with my local Nissan dealer today and they said they can order it. For what its worth, this is as close to the correct color as the Trek device could come up with, but that doesn't make the TU paint you buy a wheel paint.. I'm no expert, but I expect that the formulation and subsequent durability of wheel paint vs aftermarket auto body TU paint are likely different. Once we figured the color, the Wesco guy asked me how good of paint I wanted and gave me a laundry list of urethane, acrylic, basecoat clearcoat, and cheap vs expensive options that would make your head spin.. so to quote late night TV, "Your results may vary" based on the quality of paint you choose. If any one still cares about this thread, I'll follow up on my success with the E-bay purchase.

Xonatron

As mentioned above, I ended up repainting my rims with Brilliant Silver K23:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I find in the light, they almost seem too bright. But great lightning is the rarity (where I live anyways). In the dark, the rims stand out more and offer more contrast. So, overall, I am happy with it. The initial angle shown in the video above is not how it normally looks.