Hi, I'm taking delivery of a 2013 red twin air colour therapy this week, but the original white wheel trims are scuffed. It looks like they are over £60 each to replace so thought I might have a go at touching them up. What could possibly go wrong?? My question is, can I just use the normal bossa nova white paint to do this or are they an obscure shade of white which was only used for 2 months in 2013?! I've spent all day trying to track down the answer and my head is going to explode. I just want to do bits of the edges, not the whole trims. Any advice would be gratefully received. Thanks, Mandy
General Scuffed wheel trims
- Thread starter Spidercat
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General Scuffed wheel trims
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Hi Mandy,
Quite often you will find the plastic parts never quite match up to the body colour as they are produced by the tier supplier and not painted at the same time as the body in the factory.
My white sport has never been in any accident and I can see at various times and different angles what looks like a totally different white at the bumper joint lines to body. This is the same on our silver range rover and something I see very often on brand new cars now.
Also you would probably on older wheel trims find some fading or even worse road dirt impregnated so the chances of getting anything to match as a touch up will be remote.
Personally for a new set of 4 for just over £20 you should maybe look at these on ebay as just the cost of some touch up paint will be nearly a much.
I particularly like the white ones with the fiat emblem.....
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_...1313&_nkw=fiat+500+white+wheel+trims&_sacat=0
If the link does not work just type ''Fiat white wheel trims'' in the search box on ebay and loads come up.
Farrah
Quite often you will find the plastic parts never quite match up to the body colour as they are produced by the tier supplier and not painted at the same time as the body in the factory.
My white sport has never been in any accident and I can see at various times and different angles what looks like a totally different white at the bumper joint lines to body. This is the same on our silver range rover and something I see very often on brand new cars now.
Also you would probably on older wheel trims find some fading or even worse road dirt impregnated so the chances of getting anything to match as a touch up will be remote.
Personally for a new set of 4 for just over £20 you should maybe look at these on ebay as just the cost of some touch up paint will be nearly a much.
I particularly like the white ones with the fiat emblem.....
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_...1313&_nkw=fiat+500+white+wheel+trims&_sacat=0
If the link does not work just type ''Fiat white wheel trims'' in the search box on ebay and loads come up.
Farrah
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Hi and welcome 
Painting plastics is a bit of an art..
My old Panda trims got aged.. I just fitted alloys instead
IF its just scuffs around the rim edge
Maybe try and paint a contrasting line.. Black..or body colour.. around the edge?
How are 500 trims held on car..?
Traditional FIAT trims are held in place by the wheel bolts.. but 500s often are 'different'..
Charlie
Painting plastics is a bit of an art..
My old Panda trims got aged.. I just fitted alloys instead
IF its just scuffs around the rim edge
Maybe try and paint a contrasting line.. Black..or body colour.. around the edge?
How are 500 trims held on car..?
Traditional FIAT trims are held in place by the wheel bolts.. but 500s often are 'different'..
Charlie
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You will need some primer specified for plastics. Check it will do all plastics, or if specific, teh type of plastic will be marked on the inside of the trims.
The plastic is a kind of polypropylene. It's very flexible and doesn't shatter, which is handy for a wheel trim but if it scuffs too deeply, you can't do much with it.
You can smooth down the affected area to improve the appearance, but you can't fill any deep gouges, since pretty much nothing sticks to polypropylene and a wheel trim, gets twisted as it's removed, which would tend to make any filler lift off.
If the middle chromed section is sound, then you can try masking it off using short pieces of tape, to go round the circle without leaving steps or jagged edges... then spray the cover with white plastic primer to get a key.. and give it a top coat of "white wheel trim paint" (Halfords).
Both these products are able to stick to plastic better than regular paint...and you have the advantage that there is a factory finish to act as a base coat there already.. although you ought to give it a roughing up with some wire wool or fine emery paper to provide a key for the primer to stick to, and a thorough clean before you start.
Whether a new but home-made finish is better looking than a factory finish with touched in bits depends on your skill with prep' and rattle cans.
If you're less confident, then use the Halfords white wheel trim paint.. spray it into the lid and use a small brush to apply it to just the gouged/scratched areas. It likely won't be a perfect match and the gouges will still be visible.. but less so than currently.
Ralf S.
You can smooth down the affected area to improve the appearance, but you can't fill any deep gouges, since pretty much nothing sticks to polypropylene and a wheel trim, gets twisted as it's removed, which would tend to make any filler lift off.
If the middle chromed section is sound, then you can try masking it off using short pieces of tape, to go round the circle without leaving steps or jagged edges... then spray the cover with white plastic primer to get a key.. and give it a top coat of "white wheel trim paint" (Halfords).
Both these products are able to stick to plastic better than regular paint...and you have the advantage that there is a factory finish to act as a base coat there already.. although you ought to give it a roughing up with some wire wool or fine emery paper to provide a key for the primer to stick to, and a thorough clean before you start.
Whether a new but home-made finish is better looking than a factory finish with touched in bits depends on your skill with prep' and rattle cans.
If you're less confident, then use the Halfords white wheel trim paint.. spray it into the lid and use a small brush to apply it to just the gouged/scratched areas. It likely won't be a perfect match and the gouges will still be visible.. but less so than currently.
Ralf S.
These kinds of touch up projects rarely achieve the kind of finish you're likely hoping for.
On a 7yr old car, personally I'd just leave it. If they're really bad, why not get a set of standard pop trims.
If you want the car looking perfect, then your best option is probably shelling out the money for a new set. Having them properly refinished by a professional paint shop would likely not cost any less, and a lesser job is just going to turn a scuffed trim into an obviously touched up scuffed trim.
I remember thinking at launch: "Those trims look nice, but they'll be a liability; one moment's inattention when parking and if you want the car looking good, your only option will be to pay whatever stupid price Fiat want for a replacement. Also, any passing opportunist thief can just bend down and pull them off - they're totally insecure".
£250+ for a set of plastic wheel trims is a joke, and Fiat are laughing all the way to the bank. They will cost only pennies to make.
On a 7yr old car, personally I'd just leave it. If they're really bad, why not get a set of standard pop trims.
If you want the car looking perfect, then your best option is probably shelling out the money for a new set. Having them properly refinished by a professional paint shop would likely not cost any less, and a lesser job is just going to turn a scuffed trim into an obviously touched up scuffed trim.
I remember thinking at launch: "Those trims look nice, but they'll be a liability; one moment's inattention when parking and if you want the car looking good, your only option will be to pay whatever stupid price Fiat want for a replacement. Also, any passing opportunist thief can just bend down and pull them off - they're totally insecure".
£250+ for a set of plastic wheel trims is a joke, and Fiat are laughing all the way to the bank. They will cost only pennies to make.
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Put up with them for a month
While you shop for some alloys
Partsworld sell 500Alloys for almost the cost of the plastic trims
While you shop for some alloys
Partsworld sell 500Alloys for almost the cost of the plastic trims
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Put up with them for a month
While you shop for some alloys
Partsworld sell 500Alloys for almost the cost of the plastic trims
You would still need to add on £15 a wheel for tyre change and balancing and for sure if fitting alloys I would go up a wheel size so then new tyres:yuck:. Then a lot of alloys need the centre wheel caps and sometimes even longer wheel bolts so likely not a cheap route IMHO albeit it would be what I would probably go for as I hate scuffed wheels. That said the simple plastic trims on ebay look good for not much over £20 for a set of 4 and given there is a second hand original (very scuffed) like yours on ebay currently up to bidding of £31 you should maybe either sell yours on or buy the cheapies as an interim to tidy the car up and see how you get on doing a DiY repair.
Farrah
It was just another option.. with most 7 year old cars.. there will be lots of 'stuff' you will want to attend to
Noisy cheap tyres..
and tracking.. geometry
Seem to feature for me
After a month you can prioritise
Noisy cheap tyres..
and tracking.. geometry
Seem to feature for me
After a month you can prioritise
Thanks everyone for your advice. I was shocked that the original colour therapy trims go for about £300 a set! I think I'm going to have a go at sanding, priming and respraying the worst one and see what happens. The car has been fitted with new trims by the dealership who have given me the originals to play around with so worst case scenario is my first effort is rubbish and I'm left with the new trims and 3 not too bad original ones to sell on ebay. Thank you all again!
Not so bad then..
Do drop in again soon to let us know how things are going
Charlie
Do drop in again soon to let us know how things are going
Charlie
Jimz500C
New member
You should be able to get the white ones off ebay. About £20 - £30 each.
Some sell as pairs as rears are un marked
Some sell as pairs as rears are un marked
Resurrecting this thread as I’ve just bought a colour therapy project with 2 really scratched trims. I think I’ll go down the white plastic primer/wheel trim paint after a brief rub down.
Will post results.
Will post results.
Hi again,
Wheel trim update! I masked the silver centres, then rubbed down the whole of the white trims, luckily the scratches weren't hugely gouged. I bought one can of white Halfords plastic primer, one can of Fiat white spray paint and one can of clear gloss lacquer and sprayed the entire trims with each in turn, giving a couple of coats each and leaving drying time between each coat. I'm really pleased with the result which looks like new and is a much better fit with the car than the replacements put on by the dealership. I'd definitely recommend having a go yourself before shelling out hundreds for brand new ones! I've never attempted anything like this before and although a bit time consuming, was easy and cheap
Wheel trim update! I masked the silver centres, then rubbed down the whole of the white trims, luckily the scratches weren't hugely gouged. I bought one can of white Halfords plastic primer, one can of Fiat white spray paint and one can of clear gloss lacquer and sprayed the entire trims with each in turn, giving a couple of coats each and leaving drying time between each coat. I'm really pleased with the result which looks like new and is a much better fit with the car than the replacements put on by the dealership. I'd definitely recommend having a go yourself before shelling out hundreds for brand new ones! I've never attempted anything like this before and although a bit time consuming, was easy and cheap
Hi again,
Wheel trim update! I masked the silver centres, then rubbed down the whole of the white trims, luckily the scratches weren't hugely gouged. I bought one can of white Halfords plastic primer, one can of Fiat white spray paint and one can of clear gloss lacquer and sprayed the entire trims with each in turn, giving a couple of coats each and leaving drying time between each coat. I'm really pleased with the result which looks like new and is a much better fit with the car than the replacements put on by the dealership. I'd definitely recommend having a go yourself before shelling out hundreds for brand new ones! I've never attempted anything like this before and although a bit time consuming, was easy and cheap
I did a similar job on my old alloys on the Mazda
Attachments
I’ve repainted alloys so I’ll give it a go. I’ve ordered white plastic primer and plasticote white paint and clear coat and will see how it comes out. The silver centres come out so I’ll take them all off first.
Will post some pics when done.
Will post some pics when done.
