I started out painting wheel faces a dark rusty color mixed from Floquil Rust and Roof Brown. The backs of the wheels were painted the same as the faces. Then I scrubbed powdered black chalk onto the wheel faces to blacken them. Chalk scrubbing is a dirty business, so I always did wheels separately before putting them into the side frames. After Floquil went away, I switched to Model Master Skin Tone Dark Tint as the base color for the front face, and Model Master Dark Tan for the rest. I used black Pan Pastel for the finish when I weathered the car. I have enough Model Master to last a lifetime, since my roster is nearly complete.

Nelson Moyer

Really nice weathering, Charlie, as on all your cars. But, we need to have a discussion about weathering wheels. Rusty wheel plates is a modern, post roller bearing thing. Solid bearings used a 'total loss' lube system, where after the oil was drawn up between the axle and bearing, a portion migrated out the back of the journal box (there was no oil seal) where ti was flung out on the face of the wheel. Of course, anything oily in a dusty environment quickly builds a coating of oily grunge. Those cast iron wheels might have started out rusty, but they didn't stay that way long.

What is everyone's favorite wheel color?

Dennis Storzek