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Article
and Photography By Kurt Misner
Painting My
Wheels with
Dupli-Color Mirage Ice
 I’ve
had the same boring white spoke steel wheels on my Jeep for four years.
Because I didn’t like the 70's look, and the color really made my wheels look
wide (read fix-it tickets...), I decided to paint them a darker color. I
decided against painting them black, or to match the body. I wanted
something dark but with a little flash. I’ve seen the Dupli-Color Mirage
color-shifting paint kits before, but all the colors were too bright for my old
Jeep. I didn’t want to make it look like a boy-racer car. My local
Kragen store had the Ice color which is essentially a metal flake charcoal gray
color, with a prism effect (color shifting) that would do the job.
The
Mirage paint kit is made up of three rattle cans:
1.
Black Base Coat
2.
Ice (dark gray) Mid Coat
3.
Top (clear) Coat
The
center can is the Mid Coat and provides the actual color and prism effect.
It’s
very important to follow the instructions. In order to avoid any clouding,
make sure the air is cool enough and not humid. Fortunately humidity is
low here in California. I first cleaned the wheel and lightly sanded it so
the new paint would grab on.
 The
first coat is the black base coat. This helps make the Mirage lacquer
adhere to the original paint without a reaction. Without this
specialized primer, the mid coat won’t do its magic. Make sure you
have good thorough coverage of the base coat. Take a look at the picture
at about 12 o’clock. You can see the black is a little thin on the
inside of the wheel. That showed through after I was done (that’s what
I get for painting in a dark garage at 10:30 at night). Use several thin
coats, but cover it well.
Next
comes the mid coat. This has the color pigments as well as the metal
flake sparkles. I was amazed at how immediate the change was when I
sprayed it on. I could actually see the color shifting/sparkles as it
flew through the air towards the wheel. The prism effect was quite
colorful. The directions say that the more coats you add, the deeper the
color change effect will be. I only used two thin coats, which appear
flat until the Top coat is applied. 
Here’s
the finished product in the sunlight. In the dim, artificial light of
the garage, the sparkles were evident, but the sun really makes it come alive.
Overall the process was really easy. What will I do different for the
next four wheels? Put a heavier coat of the black base coat, spray three
thinner coats of the mid coat to avoid sags (yes, I had one). I will
also make sure the topcoat is even and fully covering the wheel. I like
this color because from a distance it is a relatively sedate charcoal gray
color. But, when it’s clean and out in the light it catches the eye.
I recommend Dupli-Color Mirage paint. I think it would look great on a
roll bar as well.
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