CUCV Desert Restoration Wheel Color

[NDT]

Folks I need some help making up my mind. Lately I have been painting all my wheels flat black, and I am getting a little tired of it. Seems like the latest "trend?" in the military is to paint the wheels body color. Anybody have any strong opinions either way? Attached are Southern CUCV Restoration's exquisite 09 restoration, and a LSSV factory shot.

 

[rsh4364]

I kinda like the body colored rims.I have noticed US wheel 804 series Stealth Daytona is offering our colors now.So the trend must be growing,must be a demand.

 

[Gunfighter1]

Just my opinion but i like the black wheels. All my vehicles have black wheels, keep em from looking dirty.

 

[eme411]

If you are doing a restoration then you must decide time period and location , from the factory CUCV rims are flat black , anything else go by in service photos that's what restoration is about, and what we have all seen from vehicles coming out of the system there are always many in service variations , just an example CMT with factory Camo on the cab and a body from the Dodge with 70's camo , looks strange but they were out there, if you do strange then the photo is your historical proof,

 

[Drock]

I think the body color looks good ,but would be ah pain to keep clean. Brake dust & finger prints every time you rotate the tires. For this reason I painted mine matte black verses flat. It cleans off better and if your like me and end up tire shinning everything then it makes sense to have them ah little shinny in between cleanings anyway. Here's the paint I use , It says gloss but as we all know rattle can paint is never really that glossy , it's more of ah matte..........http://www.vhtpaint.com/products/rollbarchassis/.... Also I prefer to use rattle can on high maintenance areas like this sense there going to need frequent touch ups.

 

[wheelspinner]

On tan trucks the tan rims look way better. Most that I've seen that were desert painted got tan rims. Green trucks look better with black rims.

 

[Castle Bravo]

Tan wheels.

 

[ODFever]

Here are some pictures I've collected that were taken during Operation Desert Shield and Storm. Paint the rims desert sand if you want your truck to be period correct.

 

[Al Harvey]

Most of the pictures show the wheels being painted tan as well. But with the limited number of photos we do have, I wouldn't say they all were tan. I painted my Desert Storm M1009 wheels semi gloss black, but my contact truck has tan wheels. If you really wanted to get people intrigued, pain all but one wheel tan. The spare tires under the truck weren't painted so that would still be correct. lol Here are some more pictures that I have collected from Operation Desert Storm.



In the third picture, it seems the rear HMMWV has black wheels.

 

[EwaMarine]

I think the manual says that if the vehicle is single tone ie 686 tan, you paint rims same color as body.

 

[eme411]

great photos,

 

[Drock]

Agree great pics I guess you were ah fan of these trucks even way back then. I found this post of some assembly line pics from GM that show the CUCV's with black wheels. Not ever being in the Military myself, (I can only assume), that based I what I've seen in popular television and the news. Is that our CUCV's were all originally camo or O.D. green until sent to the desert conflicts. Of which then they were repainted for.http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?41332-Assembly-Line-Pics

 

[Al Harvey]

Drock, that is correct. During Desert Storm many of the trucks were painted after they got to Kuwait. There were temporary paint booths set up so the truck could be pulled in, taped off, and shot. My contact truck was painted tan by the military and they didn't even move the chains or latches on the tailgate. The main goal was to just make them tan and quickly. After being painted most of the units were responsible for the inverted V's and just taped them off, that's why they look different on many of the trucks. Though I think some of the armor units had stencils since many of their V's look the same. Dad and me were talking about all this when we painted the M1009 for Desert Storm, he was in an engineer unit during Desert Storm.

 

[EwaMarine]

The single tone schemes require the rims to be the same as the body. The assembly line shots show black rims due to the TO requiring NATO three-tone schemes to have black rims. If the truck was issued as a single tone 383 green, or a 686 tan than the TO directs rims and body be painted as per the body color.

 

[EwaMarine]

The single tone schemes require the rims to be the same as the body. The assembly line shots show black rims due to the TO requiring NATO three-tone schemes to have black rims. If the truck was issued as a single tone 383 green, or a 686 tan than the TO directs rims and body be painted as per the body color.