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I'm about to paint a recast steering wheel and need to see the colors used. the outer rim seems to be a creamy white and the hub either black or maybe a stock body color. I can't seem to find decent photos with the colors. My car is fireflite with red body and white sweep and top. I seem to remember the outer rim with this color was a very opaque redish. I'll probably go with black and white since the dash is b and w. any help?
I'm new to the DeSoto color thing but my experince with other old cars is that a creamy white was probably a bright white to match paint whte but the sun has taken its toll
my post isn't too clear. basically, I'm probably going to paint the hub wet look black acryllic and the rim white but I'm afraid to use bright white or even the rather toned down white of the dash panels if the original was a creamier white. All the brochures I have show what appears to be bone white but they are almost all artists renditions from sales pieces.
Dave,
The plastic wheels for the 55 DeSoto were available in the following color combinations:
Ivory & Black
Ivory & Blue
Ivory & Green
Coral & Black
These faded over time. Yours could have been the coral and black. I suspect many of the red cars would have had the ivory and black wheel. Below is a picture of my ivory and black wheel. I don't know how close to the original it now might be. The 55 & 56 wheels were the same, but I believe all 56 wheels were ivory and black.
Mac
Dave,
Hopefully, if all goes as planned, you will see a posted picture of my original, unrestored ivory and white '55 steering wheel. I bought my car with 32,000 miles in 1981 and it appears to have been a garaged car most of its life. I've had it garaged since 1981. As Mac correctly states, the light color of the steering wheel was ivory, not white. Most restored wheels I've seen are too white, as least as compared to my original wheel. I don't think my wheel is faded; I think the original color is ivory which is not white, hence the name ivory. If you have the chance to do things correctly, my recommendation is to try for ivory and avoid the bright white. My wheel does NOT match the white on the dashboard.
Mark
Thank you, Mark. I thought you might be the answer. I was quite sure it wasn't pure white. I'm going to try to tone down my qt. of white to that ivory color. Your 55 is beautiful! dave
