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TSportline TSV Wheels: Airbrushing some replacement center caps in color-matched Satin Gray

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Background
My MYP is due for delivery on Saturday September 10th. The first thing I'm doing to it is removing the 21" Uberturbines and replacing them with 19" TSportline TSVs in Satin Gray. This is for a couple of reasons: comfier better ride quality, improved efficiency, and better selection of winter/snow rated tires. I'll be selling the Uberturbines, the Michelin All Seasons, and TPMS modules shortly thereafter. But there was a problem... I strongly dislike the look of the TSportline center caps.

This is the story of how I airbrushed a new set of center caps to color match the Satin Gray wheels.

Wheel Selection
The TSVs look great to my eye, especially in Satin Gray which is apparently a very close match for the MYP's Uberturbines:

19-tesla-model-3-y-s-x-tsv-flow-forged-wheels-uberturbine-satin-matte-gray-web-1_2000x.jpg


TSportline do two flavors of the 19" Satin Gray TSV: Model Y and Model 3.
Even though I'm putting these wheels on a MYP I chose the Model 3 variant because they are:
  • Narrower (which means 255/45 R19 tires have a good amount of sidewall to protect against curb rash)
  • Lighter
  • Higher load rated

Center Caps
The problem was TSportline center caps in the TSV wheels. They're not pleasing to my eye! They have a gaudy bright silver emblem... no thanks. At first I asked TSportline if they had color-matched Tesla center caps; no dice. They only sell OEM black ones. Then I asked about blank emblem-free caps; also no dice.

So in the end I opted to buy two sets of black caps (one blank, one Tesla), a couple of bottles of TSportline's Satin Grey automotive touch-up paint, and create color-matched center caps using my airbrush.

Ingredients
The TSVs + CrossClimate2 (please ignore the goop on the tires, its remnants of Discount Tire lube):
20km66c6xpk91.jpg


Process
I gave the new caps a few coats of white lacquer primer:

514nsv3swpk91.jpg


Then I thinned the TSportline touch-up paint with some of the Mr Color lacquer thinner and gave them a good few coats:

kiwd8edtwpk91.jpg


At this point the color match was really quite good, but the texture and clear coat differed quite a lot. So next I applied a few thin coats of Testors Dullcote to the center caps (this step was, I think, unnecessary) and then used a whole can of Rustoleum Clear Matte Enamel on both the center caps and the larger outer caps. The idea was to make sure the final finish is the same on all plastic parts for consistency:

fv5gx3nuwpk91.jpg


This is what they ended up looking like (the colors look different because of lighting, but they're all identical):

19zi2cyvwpk91.jpg


Here's a comparison:

20km66c6xpk91.jpg
w9kcptv7xpk91.jpg
anvsgxz8xpk91.jpg


Conclusion
I'm really happy with how the caps turned out. I'm most likely going to use the blank caps and sell the Tesla emblem ones as part of my effort to de-badge my MYP. Once the car arrives in a few days I'll update this thread with photos of progress.
 
Here's some more shots of the wheels/tires (with TSportline's TPMS modules, which are apparently 100% compatible with Tesla's).

I LOVE the tread pattern on the CrossClimate2s:

5s5s20rhwpk91.png


Here's a couple of shots of rim clearance with 8.5" wide wheels and 255/45 R19 rubber:

bvCuhEw.jpeg


There's roughly 10mm (3/8") sidewall clearance:

c5Kf6EG.jpeg


Can't wait to get them on the car!
 
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Background
My MYP is due for delivery on Saturday September 10th. The first thing I'm doing to it is removing the 21" Uberturbines and replacing them with 19" TSportline TSVs in Satin Gray. This is for a couple of reasons: comfier better ride quality, improved efficiency, and better selection of winter/snow rated tires. I'll be selling the Uberturbines, the Michelin All Seasons, and TPMS modules shortly thereafter. But there was a problem... I strongly dislike the look of the TSportline center caps.

This is the story of how I airbrushed a new set of center caps to color match the Satin Gray wheels.

Wheel Selection
The TSVs look great to my eye, especially in Satin Gray which is apparently a very close match for the MYP's Uberturbines:

19-tesla-model-3-y-s-x-tsv-flow-forged-wheels-uberturbine-satin-matte-gray-web-1_2000x.jpg


TSportline do two flavors of the 19" Satin Gray TSV: Model Y and Model 3.
Even though I'm putting these wheels on a MYP I chose the Model 3 variant because they are:
  • Narrower (which means 255/45 R19 tires have a good amount of sidewall to protect against curb rash)
  • Lighter
  • Higher load rated

Center Caps
The problem was TSportline center caps in the TSV wheels. They're not pleasing to my eye! They have a gaudy bright silver emblem... no thanks. At first I asked TSportline if they had color-matched Tesla center caps; no dice. They only sell OEM black ones. Then I asked about blank emblem-free caps; also no dice.

So in the end I opted to buy two sets of black caps (one blank, one Tesla), a couple of bottles of TSportline's Satin Grey automotive touch-up paint, and create color-matched center caps using my airbrush.

Ingredients
The TSVs + CrossClimate2 (please ignore the goop on the tires, its remnants of Discount Tire lube):
20km66c6xpk91.jpg


Process
I gave the new caps a few coats of white lacquer primer:

514nsv3swpk91.jpg


Then I thinned the TSportline touch-up paint with some of the Mr Color lacquer thinner and gave them a good few coats:

kiwd8edtwpk91.jpg


At this point the color match was really quite good, but the texture and clear coat differed quite a lot. So next I applied a few thin coats of Testors Dullcote to the center caps (this step was, I think, unnecessary) and then used a whole can of Rustoleum Clear Matte Enamel on both the center caps and the larger outer caps. The idea was to make sure the final finish is the same on all plastic parts for consistency:

fv5gx3nuwpk91.jpg


This is what they ended up looking like (the colors look different because of lighting, but they're all identical):

19zi2cyvwpk91.jpg


Here's a comparison:

20km66c6xpk91.jpg
w9kcptv7xpk91.jpg
anvsgxz8xpk91.jpg


Conclusion
I'm really happy with how the caps turned out. I'm most likely going to use the blank caps and sell the Tesla emblem ones as part of my effort to de-badge my MYP. Once the car arrives in a few days I'll update this thread with photos of progress.
Great post! Thanks for sharing.

Is it easy to sell the Uberturbines? I see lot of post on FB for Uberturbines on sale. Who would buy them when all dislike them equally? Were you able to sell it?
 
Is it easy to sell the Uberturbines? I see lot of post on FB for Uberturbines on sale. Who would buy them when all dislike them equally? Were you able to sell it?
Closing the loop on this one.

It took about 2 weeks for the Uberturbines to sell once I put them on Craigslist, and I renewed the listing once to bump it to the top of the search results. I accepted $2500 (local pickup / cash) for the wheels/tires/tpms.

I *sugar* you not, the guy had only just given me the money and rolled two of the wheels to his car, when he let one slip and fall on the curb, putting a scuff about an inch long on the rim. He wasn't even phased, not even for a second. He just said "eh, they're winter wheels" and got on with loading up. I'd don't know that I'd have been so stoic!
 
Looks great; thanks for sharing!

Quick question - how much thinner did you add to the touch up paint to be able to use with airbrush (approximate ratio)? I am in the process of fixing some nasty road rash on three of my Uberturbine wheels and have tried several colors but the Tsportline seems to be the closest match. I'd like to thin the Tsportline to be able to use with airbrush but I am not sure how much thinner to add. Also, do you think the sheen of the thinned Tsportline airbrush would match the Uberturbines without applying the clear matte enamel?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Looks great; thanks for sharing!

Quick question - how much thinner did you add to the touch up paint to be able to use with airbrush (approximate ratio)? I am in the process of fixing some nasty road rash on three of my Uberturbine wheels and have tried several colors but the Tsportline seems to be the closest match. I'd like to thin the Tsportline to be able to use with airbrush but I am not sure how much thinner to add. Also, do you think the sheen of the thinned Tsportline airbrush would match the Uberturbines without applying the clear matte enamel?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Hey, I put in "a splash" of thinner. I didn't measure it and I honestly have no idea of ratio... it was a splash. Or a splosh. A dribble. Sorry.

Regarding sheen I honestly don't know. I never did any comparisons! For the sake of $10 and a few minutes it's absolutely worth it!
 
Awesome post and nice work! How have those tires held up? Care to post some follow-up pics? Thanks!

I'll need to give the car a wash and take some new photos to share!

How have the caps/tires/etc held up? Fantastic. I have a little over 10k miles on the car, a lot of which has been added during a Colorado winter. It bakes in the 90F summer sun nowadays.

The tires each have 17/64" of tread left and I've rotated once at 6k. They acquitted themselves very well in the snow.

The center caps have proven to be surprisingly sturdy. Still delighted with them.
 
Unfitted without caps:

View attachment 851869

The caps do look good!!
View attachment 851870

View attachment 851871

View attachment 851872

View attachment 851873

I am very, very happy with how the wheels/tires look on the blue MYP!
I just ordered some black M3 TSVs and CrossClimate2s for my wife's MYLR. If I love the setup I plan on ordering some gray M3 TSVs and CC2 for my matte blue MYP. I am worried about the lateral grip of the CC2s. How do you find the handling during spirited driving?