Which Wheels Look Better: Full-Face Steel or Ecco Cast Aluminum?

Which wheels look better?


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Well crap, I like them both now.

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I did some investigation recently with a digital bathroom scale.

Steel 15x7s = 26.5 lb
Ecco 15x7 = 20.0 lb

I am really surprised that there is such a huge difference in weight. Combine that with the rust issues that are associated with steel rims and I think they will soon be getting sold or going into storage.

I don’t think steel rims are as true as aluminum for roundness either.

Now the contest is between the eccos and canyons (in another thread)
 
I like the OEM stock wheels that came with my "X" but being of OLD SCHOOL I added a set of Chrome Skins....And since I use my jeep as a snow plow and Boat hauler - I up-sized the tires to 235x15... I like the ride and I have enough clearance for snow plowing and mountain trails for hunting.. I know old school chrome is NOT "IN" but I am from a different Century after all. Just keep the Steel Wheel Rust Free - Paint them every now and then.

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Just a little update:

A few weeks ago I sold my set of four steel wheels that were in really nice shape for $60. The guy wanted to use them for his circle track race car. I kept the center caps though. Sort of wish I would have kept them but trying to clean out the garage.
 
Going to look at a set of 5 steel wheels today (against my better judgement). $50 for the set but they are all spray painted black. I think there's a small chance I could remove the spraypaint but probably rusty or sandpaper marks underneath.

Something keeps pulling me to this style of wheel that originally came on my Jeep.
 
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Shame - Two of them were bent. no go.
Now they are in my garage (and kitchen).

The I asked the seller if he still had them and he was nice enough to give them to me for free! so I am going to use them to experiment in stripping/painting/straightening.

I bought some Citristrip to try. Maybe it will take the black paint off and leave the original paint if I'm lucky. And if I'm really lucky, the original paint will be in good shape. And if I'm really really lucky, I will be able to hammer out the bends.

Looks like it is taking off all the paint on the center caps though, including the original silver paint. Strike one.

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Well it got the black paint off. Whoever painted these did a pretty good job. There is a layer of primer underneath. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised at all if the original paint underneath was scuffed/sanded.

Just put on another layer of Citiristrip to work on the primer. Seems to work pretty good. I never used it before.

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Well it got the black paint off. Whoever painted these did a pretty good job. There is a layer of primer underneath. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised at all if the original paint underneath was scuffed/sanded.

Just put on another layer of Citiristrip to work on the primer. Seems to work pretty good. I never used it before.

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You Da Man!! My Wife woulda kicked my white ass if I pulled that shit on the kitchen counter🤣😜
 
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You Da Man!! My Wife woulda kicked my white ass if I pulled that shit on the kitchen counter🤣😜
haha She even let me put a transmission bellhousing in the dishwasher last week. DO NOT RECOMMEND! It didn't get it clean and left smeary little pieces of grease all over the inside and on the dishrack wheels that took me hours to clean. I'm not very smart.

Also- I tried it in the garage first but I think it's too cold out there for the stripper to be effective.
 
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Definitely no chance of saving the original paint on these wheels.

Citristrip took most everything off the plastic caps and turned it a funny color. I will need to finish sanding the caps by hand.

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And here is how the wheel came out. Will neee to be sanded, stripped still.
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Citristrip made a gooey mess of everything. Not a big fan of paint strippers in general but it worked as well as the regular stuff.
 
Definitely no chance of saving the original paint on these wheels.

Citristrip took most everything off the plastic caps and turned it a funny color. I will need to finish sanding the caps by hand.

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And here is how the wheel came out. Will neee to be sanded, stripped still.
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Citristrip made a gooey mess of everything. Not a big fan of paint strippers in general but it worked as well as the regular stuff.

I think at that point I would just sand, prime, sand some more. Seems like whatever is left has a good bond with the metal so what do you gain by taking it all the way to bare?
 
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I think at that point I would just sand, prime, sand some more. Seems like whatever is left has a good bond with the metal so what do you gain by taking it all the way to bare?
Agreed!

Edit: Suppose I need to work on getting them straightened first before spending anymore time or money on finishing them. See if I can get the two bent ones back within tolerances (or hopefully much better).

And before I do that, I need to finish my rust repair on the torque boxes and floors.
 
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Another set of wheels found their way home with me. They appear to be straight and in descent shape. Came with centercaps but only four wheels. Paid $30. Not sure if I will try to strip and repaint these or leave them be. Still got bigger issues with my Jeep to deal with in the meantime.

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