Can Carbon rims be considered Retro?

[Retrorockit]

I now have my plastic 26" rims for my all metal Sikver XC bike (OK vintage Carbon handlebars).
I don't want all black wheels. Every new bike seems to have those, even the very cheapest ones.
High end plastic still looks like plastic. I could have gotten the fiber weave finish to show off the carbon, but I chose matte black.
Then there are the Berd spokes. They come in black, or white. The white ones can be dyed various colors so they're probably going to be blue to match the KHS graphics. Using 24h instead of 32h saves some weight, and quite a lot of cost. But most of the savings went away with a Berd price increase.
I'm leaning towards painting or powder coating the Carbom rims silver to look like metal ones.Powder coat will stand up to tire levers better. Metallic blue for an Ano look?
So spend a lot of money for high tech stuff, then cover it up for a faux retro vibe. I like the way the bike looks now. But I want better performance than newer big wheeled bikes. The black hubs will blend in with the black calipers, icetech spider type rotors, and black chain ring and derailleur. Black cockpit too.
They don't offer a silver dye for the spokes. Making them look like stainless steel cables would suit me just fine. I might look into that.

 

[Retrorockit]

I'm leaning towards the Blue rim idea. The Silver seems kind of fake.. I can leave the spokes white, and color them later if desired. The Rockshox SID isn't blue, but it could be.....

 

[Retrorockit]

I also came across protective rim wraps. They were clear and came in all sizes except 26"
Looking into this further there are some colored options for trials bikes. 19" 21', again no 26"
No sanding, no baking of the new rims like paint or powder coating. Removeable.
So what do you guys think?

 

[Retrorockit]

I went and talked to a friend who works on old cars (the Red ones). Covering up good plastic with bad plastic doesn't seem like such a good idea. Tire levers would probably chop it up.
Powder coating in his experience doesn't have a very nice finish. Then there's the matter of baking to set the resin, which is how the rims were made to start with. Some resins sets with UV light, but nobody knew a shop they would recommend using. Actually the opposite.
So it's looking like paint is the choice. He referred me to a Ducati shop that has lot's of experience painting carbon parts Red. 2 part Urethane paint. This is not DIY stuff. The proper protection is a pressurized full body suit. It contains Cyanide, it will kill you,
He also suggested a reamer to open up the valve stem holes to Shrader instead of a drill. I'm a retired truck mechanic. I can be a little heavy handed, so no power tools for me.
This would have been more retro if I could have kept the Mavic hubs with the Berd spokes. But Berd says no. But his way I'll still have a set of vintage Mavics. Maybe mount a set of fast rolling Rene Herse knobbies. That will brighten up my closet!

 

[Retrorockit]

I reamed out the valve stem holes to Schrader valve size. The web between the flanges was quick and easy. The hole at the spoke bed took quite a while. It's a lot thicker there, and the material is hard as hell. I think it dulled the reamer.. I'm glad I got rims that were just 25mm deep. Deeper and the Shrader valve might have been too short. Rule#1 never turn a reamer backwards. It folds over the sharp edge.

 

[Retrorockit]

String spokes will be retro again soon

If string spokes have come and gone before, I'd like to know more about that

 

[bikeworkshop]

https://www.thevintagemtb.com/tensiondisk

 

[Retrorockit]

Those remind me of this. Medicine Wheels.
https://www.kachinahouse.com/native...ve-american-made-dreamcatchers-willow-willow6