Hello to our Antipodean chums,
Blue nuts must be a problem caused as result of the heat you chaps live in down there.
Seriously........ I think you will find that early stuff had only the ends of the threads painted red on split rims.
With the British army white wheel nuts were not around until national service days when bags of bull and bored squaddies were the norm.
As for stripped nuts, I'd reach for the ointment chaps and see the MO
Pete