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Hello, I am restoring the hubcaps on my 1948 Packard Deluxe 8 that has 16 x 5.5 rims and the 12'13" hubcaps. I see no evidence of the center hexagon ever being painted the typical IH red. There was still plenty of the factory black where it says Packard, but no red. I have searched and searched trying to find any evidence that this is correct and that I should just leave the hubcaps unpainted in the center to be correct. Does anyone out there have any proof that these should remain unpainted? Thank you so much for any help and Happy Holidays. First time Packard owner, Matt

p.s. - trying to include a little before and after. All four of the hubcaps got the royal treatment, wash with soap ion the sink, scrub with scotchbrite pad and then hand dry. Next step was to hit them all with 0000 steel wool pads. Then it was off to the polish, I used both Wenol and Polishing Compound to nearly the same results. I then taped each and every one and cut out with an X-acto type knife, taped the outside with newspaper all the rest of the way around the hubcaps and then painted. Last, but not least, take off the tape and paper after it was fully dried and do a little cleanup with the knife and fingernail to get excess paint off of areas where the paint ran into high spots the were to be chrome. What a process! The final results I don't think look too bad, but I definitely don't want to do it again any time soon. Yes, this was my first attempt at anything like this. Much cheaper than buying new hubcaps or even trying to find the correct and good used ones and the satisfaction is all mine!

Yes, I pounded out some of the dents with the bottom side of a jelly jar.......

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The era when Packard offered various colors on hub caps ended long before 1948. Plus IIRC none of the many color variations ever included a naked plated center hex. Centers should be red. Cook & Dunn "Flame Red" enamel seems to be a very good match to the original red.

G'day 1948Packard_Matt,
to PackardInfo and for including your '48 Deluxe Eight Touring Sedan in the Packard Owner's Registry.

And if you want to save the painting you might check out the PAC online store.

It appears the reflective red hexagons are back in stock. I have also seen them on ebay from other vendors. Those reflective pieces will stick to the chrome and replace the red paint. They are an authentic accessory as well as a safety item.

Welcome to the forum family. By coincidence, just a few hours ago I painted the 1950 hubcap centers on my Packard Eight. First, I used chrome polish on the shiny parts, especially the rims. Mine cleaned up nicely and the black paint around the lettering still looked good. I had done a similar hubcap tune-up on both 1956s, so I knew what I needed to do. My first step was to place a single ply of aluminum foil over the center and press the hexagon shape into it. Then, with that pattern made, cut it out with an Exacto knife. That template would then do for all four hubcaps. My closest and most available paint match was Chevy red high temp engine paint. Packard friends of mine now have painted the centers of at least six cars with that single can and have enough left to do another dozen or so when the time comes. The paint seems to hold up well if two light coats are used with sufficient drying time between is allowed.

This same technique worked well on bumper hex over-riders on a friend's 1936 120 convertible. The size of them differs significantly between models, so pitch the foil once you have completed the task at hand.

PERFECT!!!! I never knew such an accessory existed.

I have a vinyl sign plotter and I created a file to cut them out of the reflective material.

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