Re: 1948 Packard 8 Deluxe Painted Red Center Hexagon?

Posted by Dave Brownell On 2016/12/23 14:36:36

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.