Re: Painting hubcaps-

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2010/2/8 11:50:04

Others may have better tips, but mine seem to look good and hold up for about 10 years, here's how I do it.

For the center, I clean with solvent that leaves no residue, e.g. acetone, but first I use a tiny piece of emery on the end of a pencil eraser to cut the gloss of the chrome plating a bit. I mask, and then try to flood the area with a very slow-driving enamel, of late I've been using Cook & Dunn's "Flame Red" or Benjamin Moore's "Brilliant red". For the black I again clean with acetone, use a slow-drying enamel, and use a tiny brush to go around the letters, finishing off with a rubber block to wipe the high spots, and then a bit of thinner on a Q-tip for any final adjustments.

For the red hex, you can also buy them in either plain paper or reflective paper decals or pressure-sensitive paper, still leaves the black to contend with. The reflective red paper center was a legit factory accessory kit I believe, though I can't say for which years.

Hope you find this helpful.