DrakeMK3

*Disclaimer: I am in no way responsible for the actions of any group or individual who attempt to follow these instructions. Wheel center caps are dangerous and should not be handled, painted, maimed, molested, or tinkered with at anytime.*


I searched for a while on the forums and never found a good source of information for how to restore the center caps on our beloved cars. Since no details were really found, I decided to make another DIY thread...so here goes...

Here's what you need:

Old center caps
1 can Duplicolor WP101 Silver paint
1 can Plastikote clear coat
80 grit sand paper
200+ grit sand paper
Soldering iron
Jewelers screw drivers (or fine knife blade, etc.)


Here is one of the old center caps. They are pretty disgusting.



What you need to do is disassemble the "L" emblems from the center cap. This is where the soldering iron comes into play. The easiest way to get them out is to hold the soldering iron on each of the places where the tabs from the "L" come through. As you apply heat to the tabs, pry on the emblem with a small jeweler's screw driver from the other side. Repeat this process until all 4 tabs are loose and you can pull the emblem free. Don't worry about melting the plastic on the back because it is not seen and you will just be melting it again to put everything back in place.


Once the emblems are free from all of your center caps, begin sanding on them starting with the 80 grit to remove all of the old paint. Here is an evolution chart of the center caps as they progress.




After you sand with the 80 grit to all of the paint off, I used a wet paper towel to semi-clean it. You then take your 200+ grit sand paper and start sanding. This step is simply to smooth things out.

After you are satisfied with your sanding, wash all of the caps with soap and water. Completely dry the caps and get a painting area ready.

Spray each of the caps from one side with the silver duplicolor paint, then stand opposite from the first application and spray them from the other side. This ensures complete application of the paint. Follow the directions on the paint can for applying coats. I chose to put 3 coats of paint on each of the caps.

Wait 3 hours...I'm sure you can think of something to do.

Come back and spray the clear coat on each of the caps just like you sprayed the paint and wait 5 minutes between each coat. This stuff will give you a headache in a hurry, so make sure you are painting in a well ventilated area (don't ask...ugh). From this point, leave the caps overnight to set up. They will be fine to touch in an hour, but I did not want to do anything with them until the next day.

The next day, push all of the emblems back onto the caps and remelt the plastic tabs back to the caps with the soldering iron. The should look something like this...



Now, go put them back on the car and soak in the paint-matched goodness.






If you already have some sand paper handy, this whole process will cost less than $15. I already had the clear coat, so I bought a bunch of sand paper and the silver paint. My total came out to $13.63 after tax. I hope this helps someone restore their nasty center caps to juicy goodness without having to shell out the money for new caps!

-Drake

Carfreak70

iTrader: (16)

Wow. Looks good man. Great write up. I just took mine and used tape and an exacto knife and it turned out well. Took a while, but it was definatly worth it, I went black. My wheels are black now. lol

Hil

iTrader: (61)

Nice work, thanks for sharing!

felixsc300

iTrader: (5)

for an excellent write-up.