Restoring hubcaps

[frank]

hi guys
how does one paint rechromed hubcaps in the original colours?  any tips greatly appreciated ...
cheers  frank

[mcl1959]

If you are pretty good as a sign writer and have an appropriate brush, you can do a neat job by freehand. Or you can roughly paint the colour in an enamel paint and let dry for an hour or so then gently clean the unwanted paint off with a cotton rag with a tiny bit of turps on it. It also depends a lot on the quality of the product you want to end up with. The sign written option gives by far the better result.

Ken

[craiga]

Hi Frank,

I have used spray paint for the black and red areas. Just requires accurate masking of the circular areas and a careful wipe of with thinners of the raised areas of the lion in the red section. Works well.

I've also painted them as per Ken's method and this works as well but can leave brush marks. As he said, depends what quality you are looking for.

Have fun :-)

Cheers,

Craig.

[frank]

thanks Ken/Craig - I think I'll opt for the Craig method, i thought perhaps I could use blue tac to cover the small bits in between the emblem before using the spray can.  But first I have to get all the re-chromed bumpers and trim back on ...
cheers   frank

[Philby]

Hi Frank,

The previous owner of my FC also did the "Craig Method" and as a daily driver it's excellent.  I'll be attempting this on the rear-quarter badges as well.

Cheers,

Phil

[craiga]

For the rear quarter badges I use a thinned out red acrylic and a paintbrush. Load the paintbrush and drop in the thinned out paint. The paint finds its own way around the lower area of the badge and forms a nice edge without brush marks (a meniscus?). Same with the fine gaps in the lion, drop in a little paint and move the badge around so it travels to every area. Clean up the raised areas with thinners on a rag.

Cheers,

Craig.

[Ed]

The paint finds its own way around the lower area of the badge and forms a nice edge without brush marks (a meniscus?).

capillary action  ;)

[Glenn 'Stinky' Stankevicius]

Meniscus is the result of the Capillary action  :P

[Papa Smurf]

I can remember as a kid I used to help my father spray paint second hand bikes to sell & we used a pink paste that you brushed over badges or any area unsuitable for masking (raised area of the lion) then wipe off - don't know of any such product on the market today but maybe something like petrolium jelly or the like & remove with wax/grease remover or prepsol.

[Martin]

I'm not sure that you are right, Stinky.  I was always under the impression (from Physics at school over 45 years ago) that the meniscus is the shape of the curve of the top of liquid in a container:  water in a test tube has a concave meniscus, while mercury has a convex meniscus, for instance.  My understanding is that capillary action is brought about by the surface tension of the liquid that causes it to run (even against gravity) up very fine bore tubes (capillary tubes).  I reckon it's simply gravity that makes the paint run around the channels on a hub cap, and surface tension that keeps it within nice edges.

But I'm only a banker ....  (You know the difference between a banker and a wanker?  A wanker knows what he is doing!)

FWIW

Martin