Hub cap refinishing

[kenz240z]

I lost a "Z" hub cap when I took my Z out for a drive recently. So I decided to refinish a few caps, one replacement and a couple of spares. After digging through my stash, I found a few suitable donors. The topic of hubcap refinishing has been addressed before, but I thought I'd document the steps I took to bring these hub caps back to life.

I began by removing the center ornaments. I used a pick to bend up the tabs on the retainer clips. The clips could then be pulled off. Next, the hub caps got a bath in hot, soapy water. After drying them off, I wiped them down with a wax & grease remover to make sure all dirt, grease & grime was completely removed. I keep a little PPG wax & grease remover in a spray bottle. Eastwood's Pre Painting Prep (or similar) would do, as well.

Once clean, it was easy to spot the dents & dings. A little hammer & dolly work straightened things out.

Next, I used paint stripper to remove the old paint, which is pretty thin. I put the hub cap in a large plastic tub that I got at Ace Hardware to prevent from making a mess. I poured a little stripper into a clean vegetable can and used a chip brush with natural bristles to apply it. Be sure to wear rubber gloves to prevent getting any on your hands. The old paint started to wrinkle within a few seconds of applying the paint stripper. I rinsed the caps off and used a green scouring pad to remove all of the old paint. Repeat as needed to remove all of the old paint.

[kenz240z]

Now it's time to mask off the areas that won't be painted. I used Scotch green tape. The 1/4" tape is perfect for outlining the scallops and the outer edges of the hub cap. I found it easier to stick a small section of the 3/4" tape in the "corners" of the scallops and trim to size with an X-acto knife. The 1/4" tape bunches up on the inside of the bend in the tight corners.

After masking the hub cap, I wiped it with a tack rag to remove any dust. Then I applied 2-3 light coats of SEM etch primer. I let the primer dry overnight, although it says on the can that it can be top coated after 1 hour.

When I repainted the grille, rear finisher & hubcaps on my '73 I had a local paint shop mix up a pint of paint using the "recipe" outlined in Wick Humble's book. It is a silver/grey metallic with flattener. Fortunately, I had some left. I used a Sharpe Cobalt gravity feed gun to spray the top coat. I applied 3 light coats, waiting 5-10 minutes between each coat

Once the paint was dry I removed all of the masking tape. The cap is starting to look nice! I polished up the center ornament with a couple of Meguiar's products (see http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20583&highlight=hubcap). With a polished center ornament attached this hubcap is ready to put on the car. Might not be 100% show car quality, but darn nice for a Z that is driven! Now I've got a couple of spares in case I lose one again!

[Darrel]

Your car IS show quality. There's no denying it.

SSuspect has a set that he will be refurbishing. So this will be a great tip to follow.

[geezer]

It's obvious that you have the patience and delicate touch nessesary to get beautiful results like this. The finished product looks absolutely stunning. Nice work! Thanks for the tutorial.

[Mr Camouflage]

Great post. Nice work. I just had a thought: You should put a sticker with your phone number on the inside of the hubcap. Incase you ever lose one in the future, your chances of getting it back would be better.

[Jackhammer]

Nice job, Kenny. You have a knack for the details. Don't sell your work too short.

[Bonzi Lon]

I did nearly the same thing but used Dupli-Color wheel paint and left the inner scallops chrome and painted the red center reflectors to match the car. And yes, it does take alot of time and patients doing four, or five in my case, gotta have a spare.

Bonzi Lon

[lonetreesteve]

Very nice work, Ken! Just curious, how did the backside of the hub caps turn out?

[SSuspect]

SSuspect has a set that he will be refurbishing. So this will be a great tip to follow.

Why... Yes I do and yes it will!

Beautiful work Kenny! Great writeup!

Mine has a set of the "D" style caps. There is ZERO rash on them, but all of the original color is pretty much gone. The outers and center buttons look good (just dirty) and should polish up VERY well. Not a great pic, but you can "sort of" see the condition below.

Once I finish the restoration - these WILL BE up for sale... I am not really a "hubcap" guy and I don't want to be paranoid about losing one.

[BR-Z]

I used Scotch green tape. The 1/4" tape is perfect for outlining the scallops and the outer edges of the hub cap. I found it easier to stick a small section of the 3/4" tape in the "corners" of the scallops and trim to size with an X-acto knife. The 1/4" tape bunches up on the inside of the bend in the tight corners.

Nice work!

FYI 3M Fineline tape (typically used for masking when doing multi-colored jobs) is a vinyl-like substance that is very flexible and "rounds the corner" without bunching*

*-i takes a little stretching and practice to get it around the scallops, but it will work.

I did this with a few hubcaps as well, and found it MUCH easier than trimming the green "paper" masking tape.

[kenz240z]

Thanks for the comments, everyone.

Mr. Camouflage, that is a great tip. I think I'll put stickers on all 4 caps this evening before I forget...the mind is starting to go! The paint fumes, you know...

Bonzi, I like the way the center ornaments on your car match the paint, way cool! I am tempted to clean up another set and leave them mostly chrome. I would then paint the outline of the scallops and the rim of the hubcap black, or maybe the same color as the car.

Steve, I scrounged up a few caps that had minimal surface rust on the back. I haven't done anything to them yet, but may apply a bit of SEM Rust Mort to neutralize the rust. There is another write up that describes cleaning the back side and outer rim (with the "fingers" that hold it onto the wheel) with SOS pads and applying primer to the back.

Tim, I'm not sure, but you may want to sell your "D" caps as is, especially if they clean up nice. I may be wrong, but they may be worth more if they haven't been refinished. BTW, glad to hear you found another ZX donor car. There is still a CL ad for the one if Ft. Collins!

BR-Z, thanks for the tip on the 3M fineline tape. There is definitely a trick to getting the tape to "bend" in tight corners. I attended a custom paint seminar by Jon Kosmoski (founder of House of Kolor paints) and he taped up some flames in no time! He explained it is a matter of placing a finger on the outside of the curve with one hand while slightly rotating the tape in the direction of the curve as it is pulled with the other hand.

[SSuspect]

Tim, I'm not sure, but you may want to sell your "D" caps as is, especially if they clean up nice. I may be wrong, but they may be worth more if they haven't been refinished. BTW, glad to hear you found another ZX donor car. There is still a CL ad for the one if Ft. Collins!

The chrome/polished areas will clean up well, but the gray and black areas are SHOT! We'll see - maybe I'll post an ad on eBay for them "as is" and see what happens.

Yep - going to pick up the new "donor" Saturday morning. It will be a few weeks before I can really dig into it, but I can't wait to get started! I am already gathering parts to go to the powdercoater.

As far as that Ft. Collins bonehead - he will probably have that ad in there for a LONG time! I wish him all the worst (that would be a bad deal for ANYBODY)...

Tim