Refurbing plastic center wheel caps

fallbayuk · 10 Oct 2010 at 15:07

Basically I'd like to have a go at getting all the paint off these and get them repainted. They seem to have a chrome finish beneath the paint thats already come off. Would I just use normal paint thinner to remove and an aerosol spray to re-paint ?

Janesy B · 10 Oct 2010 at 15:12

I'd be tempted to stroll into Fiat and demand a new set if they've deteriorated that quickly.

fallbayuk · 10 Oct 2010 at 15:14

Janesy B said:
I'd be tempted to stroll into Fiat and demand a new set if they've deteriorated that quickly.

Already tried. Not covered under warranty after 2 years unfortunately. I put the rather costly replacements on yesterday so I just want to try tarting these up as spares.

Firestar_3x · 10 Oct 2010 at 15:19

Remove any paint that's not stuck, mask the "500" up with some masking tape and cut around with a sharp knife, then lightly sand with a fine grain paper, prime and then spray.

I wouldn't use paint striper or thiners because the chrome might come off the the "500", which i trust is plastic not metal?

fallbayuk · 10 Oct 2010 at 15:24

Firestar_3x said:
Remove any paint that's not stuck, mask the "500" up with some masking tape and cut around with a sharp knife, then lightly sand with a fine grain paper, prime and then spray.

I wouldn't use paint striper or thiners because the chrome might come off the the "500", which i trust is plastic not metal?

Yep, all plastic. So basically I'd just paint over the existing paint after its been prepped?

Fr0dders · 10 Oct 2010 at 16:25

yeah

I'd also look at putting some wax / sealant on your new caps to try to protect them,

Dup · 10 Oct 2010 at 17:34

It's not paint, it's some thin model car type decal material isn't it? One blast of a jetwash and it just falls off in little bits. My old driving instructor bought one new and it did the same when we were sharing a public jetwash.

benhomer737 · 10 Oct 2010 at 19:59

DA them down useing something like 240 grit, then smooth with some 800 or something, mae sure you use plastic primer

Janesy B · 10 Oct 2010 at 20:15

benhomer737 said:
DA them down useing something like 240 grit, then smooth with some 800 or something, mae sure you use plastic primer

A DA might be a bit too much, do it by hand...