Updating your standard wheel hub emblems

[mcmike27]

Updating your standard wheel hub emblems

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Many thanks to all that have guided me on my quest to understand and then accomplish tasks that before this forum and it's members I would not have even contemplated. And it's FUN plus my wife likes it because I'm saving some money doing routine service myself. That being said I am now going to try my first DIY Post on a little fun project I did in approx 2 hours and boy did it turn out well. I got the idea when I was admiring a fellow co-workers Carrera with the shiny enameled center wheel co

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• Author
  mcmike27
• Category
  Boxster (986) - Accessories
• Submitted
  08/29/2009 06:40 AM

 

Edited February 20, 2010 by mcmike27

[livin_in_a_boxster]

This is the support topic for the DIY Tutorial Updating your standard wheel hub emblems. Please post here if you have any questions or feedback.

What if you have chrome wheels, you can't spray clear on the whole center cap, I guess you would have to mask of just the emblem???

[mcmike27]

Yes just maks off the chrome wheels and hit them with 2 light coats of clear. It will protect the paint. I have had to touch mine up a bit since when you wash and rub there is no getting around not needing to do a little touch up. Thats where the clear coat really helps.

:)

What if you have chrome wheels, you can't spray clear on the whole center cap, I guess you would have to mask of just the emblem???

[1schoir]

This is the support topic for the DIY Tutorial Updating your standard wheel hub emblems. Please post here if you have any questions or feedback.

Very nice result!

Thanks for posting the materials and the DIY.

Regards, Maurice.

[frisbee91]

This is the support topic for the DIY Tutorial Updating your standard wheel hub emblems. Please post here if you have any questions or feedback.

Nice DIY! Glad I found it. My black and silver concave plastic wheel center caps were peeling in places, so I decided to paint them. (I have a '99 996) I ordered the paints and brushes directly from TamiyaUSA (http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/category.php?sub-id=60100)

My order:

Acrylic Mini X-18Semi Gl Black - 10ml Bottle Item# 81518 $2.30

Acrylic Mini X-7 Red - 10ml Bottle Item# 81507 $2.30

Acrylic Mini X-12 Gold Leaf - 10ml Bottle Item# 81512 $2.30

Pointed Brush Med - DC716 Item# 87016 $2.50

High Finish Pointed Brush - (Ultra Fine) Item# 87048 $5.25

Shipping: $6.00

I used the pointed medium brush for the flat areas, and the ultra fine brush AND a toothpick for the letters and detail areas, like the horse legs. If you are careful with the gold and red, you can use the black just for touch-up. I only painted black where it was necessary, and left the factory black in the other areas. A magnifying glass helped, too. I put a small amount of paint in a beer bottle cap for dipping, and some isopropyl alcohol in a second cap to clean brushes. I thinned the black paint with a few drops of isopropyl alcohol also, but not the gold or red. You can also clean the brushes with water.

If you mess up, you can clean up mistakes using a clean toothpick or a q-tip. It's best to do the gold and red, then let it dry overnight before doing the black touch-up work. I also did one cap start to finish before doing the other three. The second set came out better, since I had practice.

I let the black dry overnight, then did 3 coats of clearcoat spray at 20 minute intervals.

Finished painted wheel center cap:

Paints used:

Tamiya Med Pointed Brush 86016, Ultra-Fine Brush 87048, and a toothpick:

Finished wheel center crests:

Before painting:

Edited September 18, 2010 by frisbee91