My 1997 Max is the GXE model with the plastic wheel covers. Over time, the paint was wearing off of the wheel covers. It finally got so bad that I couldn't ignore it any longer.

As it came off the car.



After washing it.
The paint said to wash with an ammonia based cleaner, which I had never encountered before. But I figured that if they put it in the directions, it must somehow chemically treat the surface. However, I first blasted it with a power washer, then scrubbed it down with TSP (Tri Sodium Phosphate) and then scrubbed it again with an ammonia/water solution.



After painting.



This is the paint I used.



The paint directions say the ideal temperature range is 50 to 85 degrees. I was concerned about that as our night time LOW is 85 degrees. The last wheel cover I painted, the temperature was about 110 degrees in the garage and I had problems. The paint was evidently drying before it contacted the wheel cover and when the paint dried, it felt like 100 grit sand paper. I rubbed it down with 000 steel wool, but I wouldn't be surprised if I have to re-paint that one.

 

Great Job. Looks brand new to me.

 

+1. Nice work!

 

Good job I need to do mine

 

gorgeous...i thought this was one of those 'paint my hubcaps black' sort of threads. nice hubcap restoration!!

 

Looks better lol

 

Thanks guys. I was worried that no one would be able to tell the difference.

 

looks great, I've been thinking about doing the same to mine. is the TSP that you used necessary?

 

Great work!

 

Yes, Those look really great. I di mine a couple years ago ... had to file off some rash first I then put about 5 coats of clear ( one large can) and they still look fine after 2 seasons of snow. I use them for on my winter wheels, but I guess you don't have that issue there P

 

They came out nicely! Good siht bro!

 

For some reason snow doesn't stick around very long in 100+ weather, but then this pic is from Feb of this year.

 

looks good

 

Looks brand new again. Might want to spray a coat or 2 of clear over the top to keep them protected from chipping or fading.

 

^^^ That's a good point. Clear coat is something I should consider. The paint claims to be chip resistant, but to what extent. I doubt that the paint was considered for automotive use. The one wheel cover already has tar on it and I'm kind of afraid to try and remove the tar for fear of also removing the paint. I guess this is an experiment in progress.

 

i did this last year to my 97.what i learned was yes clear coat them and get a can of flex primer for the undercoating so it stops it from cracking.and let me tell you painting them makes a world of difference in the appearence of the car.
http://www.automotivetouchup.com/spr...-promoter.aspx

 

Clear coat will resolve that problem for sure. Tar will just come right off without touching the paint.

 

wow, looks great... professional like. clear coat for sure though, or you'll be doing this project again shortly.

 

 

Any further work on the wheel covers such as clear coating is going to have to wait until the temperature drops to the 85 - 90 degree range that the paint manufacturers recommend. That probably means November. The Krylon paint I used will be getting a good road test in the meantime. The car is a daily driver, getting around 800 miles a month for the next 3 months.

 

Looks great!

 

Great job, post some pics of those shoes on the Max.

 

I have the same caps and mine were starting to look a bit rough so I decided to try this too. I didn't bother sanding or doing anything to treat the surface besides giving them a good cleaning prior to painting, in hindsight it probably wouldn't have hurt to do that though. I used a can of the same brand spray paint the OP had used, but wasn't wild about the color or coverage it had, so I used it as a primer basically. I went out and bought a can of Valspar spray paint from Lowe's, which had much better coverage and consistency. I hit the visible part of the rim behind it with some black spray paint too, just to make it look a little bit better.

Figured I would attach some pictures, ignore my dirty tires, haven't had much time lately to take care of them.

During painting:


On my max:

 

OP, yours turned out great!

 

great results!

 

great job. i was going to do this on the wifes jetta but was too lazy and went the ebay route.

 

Looks good... Now just grab a little brush and paint the logo in the center with red letters!

 

I was thinking about maybe doing that with a fine tip black sharpie just to highlight it, red would look weird with my gold max. I'll post pictures if I decide to do it.

 

Great job guys. thats a mighty wheel gap too btw.

 

everyone tells me how awesome the monster truck look on my Max is :/ obviously kidding, I just got the car about two months ago and haven't had too much time/money to look into lowering it at all, I would love to in the future though.

 

Dennis, I certainly didnt expect to see you on hubcaps. They look good.