Restoring my wheel trims. How To?

[AshleyL]

Hi guys,

Now I've had my Punto MK2B for a few months I want to make it look a bit more presentable. The wheel trims are in a bad state and I want to make them all nice and shiny again but I want them to be black.

I was wondering if anybody has tips and advice on repainting them and the process which I should follow.

As you can see from the pictures below they are pretty dirty and scuffed round the edges, is it even worth repainting or shall i just buy new ones already in black? Bearing in mind i like how they are attached by the wheel bolts, no horrible cable ties to stop the thieves.





Thanks in advance

 

[Ziggy122]

i restored some 2nd hand wheel trims from college as a punto they had was been stripped down to nothing really

Mine had been very very badly kerb'd and again didnt look fresh no more

it all starts by giving the trims a really good wash

lots of washing up liquid and elbow grease

Once clean and dry
i used a Random orbital sander with a 180grit pad (all i had to hand)

And set to work on the main edge and the main face removing the major defects and giving it a dam good key

i like Sanding sponges and cloths - using them again to scrub down the areas the sander cant get too, alot of the places the sander couldnt get too was in okay nick - so it was just a case of a good key

once sanded down to perfection (ie nice and smooth all over) Start with the wash before sprayings - white spirits or pannel wipe or like me a damp cloth

Once dry again - start the spraying process - lots of lights even coatings
Since i was going silver i used white primer

but black - grey primer would be better

Spent a good day spraying primer and waiting for it to dry
Several flatting sessions went on too - taking the rough texture from the primer down ready for paint

again - wipe clean from dust

Spraying - again lots and lots of thin even coats - taking sure to focuse area that are eaisly missed - bolt holes

you could try spray paint from pound shop - but i used halfords stuff

I need lacquer to finish mine off

They looked 10x better then they did before

Alot of work will have to go into prep work tho

Ziggy

 

[Devious]

Halfrauds do a filler plastic primer. I would advise that you use that. Its a mustard colour. Also, seek out antistatic wipes, you'll cry when the dust in the air is attracted to it.

I wrote a guide on how to spray plastics, its in the, err, guides section...

Ziggy is pretty much on the money though.

Ta

 

[AshleyL]

Wicked, thanks for the tips.

Looks like its not going to be easy as I've never attempted anything like this before but ill give it my best shot

Ziggy, your guide seems easy to follow. I dont have a sander though. Will using sand paper and my hands be a lot of work?

And I will check your guide out Devious, thanks for letting me know.

Ash

 

[Devious]

Ash, to get a great finish, by hand is always best imo.
Id never done it before but got stuck in, followed advice and times and all was good.

Ta *

 

[AshleyL]

Ah I see. Hopefully should turn out pretty nice then if I do it right

Off to halfords today to get what I need to do all this.

I will be getting:

-800 grit sanpaper
-1200 grit wet and dry sandpaper
-plastic primer spray
-black spray paint
-laquer

Is this all I need? And how many cans of primer, laquer and paint do you recommend I buy. I do have your guide printed out btw, just checking so I don't have to make another trip

Thanks

 

[Devious]

One 500ml can of primer for the fronts and one 300ml can for the backs.
You'll want to paint the backs first as you don't want to scratch the fronts.
Remember that its ALL in the preparation. More time spent preparing = less time swearing and starting again.
Ta

 

[Ralf S.]

What colour is the car?

Rather than gloss black, it may be more aesthetic to go with a satin finish gun-metal colour.

Satin finish is easier to apply too. Lacquer is an extra coat which "satin" doesn't need.. and it also shows up any imperfections... which might be an issue if your trims are in bad shape and you're doing this for the first time...


Ralf S.

 

[Devious]

But without the lacquer any stone, stuff or sneeze will mark and ruin the work.
Ta

 

[AshleyL]

One 500ml can of primer for the fronts and one 300ml can for the backs.
You'll want to paint the backs first as you don't want to scratch the fronts.
Remember that its ALL in the preparation. More time spent preparing = less time swearing and starting again.
Ta

Devious, do you mean I have to paint the backs of the trims also? Thanks for telling me because i was only going to do the front face of them. Guess I need some more primer and paint then.

What colour is the car?

Rather than gloss black, it may be more aesthetic to go with a satin finish gun-metal colour.

Satin finish is easier to apply too. Lacquer is an extra coat which "satin" doesn't need.. and it also shows up any imperfections... which might be an issue if your trims are in bad shape and you're doing this for the first time...


Ralf S.

Appreciate your advice, just that I'm going for an all black finish to my car.

This is a picture of one of the trims sanded down. Don't know if I've done it completely correct but hope so!



And here's a picture of said wheel trim but primed. Again hopefully it's done correctly. It has 4 coats on, probably a bit too much?



And my last question is.... Sanding off all the paint from the wheel trims is taking so long, is there an easier way to get the paint off?

Thanks guys.

 

[Devious]

The short answer is..... No. Afriad not lad.

If theres an even coverage then 4 coats is enough. I notice you dont appear to have masked up the fiat badge in the centre of the caps.

The sanding isnt about removing paint, its about keying the surface so that the paint has something to bond and grip to.

Sanding the paint is about flattening out the paints to create a smooth seamless finish.

Patients young padawin, patients.....

Ta

 

[Devious]

And yes, do the backs as the paint needs to hold all the way round an item or it peels.
Ta

 

[PuntoHowTo]

I just sanded the scratches out and gave em a quick spray with wheel silver, at the end of the day they are wheel trims not the car bonnet.

I'm not saying what you've done is in anyway wrong, you've done a nice job, but as they say time is money and do you really have the time to sand every wheel trim back to bare plastic then give it a dozen or more coats of paint when a new set of trims would cost you about £30

 

[Devious]

I am inclined to agree Andy as my first thought was, Why?

However the sense of satisfaction and accomplishment gained from a bit of DIY massively overweighs the financial loss.

I think Ashley is doing a sterling job. Plus hes gained some confidence in paintin plastics.

Ta

 

[AshleyL]

The short answer is..... No. Afriad not lad.

If theres an even coverage then 4 coats is enough. I notice you dont appear to have masked up the fiat badge in the centre of the caps.

The sanding isnt about removing paint, its about keying the surface so that the paint has something to bond and grip to.

Sanding the paint is about flattening out the paints to create a smooth seamless finish.

Patients young padawin, patients.....

Ta

Yeah it's even.... I hope lol just got to spray the back as well. Haven't done any more on this yet due to no time but I'll post pictures when it's done.

And yeah I know I felt like an idiot when I realised I sprayed over the Fiat symbol :bang: Any easy way to remove the primer from that? Obviously sanding it would ruin it.

Andy I do see what you mean, I was thinking of buying new trims already in black but I really wanted to keep the original design and have them attached by the wheel bolts so I don't need cable ties. And even though I haven't finished, it's just going to feel so much better as Devious said because I will know I did them. Plus I'm thinking of colour coding my wing mirrors and door handles so it's good practice

Anyways i'm going on a bit too much!

Cheers

Ash

 

[Devious]

You can buy the centre cap stickers on ebay lad.

Ta