<VV> Polishing wire wheel hubcaps...And repainting the black

[Phil Fairman]

The recent thread on "care & feeding of wire wheel covers" is a good primer
for those who are somewhat daunted about taking these things apart. Having
"done" about 4 sets, mine and for others, here is what I have done:

Dissemble: 4-screws on spinner, 8-screws on hub, all parts separated...keep
the components from each wheel cover together, I use plastic washbasins. Mark
the position of the chrome hub with a sharpie too insure proper index when
reassembling.

Paint removal: Tried Lacquer thinner & Acetone, work ok, but too much work.
Use Strip-ezze or some comparable paint stripper, wash wheel cover with hot
water & soap after paint removal. Dry completely (laying in the sun works
well) wipe down with a clean rag soaked with laquer thinner, then mask off the
"Places not to be painted" this is the most difficult part, I use three
different widths of masking tape. Wipe areas to be painted AGAIN with clean
rag & laquer thinner.

Painting: The surfaces to be painted are polished, paint doesn't want to stick
too well to smooth surfaces, so I prime with Eastwood #16014Z Self Etching
Primer. Let dry 2 hours (in Sun) I use Seymour Semi-Gloss black lacquer
#16-838 (From Branden Enterprises (215)327-4926) Lacquer dries faster and has
a harder surface than enamels...this is a underbody paint for restorations. It
levels well and has a uniform very low-gloss sheen that brightens up the
wheelcover and still looks stock. .

Polishing: The best chrome/stainless polish I have tried to date is the
Artesian Metal Polish made by the P.O.R. folks, also available from Clark's,
polish the areas not painted on the cover, the hub & the spinner. You can also
clean up the spokes...if your spokes have a lot of nicks & damage, turn them
over when you reinstall, the backs will be in much better shape. I replaced my
spinners with Clark's repros, they are much nicer that the GM spinners. Here
is something I have found to be very necessary when installing new spinners
that have never had a screw threaded into them: use anti-seize compound! if
the screw "bites" or galls going in the stud will break off. I use anti-seize
on all the screws when reassembling the covers.

Assembly: Make sure the hub is properly indexed on the cover, use the mark you
made before dissasembly, assemble the spokes, add the spinner and you are
done. Use a rubber mallet to install wire covers, I cover mine with a soft
cloth. To remove wheelcovers from the wheel, use an upholstery panel removal
tool (Clark's C5907) they call it a door panel & weatherstrip remover..it also
works for taking off those retainers for the engine lid insulation. It is
remarkably similar to the removal tool GM supplied with the car if ordered
with wire wheel covers.

There are many ways to deal with these covers, this works for me.

Cheers,
Phil Fairman
'66 Monza 110/pg