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I decided to try to restore my wheel caps, they were almost all black.
Materials:
-Isopropyl Alcohol, I used 70%
-Clear Acrylic, make sure it is non-yellowing
Here is what I did:
1. Put all four caps in a plastic cup and fill with enough alcohol to cover them.
2. Wait 15 minutes then wipe the caps off with a paper towel wet with alcohol.
3. Let them air dry, I gave them about 24 hours. While they are drying you may notice that they turn foggy or become sticky, this is normal and once dry they will be clear and smooth.
You can leave them like this but they seem to get sticky when wet and aren't as shiny. I decided to put a clear coat on them for extra protection and to make them shine more. I used Krylon clear acrylic, it is rated for outdoor use and is non-yellowing. I sprayed about 6 inches from the surface sweeping side to side, the first pass covering mostly the top, second the middle and third the bottom. I think I gave them about 5 coats. I let them dry for 24 hours before re-installing them.
When the caps dried they were shinier than before. They have a slight orange peel texture though so in a few days I will try buffing them to get them perfectly smooth.
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They definitely look better then before and it beats spending $16 a cap for new ones.
Materials:
-Isopropyl Alcohol, I used 70%
-Clear Acrylic, make sure it is non-yellowing
Here is what I did:
1. Put all four caps in a plastic cup and fill with enough alcohol to cover them.
2. Wait 15 minutes then wipe the caps off with a paper towel wet with alcohol.
3. Let them air dry, I gave them about 24 hours. While they are drying you may notice that they turn foggy or become sticky, this is normal and once dry they will be clear and smooth.
You can leave them like this but they seem to get sticky when wet and aren't as shiny. I decided to put a clear coat on them for extra protection and to make them shine more. I used Krylon clear acrylic, it is rated for outdoor use and is non-yellowing. I sprayed about 6 inches from the surface sweeping side to side, the first pass covering mostly the top, second the middle and third the bottom. I think I gave them about 5 coats. I let them dry for 24 hours before re-installing them.
When the caps dried they were shinier than before. They have a slight orange peel texture though so in a few days I will try buffing them to get them perfectly smooth.
They definitely look better then before and it beats spending $16 a cap for new ones.
