How to strip/tape hubcaps

[BaronYoungman]

So, everyone has been so helpful to me I am trying to give something back.  I recently posted that to save money, and ensure a good job I was going to prep my hubcaps (1971 280SL) myself.  I am posting some pix and some instructions on how I did it in no way am I saying this is the best way or advocating anyone to do it this way(good legal disclaimer)

Supplies needed Picture #1 Supplies

1. I cannot stress how important prep is on this. To begin with I used Kleen Strip strip X stripper on the painted sections. (available at Home Depot $9.00) I have used this before on fiberglass you brush it on, the heavier the better but only brush on once...wait until it is bubbling then wipe off with a paper towel.  Sometimes you have to put on a second coat on the stubborn parts, also if it can't bite the surface used a little XXXX steel wool (that is 4x steel wool)

2. I then polished the whole rim with Mothers Mag/Aluminium polish.  When you are done, and it takes awhile it should look like chrome.  If there is any residue from the stripper or road grime you can use the xxxx steel wool.  But when you are done there should be no residual ANYTHING on the rim. See picture # rim5

3. I them go other the entire rim with a little laquer thinner to remove all the wax.  I know we just put a fine layer on, but that was to look for inperfections.

4. Then after it is dry use the 1/4 " tape ( which can only be purchased from a body shop 3M and about $8.00 per roll...you just need 1) to tape the inner ridges, I found it worked best if I had it on its side.  use one hand for guidance.  If done correctly the inner ring should have a 1/16" gap between the two pieces of tape.  Then you use a third piece to cover this. NEVER use the razor blade directly on the rim always lift and cut. See picure #rim0

5. To do the stars I cut the tape first and then went from the point inward.  After finishing I then used Painters Tape available at Home Depot to cover the rest of the rim. See picture rim#1,#2,#3,#4

I hope this has been helpful

Bob
1971 280 SL  1 car 15 boxes

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[jameshoward]

Bob,

Thanks. I need to do this also and your pics and advice is really helpful.

I've never seen such thin masking tape before. I think I'll struggle to find that in Germany. Oh for a Home Depot over here...

I'll let you know how it turns out.

James

[Peter van Es]

Nice topic for the technical manual.

Peter

1970 280SL. Also known as 'admin@sl113.org' and organiser of the Technical Manual.

[psmith]

Great info Bob, Thanks!  I hope you'll post a picture of the painted hubcap when it's done.

James, if you can't find the blue painters tape, you could use narrow, flexible pin striping tape that you can order from Eastwood Co.

Pete S.

[dseretakis]

Don't they have Practiker over there in Germany with cheap German made tools for the price of Chinese tools here?

quote:Originally posted by jameshoward

Bob,


I've never seen such thin masking tape before. I think I'll struggle to find that in Germany. Oh for a Home Depot over here...

I'll let you know how it turns out.

James

[jameshoward]

Dseretakis,

Yes, Practica is here, as is Hornbach. And yes, they do have excellent German tools for the price of Chinese ones in the US (although I always favoured Craftsman becuase they were always cheap). Proxxon are a very good make and really well priced. I don't think they make ultra thin masking tape, though. Just socket sets. Masking my hub caps with quality made, competatively priced German tools might be a fun challenge but on balance probably wouldn't produced the neat lines I seek.

JH

[RBYCC]

3M makes both the blue and green in sizes from 1/8" to 6".
Shows on cat page 3350

www.mcmaster.com


ED A.
1971 280SL
1988 300CE TWIN TURBO
1990 C43 AMG
2003 G55 AMG

[mrfatboy]

I'm in the process of taping up my hubcaps now.  I have 2 of them done.  It does take awhile. The stars are the hardest part.

I did follow this thread and bought the 1/4" 3m tape.  However, if I'm reading the thread right the 1/4" would be too big for the inner ring. It wraps up and over the inner ring leaving still a small space to be taped.  I made it work with the 1/4" but I think 1/8" would work better if you follow Baron's instructions for the inner ring.

I am going to paint one hubcap tomorrow and see how it goes.  The one thing I'm not sure of is how long do you wait until after the final clear coat do you take off the tape?  

Anybody have an idea?

1969 280sl
Signal Red
4 Speed

[mrfatboy]

Here are my results as promised.  I think they came out rather well considering I have never done this before.  However, I got some great tips from this forum.

Supplies:
1/4" 3m Blue Vinyl tape (auto paint store)
2" 3m Blue painters tape (Home Depot)
Mothers Mag/Aluminum Polish
Laquer/paint Thinner
Dishwashing soap
9'x 12' paints plastic drop cloth
1 Spray Can of Primer
1 Spray Can of Paint
1 Spray Can of Clearcoat

I got my paint supplies from http://www.automotivetouchup.com/.  I think the price was around $45.


Process:

Step 1: Cleaning
- Jet wash clean of brake dust and grime.
- Remove old paint. (mine were bare metal to begin with)
- Polish with Mother's Mag
- Wipe down with Laquer Thinner
- Wash & Rinse with Dishwashing soap (degreaser)

Step 2: Masking
- Mask outer ring using 1/4" 3m vinyl tape. Start on the inside and fold up and over the outer ring.
- Mask inner ring using 1/4" 3m-vinyl tape
    Method 1) Use 1/4" tape for entire inner ring.  I taped up and over.  It seemed to fit perfectly.  
    Method 2) If you wanted to tape more of the ring (not sure if necessary at all. You are talking about 1/16" if anything)you could put down 2 1/4" tapes. First, tape the inside of the inner ring and fold up and over. Second, tape the outside inner ring and fold up and over so they over lap.

- Use 1/4" 3m Blue vinyl tape to cover stars.  Start at the points.  On a ~3" piece of tape I cut an angle on the last 1/2" of the tape. I used that to start at the point and tape up to the center star. This only covered half of the star point.  I did the same thing for the other side of the point. Repeat 2 more times for the other 2 points and then cover the rest.  Basically use any method that you feel comfortable with.

- Using the 2" Blue painters tape cover the rest of the hubcap

I used both Method 1 & 2 on two hubcaps each.  I could not tell any difference. Each Hubcap took me 45 minutes to do.  That included several redo's to make sure the tape was put on straight.  It does get easier but it can be difficult to see exactly where to mask.

Step 3: Paint
- set up a mini paint booth using the 9x12 drop cloth.  I just set up on the garage floor and created a canopy that would fit the 4 hubcaps.

- Make sure all hubcaps are completely clean.
- Spray 4-5 light coats of Primer 10-15 minutes apart or dry to touch.
- Spray 4-5 light coats of Paint 10-15 minutes apart or dry to touch.
- Spray 4-5 light coats of Clearcoat 10-15 minutes apart or dry to touch.
- Let dry 24 hours

I actually put on about 7-8 each on the advice of the guy that sold me the paint. However, there were a couple of spots where I thought the paint was too thick and made removing the tap tough but not impossible.


These hubcaps are the new stainless steel ones.  I bought them on Ebay for $15 each.  My originals are the older chrome steel parts. Some day I will remove the old paint and repaint them also.


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1969 280sl
Signal Red
4 Speed

[psmith]

Baron & MrFatboy,

Thanks for posting the detailed "How To" on this topic.  That's the kind of stuff that makes this forum great in my opinion.

Pete S.

[Mark280SL]

Thanks for the great info guys.
Excellent job Mr.FB, they look great!

[westview95]

Any suggestions on when to remove the tape for best results? Do you wait 24 hours after last clearcoat, or remove it sooner? Thanks,
Bill
71 280SL

[Jonny B]

I will be curious to see what others have to type on the question of when to remove the tape.

I painted four of the dog dish style hubcaps and removed the tape shortly (maybe 20 minutes) after the final coat. The paint was still just a bit tacky, so you need to exercise great care to not touch the painted surfaces with either your hands or a piece of the tape. I learned this when I did a trial on an old hub cap and was not as careful as I needed to be.

It is also important to not have a very thick coat of paint.

You want to avoid the cracking of the paint line when the tape is removed.

[BaronYoungman]

I removed after 48 Hrs. with no problems

[westview95]

Thanks, Baron and Johnny B. Maybe I'll just split the difference - 20 minutes and 48 hours equals 24 hours.

Bill
Soon-to-be-two-toned ivory and havana brown 71 280SL

[Jonny B]

Sounds like a fair deal to me.....

[jeffc280sl]

Want to thank Baron and Mrfatboy for their write ups about hub cap painting.  I'm painting new stainless steel, currently painted white, 15 inch hub caps dark green to match my car.  To protect the stainless steel I taped one cap earlier today as instructed and wet sanded the painted surface to promote adhesion by the new paint.  I then stripped off the tape and cleaned the cap again.  I'll re-tape and paint later this week using paint fron paintscratch.com.  I'll take some before and after pics.  Wish me luck.

[Via Manci]

I enjoyed reading the info, but, how did you get the pictures downloaded to your post.  I thought there was a 250KB limit.   

[Peter van Es]

There is, per picture. And he's attached them on the old forum. To attach pictures, start a post, then press Additional Options below the  text, and you can Attach up to 4 files (click on more attachments).

Peter