Refinishing Hub Cap Medallions - 1939?

[hudson29]

According to the build sheet Cadillac sold me back in 1996, my 1939 6127 Coupé was equipped from the factory with the small hub caps and wheel trim rings and that is what the car has now. The caps and rings were somewhat battered and corroded but #0000 steel wool & polish made the caps look better. The CLC Authenticity Manual sez the caps should be perfectly smooth, these are not. They have a definite shape to them and are very attractive. Pictures are below. Any idea what year these actually are? BTW, the medallions are bigger than the repops made to fit the full wheel covers.

The bottom picture shows an old full wheelcover with a new medallion set on one of the wheels to see how the car might look with a set of these covers. The full covers are available from the vendors, the small caps I have not seen.

The medallions need to be refinished. I tried polish but they are going to need to be stripped and the metal brightened before they can be repainted. What is the best way to strip the old paint & brighten the metal?

Vintage Paul

[joeceretti]

I am interested in this thread. I've been wondering the same thing. I prefer the look of the small caps and the outer rings. I like the colour showing through. I have a wheel from a 38 LaSalle and it has a pin stripe around the edge just inside of the trim ring. I am wondering if some cars came this way.

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

Paul,
The small caps you show are 41 to 53 style. The 38 to 40 style are smooth. The emblems are also different. Maybe someone can post a picture of the correct caps? The full disc is 39/40 style.
HTH, Bob

[gary griffin]

 Joe,

    I have refinished several of the medallions and here are the steps I do.

    Strip off all old paint with a stripper

    Polish the brass well, even the part that will be red. I use Brasso like we polished our brass with in the army.

    Get  red spray paint that is translucent so shine shows through. I do not recall the name of the paint but I am sure someone else will.  Mask everything not red. and spray a coat of red. You should be able to see the brass shine at this time.

   I use model airplane paint and apply it by the drop with a toothpick> A small paint brush could be used for the larger areas.

   Spray with clear lacquer when complete and dry.
   I always do a batch and pick the best 4 for my car.

[joeceretti]

Here's what they are supposed to look like, minus the LaSalle emblem.

Thanks for the painting tips! I will follow those.

[hudson29]

Paul,
The small caps you show are 41 to 53 style. The 38 to 40 style are smooth. The emblems are also different. Maybe someone can post a picture of the correct caps? The full disc is 39/40 style.
HTH, Bob

Thanks Bob, I had guessed they were probably earlier caps because they had some nice detail work in the design. Its nice to hear they are later and should be easier to find examples in better condition. I do like the style of them. I think the car would look very nice with the full wheel covers but those are running $800 a set plus whatever the ride runs to.

Vintage Paul

[hudson29]

Joe,

    I have refinished several of the medallions and here are the steps I do.

    Strip off all old paint with a stripper

    Polish the brass well, even the part that will be red. I use Brasso like we polished our brass with in the army.

    Get  red spray paint that is translucent so shine shows through. I do not recall the name of the paint but I am sure someone else will.  Mask everything not red. and spray a coat of red. You should be able to see the brass shine at this time.

   I use model airplane paint and apply it by the drop with a toothpick> A small paint brush could be used for the larger areas.

   Spray with clear lacquer when complete and dry.
   I always do a batch and pick the best 4 for my car.

Yes, I have Brasso. How do you get a good polish in the detail? These medallions have a lot of areas that would be very difficult to get a polishing cloth into. I didn't know that a translucent spray paint was available. I too have model airplane paints including a translucent red I use for navigation lights. If I can get the medallions stripped & well polished this project should be fun!

Vintage Paul

[hudson29]

I am interested in this thread. I've been wondering the same thing. I prefer the look of the small caps and the outer rings. I like the colour showing through. I have a wheel from a 38 LaSalle and it has a pin stripe around the edge just inside of the trim ring. I am wondering if some cars came this way.

I don't know about the '38 models, but the Authenticity Manual for the '39 & '40 models sez that the wheels were striped. There were two stripes and were visible with the small hub caps & trim rings but hidden under the full wheel covers.

Vintage Paul

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

The paint is Testor's Candy Apple Red. Get your self a new pack of single edge razor blades to trim the masking tape. The new blue snuggles down well.

[Glen]

I’ve heard that for fine detail work you should use scotch tape.  It leaves a neater masking line.  Has anyone tried that?  If so what were the results?     

[Jeff Maltby 4194]

39 ?

[las39]

Translucent spray paint is also used for tail light glass touch-up or coloring.

[Tom Boehm]

Hello, I use Tarnx to take the tarnish off brass. The product is intended to take the tarnish off silver not brass but it still works. It works a lot faster than brasso and gets in the nooks. After the tarnish is gone I use brasso to polish. All stripper residue must be gone for the Tarnx to work. Also, you can make translucent red by adding red paint to a clear finish. Add red lacquer to clear lacquer or red oil base/alkyd paint to varnish. I have sprayed hubcap medallions with an airbrush.
     While we're on the topic of hubcaps, has anyone found a way to restore the small hubcaps with the chromed brass skin over steel? Chrome platers shy away from these because they don't know how to get the skin off to replate and then how to reinstall it back on the steel hubcap?