My new wheels!
Thread Starter
Senior Member
SL Member
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 132
From: Colorado Springs, CO
My new wheels!
06.5 BOP on Nexo M20 18x7.5 ET +40 with OTG rear shims
I know, I know, it needs a bath BAD! As soon as Katrina-West passes through NorCal for good, I'll get her all nice and shiny!!
And yes, she's getting the Tein/Koni treatment next month too.
Here are the center caps I made.
I know, I know, it needs a bath BAD! As soon as Katrina-West passes through NorCal for good, I'll get her all nice and shiny!!
And yes, she's getting the Tein/Koni treatment next month too.
Here are the center caps I made.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
SL Member
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 132
From: Colorado Springs, CO
Here's what I did.
*First, I removed the Scion emblems from the stock hub caps. I did this by using a small flathead screwdriver to break the mounting tabs for the emblem on the back of the hub cap. Just pry and they come right off!
*Next, I had to remove what was left of the mounting tabs on the back of the emblems. I did this by using a razor blade to cut as much of the tab off as I could. The plastic is surprisingly soft, so a fresh, sharp razor blade worked really well. Once I cut the tabs down as far as I could, I got some fairly gritty (like 250 or 300 grit) sandpaper and smoothed what was left of the tabs, leaving the back of the emblems as flat as possible.
*I then had to prep and paint the Nexo center cap "insert" (the little tin-like sticker they give you to put in the center cap). This winds up being the black border that surrounds the Scion emblems. I sanded the insert until the surface was fairly grainy, the primed it with a zinc-based primer from an aerosol can. After the primer dried, I gave it another primer coat and allowed that one to dry as well. I then painted the insert satin black (from an aerosol can as well) and allowed it to dry. I then gave the insert two more coats.
*Once the inserts dried, I used just a little bit of two-part epoxy on the back of the emblems to hold them to the inserts. This assured they wouldn't move while I was putting the clear acrylic over them.
*Once I got the placement of the emblem right where I wanted it, I peeled off the adhesive cover from the back of the inserts, then stuck it inside the center cap.
*I then used a product called Super-Glo. It's a two-part hard acrylic that fries super-clear and super-glossy. You basically mix equal parts of the hardener and resin that come in the kit, then pour it into the mold. In this particular case, the mold was the inside of the center cap. The center cap is about 4-5mm deep, so it made a nice little "cup" for the acrylic. I didn't wanna just pour the acrylic over the cap because I was afraid it would go everyewhere, even places I didn't want it to! So i used a medicine dropper to put a little bit at a time into the cap until I got the thickness of the acrylic just right. This particular product takes 36 hours to cure completely.
*After the coating cured, I cleaned them up with some glass cleaner and a microfiber towel, and voila! There you have it.
I really wish I had taken pictures of the whole process, but I didn't think of doing that until I was finished with the project. Hope this helps.[/list]
*First, I removed the Scion emblems from the stock hub caps. I did this by using a small flathead screwdriver to break the mounting tabs for the emblem on the back of the hub cap. Just pry and they come right off!
*Next, I had to remove what was left of the mounting tabs on the back of the emblems. I did this by using a razor blade to cut as much of the tab off as I could. The plastic is surprisingly soft, so a fresh, sharp razor blade worked really well. Once I cut the tabs down as far as I could, I got some fairly gritty (like 250 or 300 grit) sandpaper and smoothed what was left of the tabs, leaving the back of the emblems as flat as possible.
*I then had to prep and paint the Nexo center cap "insert" (the little tin-like sticker they give you to put in the center cap). This winds up being the black border that surrounds the Scion emblems. I sanded the insert until the surface was fairly grainy, the primed it with a zinc-based primer from an aerosol can. After the primer dried, I gave it another primer coat and allowed that one to dry as well. I then painted the insert satin black (from an aerosol can as well) and allowed it to dry. I then gave the insert two more coats.
*Once the inserts dried, I used just a little bit of two-part epoxy on the back of the emblems to hold them to the inserts. This assured they wouldn't move while I was putting the clear acrylic over them.
*Once I got the placement of the emblem right where I wanted it, I peeled off the adhesive cover from the back of the inserts, then stuck it inside the center cap.
*I then used a product called Super-Glo. It's a two-part hard acrylic that fries super-clear and super-glossy. You basically mix equal parts of the hardener and resin that come in the kit, then pour it into the mold. In this particular case, the mold was the inside of the center cap. The center cap is about 4-5mm deep, so it made a nice little "cup" for the acrylic. I didn't wanna just pour the acrylic over the cap because I was afraid it would go everyewhere, even places I didn't want it to! So i used a medicine dropper to put a little bit at a time into the cap until I got the thickness of the acrylic just right. This particular product takes 36 hours to cure completely.
*After the coating cured, I cleaned them up with some glass cleaner and a microfiber towel, and voila! There you have it.
I really wish I had taken pictures of the whole process, but I didn't think of doing that until I was finished with the project. Hope this helps.[/list]
