1970 Toro Wheel Cap Restoration

[Gator]

Is it possible (and if so--how) to restore these caps to like-new condition?

Here is the worst one:



Here is one, which is typical of the other three caps:



I'm also on the lookout for a beauty rims for these wheels.

Thanks,
Todd

[Otto Skorzeny]

Yes. Have you ever done any body work?

You'll probably have to fashion a jig to hold the cap while you work it. Basically you need to tap out the dents from the inside with small body hammers and bucks. Usually work it against a wood block.

There are places that will do it for you but the way I see it you can't really make it any worse if you try to do it yourself and have a reasonable amount of skill. If you fail you can always send it somewhere.

[Gator]

I've done some bodywork, yes. Mostly grinding out rust and replacing sheet metal. Once the dings are pounded out, it's just a matter of 'buffing' out the rough spots, yes? I'm most concerned with the worst cap. it's pretty scraped up on the one side.

Usually when dealing with this sort of condition, most shops recommend finding a replacement. It's simply not an option for a car this old and rare.

I was thinking chrome electroplating and doing the wheel while i was at it. I've seen pictures, it's nice. That won't happen for a while, yet. Too many needs at this point.

[Otto Skorzeny]

Yes, after hammering out the dents and massaging them into shape, buffing and polishing can yield good to excellent results.

I did this on a 1976 F100 grill made from aluminum. It was a pain in the neck getting the thing into position to work the dents due to it's large size but once I did it was relatively easy to shape.

Once straightened, I buffed out the waves and then polished the whole thing with a wheel chucked into a drill.

There was a tear in the metal that I was able to flatten out and massage the edges of the tear so that they met. Once they were even, polishing made the slit nearly invisible.

I'm not a bodywork guy and have never done it on painted metal but the pliable aluminum was fairly easy to work with.

Here's a company in Texas that does a good job restoring hubcaps and trim.

http://www.trimpolish.com/index.html

Hubcaps.com sells hubcaps and restores them, too. I've noticed that their used hubcap prices have gone up considerably since I first purchased this company. Of course that was 10 years ago but I think they've become more aware of the value of some of these caps. Their old caps were typically around $15-$30 each ('64 Galaxie, for example). Now they all seem to be pushing $100 or more.

http://www.hubcaps.org/cars/

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