Can center caps be corrected?

[Eric7810]

Bought new wheels, now my old center caps are letting me down.

I believe there’s a layer of factory clear coat on them... Not 100% sure.

Can these be fixed with a machine, perhaps a DA? Anyone ever tried?

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[Nappers]

I had the GMC version of these years, I believe they were an aluminum over plastic and clear coated. I had decent luck getting them cleaned up using paint correcting techniques. I used M105/205 combo to clean them up and the aluminum trim on the side of the rig. They didn't quite get as nice as I had hoped trying different products. I stopped short of wet sanding then polishing.

I did use my DA (G100 - Porter Cable 7336 basically I think), by hand as well.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Before going any further - test the aluminum to make sure it's not anodized or in any other way coated. To me the aluminum in your picture looks like it's anodized and if it is there's for the most part nothing you can do.


From this article,

The Secret to Removing Oxidation and Restoring a Show Car Finish to Antique Single Stage Paints



Oxidized Aluminum Turns Black
With metallic single stage paints, oxidation can show up as a darkening effect on medium to light colored paints because the aluminum metal flakes embodied inside the paint will stain or discolor the paint with a grayish black color.


If you’ve ever polished uncoated aluminum then you’ve seen this grayish black color coming off the aluminum and onto your polishing cloth as you work a metal polish over it. This same type of oxidation is taking place to the aluminum flake inside the paint.

Polishing Uncoated Aluminum

Oxidized Aluminum Comes Off Black

Wolfgang MetallWerk™ Aluminum Polishing System