TOPIC: Re-finishing old plastic

Same wheel, different part. As you can see in the pic, there are a lot of small and not-so-small cracks in this center piece for the wheel. The plastic is fairly thick translucent gold with a reflective surface on the inside. There is no way (that I know) to repair this. The options then become a) Live with it, or b) try to fill and re-surface. Both Krylon and Rustoleum make high gloss gold spray paints for indoor applications and Rustoleum makes one for indoor/outdoor that might work. The downside is that the existing finish gives it some depth, which would not be the case with something refinished.

My first question is has anyone tried to refinish something like this before? Would a refinished piece look good or would there be a lot lost? Any thoughts?

I've played with a few methods that have helped reduce crazing in plastic, with moderate success. I found that using a good plastic polish like mcguiers did a great job, and even seemed to reduce the appearance of some of the deeper cracks. I also played with a liquid resin that is made for windshield repair on some parts with deeper cracks, it did sOme good, but was probably more work than it was worth. After filling, I had to sand Ito down to 2000 grit then repolish it all.


I just opted to leave the cap on my wheel in original condition- it was a little rougher than yours, but I'd rather have that slight patina than a part that looked painted... You just can't get a real metallic finish with a spray!

Gee....I just sold one NOS in the package, I frequent 2 boat junk yards, ill look for one next trip.

Thanks Ponyboy. I'm not going to need the wheel for a while as there is a lot of work on the boat before that gets installed.

this is what i had