I am repainting the flaked off paint on the hub caps. Should I chemically strip away the old paint? All of it?
Remove ALL the paint ....but be careful using chemical stripper.
...and (a bit late now probably?) dont bother with primer, just go straight to body colour on the bare metal.
I'm getting ready to do this job as well. Certainly makes sense to strip to bare metal as you'll get a cleaner new paint job however a friend told me not to as it's very difficult to get the new paint to adhere to the bare chrome. He claims it sticks better to the old paint. Not sure what to do now??
You have to do what the factory did......put down a coat of primer first.
I have (for my sins) done this on two separate cars now, and if the bare metal is cleaned and degreased you only need
the body colour. Its a good finish and no risk of seeing any primer close up.
Also, maybe a coincidence, when I stripped the paint from various hub caps (bought separately) I could see no evidence
of a base coat??
To be honest, the hardest part is masking off!!
I think I got the masking off part figured out. I bought these stencils which look like they will work great. I Just have to find time to get to the project now...
A lucky find! Good luck! I look forward to you posting the outcome.