Okay, I didn't know where else to post this, so I'll have no problems if a mod moves it.

Any paint experts out there? Who has painted their R/T centercaps? I need HELP!!

I spent all last week painting my R/T wheels and they turned out excellent (pics later). This week I've been trying to do the centercaps. I have failed. I've tried everything and frankly I'm more than a little bit pissed. The paint won't "go on" right ... it keeps turning milky. I even got up real early this morning before any humidity and the same thing happened. Trying to clear coat is a joke: it turns the cap completely milky gray - no silver flecks, no shine, nothing.

I'm using the same paint as the wheels - of course. Plain ol' Duplicolor silver, W101. Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong and how to fix this? I don't like driving around with the lug nuts exposed. Looks ghetto. And I'm going out of town tomorrow.
Thanks ...

 

lightly sand, clean/prep, prime with a quality adhesive promotor, let dry, paint, let dry, clear coat, buff, wax, done.

IndyDurango

 

yea you need to prep and prime them first, the center cars are plastic, it doesnt like taking paint, but it can be made to work if you do it correctly, if you have too much trouble iv dont plastic before and im not more than an hour or so from you

 

^ He only charges good beer and a nice rib steak dinner....lol ^

 

i wasnt gonna tell him that till later damn now my cover is blown

 

Hey guys, thanks for all the responses. It took me a while to respond because I posted a day before going out of town (I had to roll with the wheels capless). I just returned a couple days ago.

Yeah, I've painted plastic several times before: bumper endcaps, flares, door mirror housings - never had this problem. The weather has been so awesome these past 2 days that I took another stab at it earlier this evening. The paint applied perfectly, but the clear is now going on cloudy. I think humidity is the culprit. I'm going to add clearcoat early tomorrow morning, before the temps get funky.
We'll see.