Inspired one day when biking home and almost running over a hub cap, Erin found the cap beautiful and promptly found two more to showcase in her home. Click above for the pics and head below for all the instructions. Give Erin a THUMBS UP if you find this project helpful....
DURING
TOOLS:
An old hubcap, scrubby sponge, cardboard, newspaper, or something to protect your floor/lawn, spray paint in desired color, epoxy, mixing tray for epoxy (a paper plate will work too), and an epoxy stirrer (I used a disposable fork).
STEPS:
1. Clean you hub cap thoroughly with the sponge and warm water. If you want to spend the extra money, you can also buy hubcap cleaner at your local auto shop, but it's not necessary.
2. When the hub cap is clean and dry, take it outside, or into a well ventilated area. Put down your cardboard, hub cap, and then spray paint away. It may require more than one coat to cover evenly.
3. When the paint it dry, break out your epoxy. Any brand will do (I used the cheap hardware store brand and it held just fine). Mix the two polymers together thoroughly on a DISPOSABLE surface. Some brands come with a tray you can use, others don't. I mixed mine in the tray provided with a disposable fork.
4. When the epoxy is mixed, spread it on the areas of the hub cap you'll be adhering the mirror to. Work quickly - some epoxies dry fast. When the area is well coated, place the mirror on the adhesive.
5. Allow epoxy to dry overnight (just to be safe), and then hang in desired area. Viola - the perfect piece of homemade decor for the car lover in all of us.
RESOURCES:
I was inspired to create this project when, while riding my bike home from class one day, I almost ran over a hub cap that someone had left lying on the curb. I took it home with me, and it looked so cool on my wall that I went to a junkyard and bought two more.
Give Erin a THUMBS UP if you find this project helpful....
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That's not hip. Thats not hip at all.
ew.
I think it would look better in a child's themed bedroom, otherwise it looks like, well, hubcaps on the wall.
sad.
Perfect...
...for a garage.
and that green wall makes me queezy.
Wow, everybody's cranky today!
I think this looks pretty cool.
No.
I think if there were more of them and they were all the same colour, they could look like a nice sculptural piece of art. Right now the blue one doesn't do anything for me because I'm not sure where the colour is being pulled from (is there a blue stripe in the bedding?). They also feel like they're hung too high. I see potential with this, it's just not quite there.
"Wow, everybody's cranky today!"
Gee - I guess not all of us are cheerleaders who think that absolutely everything posted here is rosy and special...
I get really tired of some of us being called "Cranky" or "Rude" when we disagree w/ a post or another person's opinion.
could be used creatively somewhere. this is not my cup of tea.
I'm with grrliz
more, the same color and hung lower
It kind of reminds me of the old late 80's-early 90's show Clerissa Explains it All. I thought it was weird then too...
I agree with the majority.....still looks like hubcaps on a wall to me. Not cute.
all we need is a car bed
This hurts my eyes :(
Is this from Apartment Therapy Arkansas?
Is this HGTV?
This could be really nice if the same or similar colors were used and all the caps were painted, and grouping them so that they look like a sculpture would be interesting. If painted the same color, different caps could be used; if different colors, I'd go with the same cap for all.
In addition to the placement/color issues, it's hard to grasp the idea of bringing something associated with dirt and the outdoors into the bedroom.
Paired with the metal shleving unit and that bed, it definitely looks like you're in a garage.
Thumbs down.
Sorry Erin.
I think in order for this to work, you would need more hubcaps - a lot more. They could look neat arranged in a grid, or barnacle like pattern, but i still think this would be better suited outside the bedroom.
As long as Erin is happy with it, that's what counts.
I don't find it attractive, tho.
I think the blue hubcap turned out pretty well. It's got an interesting enough pattern that when you paint it and apply the mirror, suddenly it doesn't scream "hubcap" anymore. Displaying the three of these together, though, just doesn't work for me. I think the basic idea is really good, but the success of the execution depends on what materials you choose and how you display the finished product. I guess you could say that about any DIY project.
There is a person out there who took the time to do this project and post it. If you don't like it... fine. There's nothing wrong with being critical, but must all tact go out the window because we're on an anonymous blog? I should hope not.
looks like an 8th grade craft project... why would you even think that this would work on AT?
but, if you like it, thats all that counts!
I think they could be turned into cool clocks.
awful
This isn't my style either, though I don't quite understand why all the haters are piling on.
But you know what would make it quite a bit better? Vintage hub caps. Nineteen-sixties and earlier. I'm thinking especially of the smooth dome-shaped chrome ones, maybe with script reading PACKARD or DE SOTO or whatever.
Also, if you're doing this, they'd have to be spotless, so run 'em through the dishwasher.
Erin,
Ignore the naysayers. If it makes you smile when you look at it, then great!
I have a hubcap on the wall. I get lots of laughs and my hubbin thinks I'm crazy, but when paired with a print that's edgy and that looks city-like, a Yield sign that says "Duck Crossing", and a circuit board that my hubbin keeps because he's sentimental, it looks good.
I haven't put all this on my bedroom walls or above my bed. It's in the hall, across from CDs that hang on the wall. The hubcap with all the other edgy/city-themed stuff looks appropriate.
I think Erin's going for pretty vintage look here, with the greens and the blue. I share your fascination with hubcaps. Mine just looks different because of the way I choose to pair it.
I see the potential here, but this particular grouping doesn't really do it for me.