In an earlier post (https://mbworld.org/forums/g-class-w...ire-cover.html) several months ago, I described an aftermarket tire cover solution for 275/55R20 tires that I mounted on the axles and spare in place of the OE Pirellis and OE Continental spare. To dress up the cover a bit, I designed and 3D printed an MB Star to mount on it (as shown in the earlier post’s pics).

After a couple of months of exposure to the environmental elements, the PLA plastic Star began to shrink and deform, either from dehydration or UV exposure. I printed a new Star with carbon fiber impregnated 3D filament, which required substantial secondary effort (filler and sanding), but I wasn’t satisfied with paint finishes available out of an aerosol can. While the CF plastic was more environmentally stable than the PLA, the CF version seemed to be a dust magnet.

I sent my design file to a machine shop and had a couple Stars machined out of aluminum billets (I planned for a spare in case I boogered up one). The picture here shows how it looked after a light bead blast that removed 99% of the machining marks. I drilled and tapped 9 blind holes on the Star’s backside for mounting – one 8-32 hole in the center and eight 4-40 holes around the Star’s circumference (2nd pic).





Then off to the powder coat shop, where after ruling out Playdough green and Mary Kay pink, I ruminated over a vast spectrum of blacks and dark grays, finally choosing a concoction dubbed “Misty Lava” (see pic below).



The aluminum billets weigh in at 12 ounces, about twice that of the 3D plastic, so I fab’d a backing plate out of 1/8” thick aluminum and drilled a matching hole pattern so that the tire cover’s PVC is sandwiched between the Star and the plate. The final pic shows the Star mounted on the wheel cover, which IMHO looks pretty good.

 

Looks great. Love it.

 

Nice job; however, the one in the last pic looks chrome as opposed to the satin black-looking one above it.

 

"Misty Lava" is a polychromatic mix a couple clicks away from absolute black, and has a low gloss finish. Shot straight on with indoor lighting produces a quite ordinary appearance, but mounted on the wheel cover and exposed to broad spectrum natural light, and shot from an angle where the prism-like geometry of the MB badge accentuates the polychromaticity, it does take on an "it's black - no wait it's chrome" impression. Depending on the lighting and the viewing angle, it can be barely visible, or it can appear almost luminous. In any event, it's holding up much better than plastic!