The painting of hubcaps

[oem4me]

You asked, so here goes. I restored a set of similar caps a few years ago, and went all-out for a FACTORY look. They came out spot-on perfect, but it was a bunch of work.
1st, start with straight set of hubcaps and polish them up good. 2nd, take molds off a good cap using body filler and mold release. 3rd, shape your molded "plugs" to exactly fit what you DO NOT want to paint. Saw, sand, file, or do whatever works for you to get just the right fit. Plan your painting in stages, and create plugs for each stage or color.
4th, clean the metal well and paint away with good quality paint. Rattle cans are fine provided it's good paint and the tip atomizes well. You can soak the can in hot water to warm the paint and increase pressure if needed. A heat gun works too, but don't over do it.
Next, enjoy hubcaps that don't have hard or crooked tape lines and display just the right amount of factory paint "bounce" on the edges.
like I said, it's a bunch of work.. so you decide how you want it to look.