Next, you can paint the pieces if desired. We tied a piece of string across the workshop and threaded the pieces so that they were hanging in the air. Using a small hobby brush and craft paint, we gave two coats after some light sanding. You can also paint the axle caps, but we left ours unpainted. If you want to make your own axle caps, simply drill a blind hole in a round piece (1/2" (13mm) diameter and 3/8" (10mm) thick) and sand - the dowel should fit tightly but this press fit will be accompanied with glue during final assembly. Once the paint is dry we sanded again and wore through some of the edges (for an antique look) and followed with some polyurethane for durability. Try not to allow paint to drip into the holes; after everything dried, we redrilled all of the holes to ensure that there weren't any drops of paint or polyurethane that would interfere with the function of the toy.