Painting wheels-but not tires?

[Bcurtman]

Well, the deuce is ready for paint. I'm going to go the latex route with an airless sprayer as it seems to work very well for many of you. Here is my question. I was told by a former military person that when the military painted a truck, they used some sort of water soluable jelly (I'm thinking like GOJO hand cleaner) to mask areas they didnt want painted, like gauges, glass, tires, etc. Then when the paint had dried, they just washed it off.

Do any of you know of something like this that is commercially available? I want to paint my wheels, but not my tires. I'm thinking this would take a lot of paper masking and tape out of the picture. Headlights, turn signals, mirrors, steering wheel, gauges, tags, windshield, basically all of the stuff not easily removed. Any guidance is greatly appreciated.

 

[plym49]

I don't know about that, but an easy way to mask your tires is to use a deck of cards.

 

[Carl_in_NH]

FWIW, you 'get what you pay for' in paint, prep, and masking; this fussy detail work of masking things either makes or breaks a paint job (at least as far as I'm concerned). I've never found shortcuts to work well enough to be happy with the end result.

As for masking the round things like gauges, lights, and reflectors, Rick Larsen has some die-cut masks for these standard parts that work wonders - not big bucks, yet mask the item in question perfectly. I bought some for a project and am happy. When it comes to tires, it's really hard to beat the big plastic bags and tape.

 

[RedbeardTheZombieHunter]

Just take a good size piece of cardboard and apply a curve to it so you can shield your rim from your tire, and shoot the side of the tire with some PAM or other similar veg oil-based cooking spray. Then wipe your rim with a rag and a little acetone (just in case) and paint the rim. With the cooking spray on the tire, you should have no trouble getting any stray paint off the sidewall of the tire.

 

[harleyhouse]

Take time and mask or remove items.
Use body mans vinyl tape to mask the tires.
You will be happier in the long run.

 

[hndrsonj]

Tape everything off. For the tires use a piece of thin cardboard. The final outcome is directly proportional to the prep you do!

 

[3dAngus]

Just take a thin cardboard box, flat, lay it up against the rim, tap a pattern into it with a hammer. You will now see a perfect circle portion tapped into the cardboard you can cut cleanly with scissors. Once the perfectly round cut is made, just lay up inside the tire rim on the rubber, and start spraying. Rotate the cardboard around the tire as you spray. If tire is upright, do about 270 degrees, top, left, right, then turn tire, and start over again. The paint will make it inside the rim enought to cover, and you have one of the easiest cardboard cutouts for more tires anyone can ever ask for. Best of all, it's free, and there is no messy cleanup, if you do it right. I do it all the time. Don't tell anyone, but I usually use a medium priority mail box that has never been folded.

 

[nk14zp]

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/1088079-post3.html

 

[Odyssey M]

Tape / Paper / Cardboard / Foam (to plug holes)

I just rebuilt my Ural with sidecar and from firsthand, I say take your time to sand, prep the metal, and mask. You may find quicker options, but you will most probably sacrifice quality.

Good luck!

 

[3dAngus]

Ohhhhh, posterboard. That would tap out even better than cardboard. Great idea!

Now, one more thing you DON'T want to do.

If you have two tires or more to paint, don't do like me and line them up against each other.

You might have one perfectly painted tire without paint on the rubber, but that paint goes right through a hole in the rim and ..... guess what? It ends up on the rubber on the tire behind it. Dang I hate it when I do stupid stuff like that. Spent more time cleaning off the other tire then I did painting two of them.

 

[Scrounge41]

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/1088079-post3.html

I used the method shown above and the results were great. I did mine with a piece of trim coil (soffit and fascia material) about 8"x24". You can do it with the wheel mounted and get the lug nuts and Brake drums at the same time.

 

[Odyssey M]

Don't tell anyone, but I usually use a medium priority mail box that has never been folded.

That explains the steady/continuous rise in postage!!!

 

[SMOKEWAGON66]

For me, when I get ready to paint wheels without hitting the tires, I take it off the truck, deflate it, and remove the split-ring and then just tape close to the edge of the tire, as any overspray there would be covered by the split-ring once re-installed. for the other side of the rim, I break the bead and slip tape or masking material under the lip. Everything else I either mask or remove it.

I have heard of the gel stuff your talking about, but most the people Ive heard it from say they used either petrolatum or vaseline. If you do it right, I dont see why it wouldnt work.

 

[porkysplace]

For me, when I get ready to paint wheels without hitting the tires, I take it off the truck, deflate it, and remove the split-ring and then just tape close to the edge of the tire, as any overspray there would be covered by the split-ring once re-installed. for the other side of the rim, I break the bead and slip tape or masking material under the lip. Everything else I either mask or remove it.

I have heard of the gel stuff your talking about, but most the people Ive heard it from say they used either petrolatum or vaseline. If you do it right, I dont see why it wouldnt work.

Vaseline works good , most any grease will , you just have to be carefull not to get it on the rim . After the cures just powerwash it off

 

[two.fiveM35]

I use tape and newspaper myself. I have heard some people oat the tire with dish soap and hose it off later.

 

[gungearz]

They sell paint rings for all rim sizes. As for masking, I am also a strong believer in prep time is worth more then the paint job...

 

[greenjeepster]

I second Grease... I have used it many times when painting wheels. Just apply it to the tire and wash it off afterwards, much easier then using cardboard and tape.

 

[sniperboy]

When I was in Nam the motorpool guys would use vasoline on tires, gages, windows and lights and just wash it off after the paint was dry. Haven't done it myself but what I've seen turned out pretty good.

 

[RAYZER]

For gauges,I take some blue tape and make a sheet ,then draw the correct size circle with a compass,then cut it out with a razor knife,now you have a perfect tape circle to mask the gauge face with.

 

[maddawg308]

I've used a long piece of aluminum flashing around the circumference of the wheel to mask off the tire, worked well...