Wondering, as the way I usually do it isn’t really my favorite nor particularly easy, but other ways (particular masking) I don’t seem to have the knack for.
Anyway, I usually do these steps to paint solid cast wheels (one piece consisting of both hub and tire, such as Jordon Model A wheels, or GHQ forklift/Bobcat wheels, or many resin truck kits)
1.) Prime wheel/tire piece - let really dry
2.) Spray the piece the color of the section with a raised lip (usually the hub) - so for example the entire piece is yellow (the usual color of a Model A hub, spokes, and rim, for example) - again, let really, really dry
3.) Dip fine-tip brush in heavily thinned tire color (e.g. slightly faded black matches the color of many real-world tires, to my eyes anyway), and let paint flow onto the tire section of the one-piece wheel. This is a bit tedious and nerve wracking (since the potential for the thinned paint to flow over the hub is always there).
Workable, but it takes time and has potential for errors, so I’d really like to hear from others if there is a better way
I’ve painted literally tens of THOUSANDS of GHQ vehicles, in my old wargaming days. That’s about how I painted each and every darned tire. Frankly, it works great, especially with a self-levelling paint like Polly Scale. You could spend the time cutting out masking for the wheel rims, but that would probably take longer to do than just brushpainting the tires.
Of course, you could try painting the tires first, and then going back and painting the rims. Since most rims have a lip that extends past the edge of the tire, this might work well for you, especially if you paint the lip with a brush with very little paint on it (so it doesn’t “escape” and flow onto the tire)
Thanks orsonroy, that’s the same answer I got posting on another board - in other words what I’m doing is pretty much the preferred method (since I have problems working with masks on HO scale hubs).
One thing - do you find PollyS to be more ‘free-flowing’ or self-leveling than regular (thinned) Floquil. And do you have to thin it much?
Having now a lot of cast wheels (hub/wheel cast as one piece) to paint, and not happy with the method I was using (exactly the same as the OP†, strangely enough‡), I went searching for threads about painting wheel and hubs in the forums, and found this thread, started by an incredibly intelligent gentleman nearly 8 years ago. Surely we have progressed some in the past 8 years, and have new techniques and hints to paint these types of wheel hubs.
Unfortunately back then, and alas today, I can still think of only 3:
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Paint wheel hub color, then “flow” the thinned tire color (usually flat black) onto the remainder of the wheel. The problem here is that recently (well, over the past year or so), I find the resultant tire color looks blotchy and inconsistant compared to earlier results.
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Paint wheel tire color, then paint the hub with (less) thinned tire color. Some tire rims are not as “defined” as others, and so this is prone to messy “outside-the-lines” coloring due to the yips.
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Masking - either hub or tire, either way is a bit tedious and inexact (of course, I could be doing it the hard way - blue masking tape and Xacto knife. Masking fluids just laugh at me, and I gave up on them years ago.
Is this all? Have we not progressed as a species in the past 8 years to easier methods of painting one piece wheels?
† I am now aware that I originally posted this back then, although I had forgotten I posted it and so I was a surprised to find it during the search. I am not sure why I could not find other threads about it - perhaps my search was lacking.
‡What is absolutely frightening to me is I only got around to finishing that Jordan Model A I mentioned in the 2004 OP only a few mo
I have recently gotten into airbrushing. I would try this: Make a couple of hand held masks. One with a round hole in it the size of the wheel, tire and all (large hole). Then make a second mask just the size of the wheel (small hole). Now hold the large tire mask over the wheel and spray the tire and wheel black. After that is dry, hold the small wheel mask over the wheel and spray the wheel color. If you can spray straight on, you should get good results.
This technique is similar to using a stencil and painting numbers and letters with a spray can on full size equipment.
This is similar to the way I paint wheels as well. I use Floquil grimey black for the rubber; a number of people have commented that they thought it was real rubber. The only thing I would add is, after the paint has set up for a couple of days, I put a wash of thinned engine black onto the hub to fill the holes in the casting. For the wash, I use about 10% paint - 90% thinner. This is good for adding depth to radatiors grills and similar things
Hi!
A couple tips I got on the subject years ago…
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Use Testor’s “Rubber” to paint your tires. It’s a realistic brown/black flat color that looks awfully good.
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With a needle file or sanding pad, flatten the bottom of the wheels a bit. This really helps them to “look right” sitting on that flat model road.
MOBILMAN44
Those are both great suggestions. I have used Testors Rubber and it looks great on tires.
Getting the tires to look realistic when sitting on the ground is a very important detail. Thanks for the suggestion.
Dave
Thanks all, for the replies.
I guess there really are only 3 ways of painting one-piece wheels - masking; paint hub & wash tire; paint tire and (really, really carefully) paint hub. Oh well, can’t fight physics I guess.
Grimy black is actually a good suggestion for tire color, I have been using flat black and then rub some dark grey chalk into the tire sidewalls, as real tires which have are not brand new or freashly “Armor-alled” seem to have a greyish cast to me. Will try grimy black for the next set. I think rubber looks a bit brown (at least to my eyes - I have used it to paint model figures’ hair dark brunette), a color I don’t really see in prototype parking lots
As for flat spots on a tire (contact point between rubber and road) - while this is doable on rather static wheels like older Athearn or Walthers trailers (those thick axles ain’t turning without a lot of work anyway) or cast kits metal like GHQ’s Forklifts where the wheels are just cemented to the body, flat spots come natural since there is usually a mold/casting mark on the tire tread you need to file down anyway - keep that side down. But for tires that roll freely (most 1:87 vehicles nowadays), flat spots are a obvious no-go.