Masking/painting wheels

[TobyC]

Not sure if this should be here after my mishap last night but here goes. Any tips for cutting out masks for wheels so I can paint the tyres without getting paint on the hubs. Every time I try to cut a mask it comes out looking like threepenny bit.
I have looked elsewhere but if this is on the wrong forum please can someone move it as I don't want to upset anyone here again.

[MarkyM607]

How about a little blob of blu-tac pushed into the hub?.

[AndrewR]

I paint the whole wheel with Vallejo Panzergrau primer, which gives me the tyre colour. Then I use a very dilute mix of the hub colour using water with a drop of washing up liquid. The mix should spread out on the surface, not form droplets. Then put a little of the mix at the rim of the hub - it should run around and define the edge of the hub. Then you can carefully fill in the rest of the hub, using the diluted paint, or the neat paint, if you need better coverage.

Cheers

Andrew

[DavidWomby]

This is one of the reasons I build my aircraft wheels up but here's a few things I used to try.

If there's a raised rim, paint the hubs first, then lay the wheel down hub upwards and apply VERY thinned tyre colour (huge debates over black vs dark grey for rubber) by touching the tyre with a loaded small brush just outside the rim. The thinned paint usually flows quickly and settles against the rim. When dry, the tyre colour is neat all around the rim and I then brushed on the rest of the tyre paint.

Sometimes, if the rim is lower than the tyre edge, I would have to do it the other way round -i.e. the thinned paint is used to paint the edge of the hub after the tyre was done but that doesn't work so well as the lighter colour thinned paints for hubs used to take several applications.

Another solution I used was taking a very fine or ultra fine Sharpie black permanent marker and run it round the outside rim of the hub to make the edge of the tyre then brush painting the rest.

David

[Eric Mc]

I use a steel template to cut out a circular mask of the correct diameter. I use a very sharp No. 10 blade to ensure the mask cuts neatly. It works well - I find.

[JohnRatzenberger]

Freehand, by hand, with varying success depending on the design of the wheel and steadiness of my hand.

I'm going to have to try that thinned paint trick, thanks !

[ian lanc]

What I do is fully paint/detail the hub then when its fully dry, I then use either a cocktail stick or scrap
sprue and trim it to fit in the hub hole, It has to be a tight fit mind you so it doesn't fall off.

With a fine brush evenly dipped but not over-loaded in the correct tyre coloured paint
then hold the stick/sprue and slowly rotate the wheel and at the same time bringing
the loaded paint brush to the tyre and engage at the base/edge of the rim, after you
have done this paint in the rest of the tyre. Job done.

[aeroplanegripper]

My method, if it helps, is to first prime the wheel, then paint the hub. When it is dry, place some Tamiya masking tape, or other brands that are available, over the hub. Then using a blunt toothpick burnish the tape down over the hub so that you get the desired coverage, then using a brand new 11 blade trim the tape off leaving the section over the hub covered. Then, using diluted paint for the tyre let it run around the rim, then paint the wheel as described by Andrew. Hope this helps.

[fredk]

For cheap masks, 2 ideas;
1) hole punches, a set which goes from 3mm to 10mm in 1mm steps costs about £1.99 to £4.99. Use these to punch out discs of Tamiya masking tape.
2) paper label discs, available in stationers, perfect circles in diameters from about 3 or 4mm to very large, 35mm, some available in 0.5 mm steps. A pack costs from £0.99 to £1.49, each pack has a lot of discs in in it.
I paint hub first. If the edge is well defined I use the thinned paint method to paint the tyre. If there is not a good edge to the hub centre I use a mask over it and paint the tyre.

[Stamford]

You can get a circle cutter and make your own masks but the best way is a toothpick to twirl the wheel and a steady hand. Then a touch up. Then another one. Then a repaint of the hub. then a few more twirls. Then a touch up. Sounds like a pain, well it is a pain actually but in the end you can get a nice result! Well thats my way anyway. You can use a pencil to demarcate if the molding allows.

[nashorn]

Must try the thinned paint idea.

rich.

[Chris]

I just do it freehand.

[Chuck E]

I always do them freehand, but sometimes I use a silver pen. See below. These are 1/72nd.

[Zee28]

Similar to others, I use capillary action with highly thinned paint. Depending on what bit sits proud (the edge of the hub or the inner edge of the tyre) denotes which colour goes on first to ensure there is a 'proud' edge for the capillary action to work. Ie. If the edge of the hub sits proud of the tyre then I paint the hub first, and vice-versa. Then the thinned paint is dobbed on the tyre and if it's thin enough it will flow around edge neatly all by itself with no masking or anything. The amount of paint is critical, too much thinned paint and it'll flood, too little and it wont flow all the way round.

If the tyre sits proud of the hub, then I spray the whole wheel in a suitable tyre colour (like Black) and then use the same capillary action with highly thinned paint dobbed on the hub so it flows out to naturally meet the edge of the tyre.

Naturally, being heavily thinned you may not get the immediate coverage required, but just let it dry and repeat the process.

Hope this helps,

Zee28

[ian lanc]

I just do it freehand.

Easy isn't it mate

I did the wheels on my Fiesta freehand! If anyone has seen the wheels in the kit
you soon see what I'm talking about, there really is no deep curve between the tyre & hub.