PAINTING WHEELS

ANYONE HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS ON PAINTING THE WHEELS OF MY TRACTOR WITHOUT TAKING THE TIRES OF AND WITHOUT GETTING PAINT ON THEM ?

No problem just newspaper and some masking tape and a little time and you are ready to paint.

Rick: I use concentrated liquid soap on the tires before painting. I brush it on out from the rim edge far enough to cover the side wall. After the painted wheel is dry, I use a stiff brush and water to scrub off the soap and overspray. A thick even coat of soap makes the job easy.

It takes a while, but I have used as little as 1 to 2-inches of masking tape and sprayed the wheels. Any mistakes come off easily with a brush, else I would not be able to clean up the mess others have made trying to paint the wheels in the past.

When i helped a buddy paint tractors and we got one in with loaded tire on it everything that was red got sprayed RED when the red dryed then we would paint the rims alum. , we would jack up one side at a time and one guy on the outside and one guy on the inside we would brush paint the rims no masking tape no grease on the tires and if ya had and OOOPPPPpps ya had a rag with lacquer thinner and ya cleanded up your OOOppps .

Dr. Bert: That sounds like a simple solution to a complex problem. When I restored my 544 I masked the tires, but I missed some places. I now have some rust and need to do it again. Thanks.

I took the tires and rims to a tire shop. Had them break the tires loose from the rim. Now I could sand and paint the edge of the rim without getting paint on the tires. There's no other way to get right up to the tire.

This sounds like a better solution than what I did. I actually painted the tire with 30 weight oil. It worked, but tire cleanup was still tedious, I think soap would be the best... Maybe the use of dish soap like DAWN, would be better yet.

Rick...Go over to Parts and Pieces under "44 H, and you will see how I did it. I used Navistar Silver and Hardener to finish. Napa #33723

I have to say I have done it both ways...leaving the tire on the rim, and taping very carefully as well as tires off completely. If given the choice in the future, I will take the tires off every time. It works out to about the same amount of time, and sure looks nicer in my opinion. no matter the care you take, there will always be overspray you have to take care of if you leave them on.

Mark

I use vasaline around the tire near as possiable to the rim and the paint won't stick.

I'm with tractor vet: Can of aluminum rustoleum and a sponge brush... That's how Dad's always done 'em, and they look great even up close. I did my little Cub's rims last summer and they look great too.

I came up with a handy way to paint smaller rims with the tires still on. I purchased a 28 gauge galvanized steel band about 5' long and 6" wide. I drilled two 1/4 holes in one end and carefully curved it around the wheel lip, on the tire side, until it overlapped. Then drilled the holes thru and fastened with 1/4" bolts and wing nuts. Started at 13" dia and went up to 18" dia as I had the oppurtunity to have that size rim on the place, drilling a new pair of holes for each size. I marked each size on the outside of the metal near the pair of holes with a magic marker.

When I need to paint a wheel, I simply put it flat on the ground and set the ring for the appropriate size. It fits tightly to the rim (or with such small gaps very little paint gets thru) and spray away. For quick and dirty jobs (hayrack) I left the wheel on the hub and bungee cord the band in place. Give the tire a quick spin and a shot with the paint gun and you're done. Cleans up easy as paint does not like to stick to galvanized.

My Dad spent a lifetime in the Body Shop and he taught me all kinds of tricks to quickly spruce up a vehicle. He always said spend plenty of time cleaning and preparing because paint is only as good as the work underneath. So while this band idea may sound like cheating, it will do a good job if the surface preparation is good. I'm going to make another one to fit 24" to 38" wheels to paint the rear rims on my 706.

I've painted with Vaseline on the rubber and also masking tape. With the tape just tape everything over the edge of the rim ( you can use paper over the rubber ) then cut along the outer edge of the rim with a new razor blade then use a plastic putty paddle to push the edge of the cut tape between the rim and tire. it's pretty easy and almost as fast as cleaning off the Vaseline. Just get the tape off as soon as possible after painting without tearing the paint. ...Randy

I apply shampoo to the tire, let it dry a bit and apply another coat to make it thick. Then I have a piece of sheet metal about 8" high and 2-3 foot long. I stick it around the bead and spray, moving the spray shield as I need to. Good luck.

Charles