This question is asked frequently by the noobs on the various forums…”How to paint wheels?”

First find yourself a Circle Drawing Template at the craft store or office supply store. In lieu of that a drill bit/screw size gauge will also work. In fact I use both and are inexpensive.

Start by giving painting your tire. Overspray on to the wheel is no big deal. In fact it might even act to give the details on the wheel rim some depth.

Select the hole that best fits the diameter of the wheel hub to be painted. You want one that is just a smidge smaller that the wheel itself. This prevents bleed through during the spraying.

Be sure to trim any sprue that might interfere with the template laying flat and flush against the wheel tire assembly. You’ don’t have to leave the sprue attached, I do it this way as it gives me something more to grasp while working with the small parts.

Make sure your airbrush or paint brush and paint of choice is ready. Once you have the template in perfect position you don’t want any delays which will require you to start the process all over again.

Then while grasping the template flush against the wheel, paint the wheel. Using an airbrush apply several light colors until you have the coverage you desire. With a paint brush, start with a wet brush and keep working the brush until all of the crevices are filled. You might have to repeat once or twice if necessary.

Once the paint has been applied carefully remove the template from the part. If there is any over spray onto the tire, (as there is in the example to the right) you can touch up the tire with a little paint and a brush using the dry brush method…dabbing the tire color on to erase the overspray.

Or if you are like me, I like to do the tires in enamels and the wheels with acrylic, or vice versa. I can remove the acrylic overspray from the tire with a Q-Tip dampened in some Windex.

Circle templates can be used to paint noses, spinners and anything else that is round. Elliptical templates can be used for oval shaped objects such as nose sections like that on a T-33/P-80 Shoot Star or a P-39/63. Or for applying custom markings on aircraft such as I did with my B-24 that I mentioned in a previous post.

TIP: Look for both standard and metric guides and templates as each will offer a better fit in some applications. Again, another tool that multitasks at your workbench.