Tank wheels

I use flat black.

I use regular "sharpie" pens. They come in three or four thickness. Using thi fine point first then filling in with a thicker pen. It works very well. I found this tip in Modeling German Armor reference book.

For the massive amounts of modern US armor, I use a circle template. I paint the road wheels black, then use the circle template. Mask off the surrounding circles and spray the tank color. Circle templates are less than $5 at the local arts & crafts store.

I agree with the Major (a Staff Sergant agreeing with a Major? WOW... just kidding). I use paint, because it can be tinted into a dark gray or something similar. A circle template works great with an airbrush and is a good way to go. Actual road (or bogie) wheel rubber doesn't stay clean black for very long and it's nice to be able to weather it easily.

I put the wheels on the end of a file or paint brush and use a brush with a narrow tip. Instead of moving the brush, I rotate the file (or whatever else I am using), holding the brush steady (put a small amount of paint on the brush) and the wheels are painted this way.

Spray the entire wheel flat black. Next, "dot-in" the wheel color (front and back) using a very fine setting on your airbrush; make sure you let a little of the black show through subtly. After it dries, apply a black or dark brown wash. In addition to picking out details, the wash will also eliminate any minor overspray from the "dotting-in" technique. Drybrush and you're done.
Gip Winecoff

http://www.finescale.com/fsm/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=948

there was the same question in Feb. and i still do it the same way, hope this helps.