Painting aircraft wheels and tires

A lot of us use pre cut masks for aircraft canopies and many of those come with wheels masks as well. If so thats what i use. If not, i just hand brush the tires after painting the hub.

Ya, what Bish said.  I dabble in 1/144 aircraft which compounds the issue.  Without masks, a steady hand and an optivisor helps.  Though I'd still like to hear what other folks have to say on the subject as some of my kits look like crap regarding the undercarriage.

keavdog

Ya, what Bish said.  I dabble in 1/144 aircraft which compounds the issue.  Without masks, a steady hand and an optivisor helps.  Though I'd still like to hear what other folks have to say on the subject as some of my kits look like crap regarding the undercarriage.

John, I've had exactly the same experience (in the same scale)!

The only tip I can offer is one which someone gave me: paint the hubs first, in whatever color or finish is required...then apply a black wash. It helps define the 'tire line' more precisely, and if you don't quite get paint all the way to that line, it hides or disguises the gap.

But as you said, the Optivisor is a must...particularly for those of us of a 'certain vintage'....

I paint the hub first, and then hand-paint the tire.  I use a toothpick as an axle while painting. If the mounting hole does not go all the way through, I keep chopping the end off the toothpick until it is a press fit.

Then, I twirl the wheel while holding the paintbrush steady at the while-tire meet line.  I find that much easier than holding the wheel steady and moving the paintbrush.

This is why I love newbies, they ask great questions!  

I am currently in the same dilemma. I am building a jeep with trailer, and including the spare tire that makes 7 wheels that I need to trim out. Egads... shoot me now.

I have watched some YouTube videos on painting rims and I have not found a very easy way to do it. More than that--a way that comes out nice and clean. A small scale, a shaky hand = jagged lines. Doing a wash shows some promise but I am not entirely onboard with that yet. The video I watched had so-so results. What I'd prefer to do is us a mask and airbush. My kit is old, and it does not come with a mask, nor are there any aftermarket masks that I can find, so that leaves me to making one. I am still working that process out.

Here is a product I came across that shows some promise. I placed an order for it over the weekend. Once I get it I will report back on how it works for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9iAs3_oFJI

I am on a quest for better masking method.

For small scale circular masks, try this.

If you have a punch set like Waldron or a Harbor Freight knock-off; put Tamiya tape or blue tape on the thinnest sheet styrene you have. Punch a bunch of circles. Peel the tape off the disks, save them for another use.

GMorrison

For small scale circular masks, try this.

If you have a punch set like Waldron or a Harbor Freight knock-off; put Tamiya tape or blue tape on the thinnest sheet styrene you have. Punch a bunch of circles. Peel the tape off the disks, save them for another use.

 

I don't mean to hijack this thread--sorry if I am:

Hey Bill--that is a good idea. That should produce a very clean mask. The only concern I can see is if the punch does not match the diameter of the rim. It might be a hit or miss thing. In my case--I will measure the rims and see if a punch set is avail. 

Good thought.

I remember fussing about this during my first aircraft kit back from hiatus.

Some have mentioned masks, and they work just fine. I've used them. But I somehow ended up doing just what Mr Don mentioned, a round toothpick as a holding jig. Gently twist the toothpick and the tire pretty much paints itself.

Have fun!

Greg

Gently twist the toothpick and the tire pretty much paints itself.

And heck--you can pick your teeth afterwards too. It's a win win.

Boy, some really great info got flowing here. For a lot of years I've stuck to the toothpick trick, airbrush both sides of the wheels, then with a small brush, (size of wheel/tire determines size of brush,) I use very thinned paint to flow against the wheel rim surface, as I rotate the wheel. Usually there is enough of a raised ridge to stop the paint flowing onto the wheel.

I let it sit for a couple of minutes so the thinned paint can partially dry, to check for any places that need more paint. If it has good coverage, then I paint the remainder of the tires bare plastic.

I've had some luck with the little compass like circle cutter, making my own masks. I like Frisket mask material, easily found at drafting supply stores.  Then I use the circle cutter and cut the mask.

Bare Metal Foil works great, just pressed onto the wheel surface, then with a clean blade cut around the wheels rim edge. These last two ideas allow airbrushing both the wheels and tires, that makes for a nice clean finish.

Patrick

Bakster

 

 

Greg

Gently twist the toothpick and the tire pretty much paints itself.

 

 

And heck--you can pick your teeth afterwards too. It's a win win.

 

 

Absolutely!

patrick206

Boy, some really great info got flowing here. For a lot of years I've stuck to the toothpick trick, airbrush both sides of the wheels, then with a small brush, (size of wheel/tire determines size of brush,) I use very thinned paint to flow against the wheel rim surface, as I rotate the wheel. Usually there is enough of a raised ridge to stop the paint flowing onto the wheel.

I let it sit for a couple of minutes so the thinned paint can partially dry, to check for any places that need more paint. If it has good coverage, then I paint the remainder of the tires bare plastic.

I've had some luck with the little compass like circle cutter, making my own masks. I like Frisket mask material, easily found at drafting supply stores.  Then I use the circle cutter and cut the mask.

Bare Metal Foil works great, just pressed onto the wheel surface, then with a clean blade cut around the wheels rim edge. These last two ideas allow airbrushing both the wheels and tires, that makes for a nice clean finish.

Patrick

 

 

I use a circle template that i got at my local art supply house. They come in various sizes and i have yet to find a wheel that will NOt fit in the circles. 

This is what i mean

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81EZr7TZWML._SX466_.jpg

Just make sure it is rigid.  Dont want it all floppy. 

There are alsop some great videos on Youtube about it. Check this out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxJmiD7q2R8

Bakster

 

 

patrick206

Boy, some really great info got flowing here. For a lot of years I've stuck to the toothpick trick, airbrush both sides of the wheels, then with a small brush, (size of wheel/tire determines size of brush,) I use very thinned paint to flow against the wheel rim surface, as I rotate the wheel. Usually there is enough of a raised ridge to stop the paint flowing onto the wheel.

I let it sit for a couple of minutes so the thinned paint can partially dry, to check for any places that need more paint. If it has good coverage, then I paint the remainder of the tires bare plastic.

I've had some luck with the little compass like circle cutter, making my own masks. I like Frisket mask material, easily found at drafting supply stores.  Then I use the circle cutter and cut the mask.

Bare Metal Foil works great, just pressed onto the wheel surface, then with a clean blade cut around the wheels rim edge. These last two ideas allow airbrushing both the wheels and tires, that makes for a nice clean finish.

Patrick

 

 

 

 

 

Hey Patrick, you just took this thread to another level. Bare Metal Foil sounds like a great idea. Does the foil leave any glue behind?

 

 

Patrick

patrick206

Hi, Steve - The Bare Metal Foil has yet to leave any adhesive residue behind, and it provides a mask with enough stick to not allow airbrush spray to get underneath.  It is quick and easy to remove from the  wheel, the tip of a sharp X-acto blade lifts it right up. Hope it works for you. Patrick

That sounds good Patrick. I have some in my supplies, I will give it a try.

Hi Bill;

 I didn't read the other answers .I use two sizes of Circle Templates from an office supply place .I think you can obtain them at H.L.and HobbyTown too. T.B.

At lowfly and TB, I decided to go with the circle template(s).  Watching the mentioned YouTube video cinched the deal for me.  Thanks to all who replied.

Bill

Pretty much evolved to using Eduard masks whenever I can.  Prior I used a black thin-tip Sharpie to run around the edge of the hub then painted the rest of the tire.  I also used very thin paint and let the capilary action flow around the hub. 

Still get a thrill when I check the sprues of a kit to find that the hub/tire are seperate parts.  Huge relief!

One more suggestion, use a mud colored wash on the tires to bring out the detail of the tread.

Bakster

 

 

patrick206

Hi, Steve - The Bare Metal Foil has yet to leave any adhesive residue behind, and it provides a mask with enough stick to not allow airbrush spray to get underneath.  It is quick and easy to remove from the  wheel, the tip of a sharp X-acto blade lifts it right up. Hope it works for you. Patrick

 

 

That sounds good Patrick. I have some in my supplies, I will give it a try.

 

Hi, Steve - Glad it worked for you, you're very welcome. I had tried something that looked promising, Glad Press and Seal, but it left behind a light adhesive residue.

It does work very well though, for such things as stuffing cockpit interiors and engine nacelles, for covering radial engines. It's a very low tack, so removing is easy with just some small tweezers, it pulls out in one easy motion.

Patrick

patrick206

I had tried something that looked promising, Glad Press and Seal, but it left behind a light adhesive residue.

Patrick--that is an interesting idea, and way to go for thinking outside of the box. I can confirm the adhesive issue because I had tried the product for its intended purpose, to cover a bowl. It left a sticky residue on the dishes, and it was a real bear to clean off. I stopped using the product after that. Maybe I had a bad batch that it was so bad.

Thanks again!

Glad to hear it worked out for you!  It really changed the game when it came to painting tires and such.  i hate masking just for that and the template works really well

Bakster

Here is a product I came across that shows some promise. I placed an order for it over the weekend. Once I get it I will report back on how it works for me.

As promised, a link to my review:

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/tools_techniques_and_reference_materials/f/23/t/182283.aspx

I normally use a piece of metal used for finding drill size and a sharp knife to cut a perfect circle.  Then I use this circle to cover the hub, then i paint the rubber.  Also, sometimes I will dry brush black or dark grey to make it dirtier.  

-Noah

Where I have problems with a circle of masking tape is when the wheel is thicker at the axle area than at the rim.  The tape circle then wants to wrinkle at the edge.

Don Stauffer

Where I have problems with a circle of masking tape is when the wheel is thicker at the axle area than at the rim.  The tape circle then wants to wrinkle at the edge.

A slit to the center-point will let you overlap the cut ends to make a conic section; that will usually let you make a nice clean fit.

Don, I did experience that issue on my jeep tires using the Bare Metal Foil. I was able to cut through the wrinkle and for the most part it didn't cause too much of an issue, maybe because the foil conforms so nice. None the less, I didn't like that either. It creates the potential to slip with the knife.

BTW. i think the forums emails are not working again. There are several posts I subscribed to that I have not received messages on. I was wondering why my email was so quiet.