Wheel Refinishing

[Marv 984]

Wondering. Has anybody tried sandblasting and painting wheels with the tires on them? I am thinking the big thing would be painting without getting paint on the tires.

Marv

[AMC RULES 37,210]

Should work, no problem. Just let the air out of the tire to get the tape mask under the edge of the rim.

I used a high heat, pressure washer to blast the paint off the rear of these, scuffed 'em up with a red scotch brite, then repainted...I left the front of 'em the original paint because they still looked pretty good.

[roscoemi 245]

Vasoline will repel the paint an hose off later, just don't get it on the rims.

[rmaynard 16,363]

If you are going to go to all the trouble to tape and mask the tires, why not just take them off and get the rims sandblasted?

[Marv 984]

Bob, I was thinking about this because the tires have been on the rims since 1977 and I thought they might be "seized" to the rims and damage the beads.

Marv

[sorekiwi 761]

I've done wheels this way because of the same reason - I was fairly sure I'd destroy the tires while taking them off the rims. Several years later I did dismount them, and yes I did damage the beads doing so.

[AMC RULES 37,210]

Masking a tire on the rim with small 2-3 inch pieces of blue painter tape, torn from a roll, and slipping the straight edge of each piece under the rim bead...might take all of three minutes to do. If you take the tape off, in reverse order, as soon as you're done spraying...you can even reuse them again on the next rim you're spraying. When you apply the tape, you only need to barely touch it to hold it in place.

Masking in this way serves to make the process go very quickly.

[rmaynard 16,363]

My philosophy is a little different. If you don't take them off, you paint them, they look great, then you get a flat tire or a slow leak, you will end of having to take them off anyway. Also, if you don't get all the rust that is under the rim where it meets the bead, it will eventually work it's way into your nice fresh paint, and you will have to paint all over again.

So if you take them off carefully in the beginning, sandblast the rims, paint or powder coat and get a nice tight seal at the bead, you will be ahead of the game. I have had tires that have been on a rim since 1970 come off easy, and some come off not so easy. But in all cases I was glad that I took the extra effort to do it right.

[Trouty56 567]

I go for the keeping them on the rim Idea. Let the air out and tuck something under the rim. Playing cards were mentioned by a member on here. I like that idea. I really don't have the cash for what some of you guys do nor the skill. My tractors work just as good though..... I don't mean anything by that comment. I only mean that if the tractor is rusty, dusted off and rattle canned, or fully restored it is all good.....I admire everyone's Wheel Horse!!

[COMMANDO6 20]

That's exactly what I'm doing. Blast them, then I completely mask the rubber off with masking tape and newspaper. Since my tires are from '68, I didn't even want to risk damaging them by taking them off the rims.

[Martin 2,133]

ive had tires taken off at the local tire shop and no damage at all done to them. its a different story if i do them at home.

the seats are usually rusty and i want to do a nice job on repainting the wheels. if they are careful the machines can get them off without putting excess force in one area, like with irons, thats the way i usually end up damaging them. if its a wasted set of tires then who cares......

i just like knowing that theres a nice coat of paint on all the rim and not just where you can see it. it takes care of the rust ( most of the 40 year old stuff thats never been taken off before that i have redone rims for has rust). and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy that i went to the trouble of making the rim last longer and not just look better........

also everything i repaint is powdercoated, so i dont really have a choice anyway.....

[Marv 984]

Thank you all for your input. Since the 26 X 12 X 12 are quite expensive I think I will go with leaving them mounted.

Marv

[kpinnc 14,692]

Even when using new tires, I always paint the wheels (the outside of the wheel anyway) with the tires at least mounted. You can paint the inside of the rims, then mount the tires, and use masking tape and newspaper or garbage bags to cover the tires. After painting, just inflate the tires. No scratched rims, and the "masked" tires are good to handle the wheels without messing them up before the paint cures. If the tires are difficult to seat the beads, at least you can handle them a bit rougher without scratching up the wheels.

[APPALACHIAN EDGE 18]

Im new to join but follow this site alot, just not much on typing alot! I happen to be painting a set of wheels at the moment & over the yrs. ive found that letting some air pressure out & tucking my used shop rags around under the rims with a flat screwdriver is the fastest way to go for me! Let one side cure while working on something else & come back & do the other sides! Just my 2 cents worth lol!

[Coadster32 793]

Then I do rims w/ tires already mounted, I just break the bead, and do one side at a time. Good luck.

[jbumgarner 12]

I have always completely removed the tire and never had any real issues with tearing the bead, but my problem is I always seem to scratch the newly painted wheel when I re-install the tire and I end up taping off the tire to touch up anyway.

[Ken B 3,189]

Are you looking for a show type finish or a just a little spruce up? It doesn't sound like you are replacing the tires so why go thru all the trouble paying a tire shop to dismount and mount your tires if you can't do it yourself just for some fresh paint? Just mask them off and save your money for something you really need, where I live they don't do this service for free. I don't pay someone else to do a thing on my tractors, if I need to replace all the tires I'm doing it myself. If the rims and tires are in pretty good shape just get r done.

I do wish I knew of a place to have sandblasting done at a reasonable cost. I used to do my own sandblasting but that is a real messy job! I do wish I knew of a place as well to do power coating at a reasonable cost. I would only have the rims done probably. I like to do my own painting.

[Martin 2,133]

good point ken,

i guess you really need to decide in advance what sort of finish or result you are after.

some people are happy with just a quick clean up, if the rim is in reasonably good condition then just a tape off and quick paint is all you need to do.

i am like you as in doing everything myself, i dont want to pay anybody to do anything that i think i can get done myself. the rear tires on my latest build were proving difficult to get off as they were very stiff on the sidewalls, and i was sweating my a** off on the first one. this was the first time i really wanted to get it done myself, but i just knew taking them into the store to get them dismounted was the smartest/easiest for me this time around..... cost me under $10.....

i wouldnt let them mount them, once the wheels are cleaned up and powdercoated, a bit of slippery stuff on the tire and they slip on easy, or easier than taking them off....

it was hard for me to give up on the dismount and admit defeat, but at least i didnt have to bust my gut anymore on them.....

when funds allow,(priorities really) i would like to get myself a bead breaker and just a simple tire mounter/dismounter.....

i think most people on here that know me would agree, i dont think i could bring myself to just do a tape off and paint. its just the way i do things.....

nothing against it or anyone that wants to do it that way.......

hey, its your tractor and your choice to do whatever you want to it.....

[Trouty56 567]

Amen Brother Martin...... :)

[Ken B 3,189]

Excellent points Martin. I tried in my area to get a few tire shops to remove some tires that were giving me a hard time, One place told me 20 bucks a tire and the other place told me to leave em and come back in a few days. Forget that. I busted out the snips and the sawzall and within 10 minutes I showed them tires who's in charge. I have tire bars and spoons but a bead breaker is coming soon to make life a little easier. I do break the beads on tires when I paint them to clean the rim real good and I strip the rims down bare. No matter how ya look at it lots of time is spent on cleaning up and painting rims. Just last week I spent over 6 hrs. on the rims on the back of my Suburban. After stripping the rims down I had holes in the rims that needed welding closed and lots of pitting in the rims that I had to fill and sand to make the rims a little more respectable.

I hope it didn't sound like I was discredting yours and Bob's advice. I have seen pictures of your work and I have seen Bob's work in the flesh, both top notch.

[Martin 2,133]

nope, didnt sound like that at all.

you mention the time, because of resourses at work, it just makes sense for me even if i do pay to have them dismantled.

a set of 4 rims (minus tires) can be blasted and painted in roughly 2-3 hours. if i burn the fronts, to get rid of all the grease, that uses up about 4 hours, but no labor for me, just throw them in the oven and wait for the cycle to end.

either way if theres no holes to fix, usually i can run them through in a shift.

that would drive me absolutely nuts to strip them by hand with the tires on. id probably last an hour before losing my patience and throwing them across the yard.......

i definitely have less patience as the years go on........ :hide:

[APPALACHIAN EDGE 18]

Vasoline will repel the paint an hose off later, just don't get it on the rims.

That's something i never thought of, I may try that on the next set. I bet that would help preserve if not bring some life back into some of the original 40+ yr. old tires without the risk of tearing them up on a tire changer! Thanx for posting that tip. Ive used motor oil on some of my originals following a tip i got yrs ago but found that if its not reapplied ever so often it tends to give a brown tint to the old tire after a while that i don't much care for! I guess i could replace the old with new but continue to be totally fascinated by how 40 year old tires(like 40 yr old machines) can outlast things made a yr or two ago!!!!