# painting rims



## spoker (Jun 12, 2015)

this stup works well 4 me,first go to the local drycleaners and get some free wire hangers,straighten the handers out but leave the hook part thats already on the hanger,start from the outside of the rim,slide the straight part of the wire through a spoke hole run the wire to a spoke hole straight across the rim,put it through the hole till you get agout 6 inches of wire coming out the other side of rim,bend that end so you can put it in another hole[wire will be goin back the other way,this will stop the wire from rotating,now turn the rim 90 degress and do the same thing,this will allow u to turn the rim and hang it back up so u can get all around coverage,i also tie wrap the wires where they cross in the middle of the rim,this tightens it up and makes it ezr to tur while holding te spray gun/aerosol can,my pics didnt come out that good but i hope yall,figured this out 


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## cfry526 (Jun 13, 2015)

Great idea !!


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## SirMike1983 (Jun 13, 2015)

Coat hangers are your friends when painting stuff like this. You can use them with fender braces to paint, rims, etc. You just have to be creative.


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## theterrym (Jun 13, 2015)

I paint at a custom shop and coat hangers are by far the best tool!!


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## rollfaster (Jun 13, 2015)

No more wire hangers ever, except for painting. I have a stash of them and they work great.


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## bairdco (Aug 29, 2015)

I just use an old spoke and nipple. Bend the spoke into a hook, stick it in backwards with the nipple on the outside of the rim, and spray away.

After it's dry, I rotate the rim 180, and paint it again to get even coverage. That gets rid of the tiny spot missed from the nipple.

There's another method I've used if you're gonna respoke the wheel with new spokes and you have a clean rim. 

Put the whole wheel in a junk frame, old fork, truing stand, whatever, spin it, and hold the can in mostly one spot, and spray the hell outta it.

Not exactly a pro restoration method, but gives surprisingly good results.

(Note: I have an industrial grade sandblast cabinet, paint sprayers, etc, so don't get the impression I'm a spraycan-happy amateur.  )


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## the tinker (Aug 30, 2015)

Now lets get one thing straight if it's not apparent already: when it comes to painting I AM AN AMATEUR . I have painted several cars and  2 trucks [the neighbor behind me hated me for it, but that's another story] and lots of bikes but no shop ; spray booth[that would be soooo nice to have] and add a sand blast cabinet to list that also. 
I have hung rims to spray using the "spoke " method and it works nice for spraying.

 But ......Sometimes I wish to paint a wheel without removing the spokes.
I have had excellent results with a small, fine,[not a cheap one] artist brush and a 1 inch foam brush....... One Shot brand paint.
A word about One Shot. It is expensive,but if you ever use it you will be amazed and it will become the only enamel that is brushed on you will ever use again.

Don't attempt to hand paint a rim with anything else. you will get nothing but runs and "thin spots"

I clean the wheel and sand out any pits.
Place an old fork in a bench vice and mount the wheel.
very steadily, using the artist brush paint between the spokes as I rotate the wheel. 
Then with the flat 1 inch foam brush I apply paint to the sides while rotating the rim.

The next step is selecting a color of paint for the accent stripe or stripes. Any brand of paint can be used for this.
After the freshly painted rim has set up at least a week I once again mount the wheel in a fork : fill up the old bugler pin stripe tool [worth it's weight in gold] and hold firmly it against the fork with its small striping wheel against the rim. 
With the bugler tool steadily against the rim with my left hand, I rotate the wheel 180 degrees with my right hand and Bingo! A perfect stripe. Then just repeat.
I keep a can of solvent with a rag handy if I mess up. simply wipe off and try again.
Small cotton swabs are essential . If dipped into solvent you can smooth out any uneven spots.


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## model-a (Aug 30, 2015)

I did this works fine for me.


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## the tinker (Aug 30, 2015)

That is a good idea. what are those,straws?


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## model-a (Aug 31, 2015)

yep just cut a slit in them.

model-a,chris


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