Painting Wheels - Spin Speed
 

I am going to take a try at painting some 21 wheels. I have a mechanism set up that will rotate the wheels for me as I spray them. I can adjust the speed. For those of you that have done this, do you have any recomendations on the rpm to pick when paiting wheels.

Thanks - Hunter

Re: Painting Wheels - Spin Speed
 

Hi Hunter,
I do not use a motor to rotate them as I spindle them up on a 10" long piece of electrical conduit. I rotate them by hand to get all the tough spots. The hardest area to get is behind the long spoke where it attaches to the center hub. You need to aim from the rear and get down into the rear of the long spoke. I rotate them using my hand in the middle of the drop center rim because I paint that area last. When done with each one I slide it down the conduit to get to the next one.
ken

Re: Painting Wheels - Spin Speed
 

I used to spin mine at 1 to 1/12 rpm so that you got time to spray s0okes or wait and get it next time around. I was using a hardner and used a bank of heat lights and let it spin for about 45 to 1 hour for it to set up and not run. They do come out nice. good luck buddy

Re: Painting Wheels - Spin Speed
 

Hunter can you send a picture of your mechanism

Re: Painting Wheels - Spin Speed
 

Also Ken, can you give us a more detail idea how you did your paint job?

Re: Painting Wheels - Spin Speed
 

:eek: sorry that's just funny

Re: Painting Wheels - Spin Speed
 

I make use of an Airbrush painting spoked wheels. It lets me get into the small tight areas to get good coverage, and the after those areas are painted, spray the rest of the rim with a touch up gun. With the Airbrush you can get right in close where you need it without getting too much paint in adjoining areas. Works for me with my current skill set. :-)

Re: Painting Wheels - Spin Speed
 

Yes it is, now that you mentioned it.:D

Re: Painting Wheels - Spin Speed
 

How many wheels at a time can you get on a ten inch long piece of pipe?

Re: Painting Wheels - Spin Speed
 

I'm with Ken. I spin mine by hand so that I can rotate them in both directions if need be to get the spokes from both sides. Then, after paint is applied, I spin them for a short time so that they will not develop any runs. They do not have to be spun very fast. I paint wheels with PPG Concept which sets up pretty fast.

Re: Painting Wheels - Spin Speed
 

I'm sure Ken meant 10'.

Re: Painting Wheels - Spin Speed
 

I'm sure he did, just adding a little humor here and there. No offence intended.

Re: Painting Wheels - Spin Speed
 

Here is how we do it....

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.n...95955883_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.n...42332348_n.jpg

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...29760192_n.jpg

Re: Painting Wheels - Spin Speed
 

Start at the slowest speed possible and then adjust to what feels most comfortable to you and your individual spraying technique.

Re: Painting Wheels - Spin Speed
 

Apple Green Painted Ken's Method on my wheels at his garage..works great!

Re: Painting Wheels - Spin Speed
 

Let me comment one or two points. There really is not a right way / wrong way when spraying wheels because they were originally dipped. Therefore basically you must decide what you are trying to accomplish.

For me, I want a thin mil thickness of paint that flows out like glass where we do not need to colorsand & buff the finish coat to have them slick. Because of that, we typically shoot one medium coat and allow to flash before spraying one heavy coat with a slow solvent. My Dad's wheel painting machine (from the 60s) uses an old variable-speed BBQ rotisserie motor so the speed is almost infinite in speed however the problem I have when I use it, is the tendency is to spray short little bursts of paint which creates orange peel from the trapped air. That is why I prefer Ken's method too. With that said, folks just need to be creative with what works for them. If you notice, we use multiple pipes with placement all around the booth. Ken stacks his (ducks :D ) up in a row. It is just a matter of personal preference.

Re: Painting Wheels - Spin Speed
 

I have tried many ways of painting them such as the pole, hanging them and such but I have found the real secret is to spin the wheels at 60 mph, much faster and the results have been much better.
Todd3131

Re: Painting Wheels - Spin Speed
 

At 60 MPH all the drips just sling off!
I paint my wheels flat, backside first, and then the fronts, I use a cage wire stand so the spray doesn't bounce back

Re: Painting Wheels - Spin Speed
 

I don't have any drips, 60mph is how fast I spin the wheels on My truck on the way to the powder coater!!!!! LOL
Todd3131

Re: Painting Wheels - Spin Speed
 

so, the rest of the story!