Striping Wheels

[FigureLLC]

Anyone have some words of wisdom for striping wheels? I have a customer who wants a pinstripe around the rim of his motorcycle wheels. I don't want it to look all wobbly while the wheel is spinning.

[CarWiz]

Painted, taped or powdered? Painted is the easiest if you have a pin striping brush and paints. But in all cases, you need to be able to spin the wheel. Either mounted or on fixture. For tape, I spin the wheel and bring a pencil or a sharp grease pencil up to the wheel. This gives a guide line you can follow when laying down pin striping tape. For powder, I've used the removable center tape but this is the hardest method. The tape is wider so it's harder to form the arc. I think it would be easier to lay down two single pin stripe tape lines and use that for the sharp-line mask.

When you lay down pin strip tape, it works better if you make arcs in one motion. Move the roll, with about 2' exposed, with one hand while lightly guiding with the other. If you don't press the tape down hard, the tape can be removed and a new attempt made. It takes practice. Once in place, roll or press the tape down. After about 24 hours, the adhesive sets into paint or PC and becomes difficult to remove.

[FigureLLC]

good info. thanks! the stripes are going on oem (i think) finished wheels.

i think i'm gonna go with a jig to rotate the wheels, and try using a Beugler wheel, since i have no experience with a sword striper. i know that Beugler wheels have some limitations, but this seems like a good application for one (single long straight line). i'm afraid that if i try to use tape (my initial plan) the stripe would end up wavy. i'll post back with my failures (cuz i'm sure i'll have plenty of those before i get it right), and my final success.

[CarWiz]

That Beugler wheel should be a piece of cake with an overarm holder. Or if you have a steady hand. I've got an old one around here somewhere. I don't recall it being a Beugler though. I didn't much care for the wheel pattern it left in the paint or the cleanup after. Maybe they're better now. After some ad hoc self teaching with a brush, I became just slightly better than mediocre but still a great look. Even played with air brushing for a while. I'm just not artistic enough to do more than flames though.

[FigureLLC]

Originally Posted by CarWiz

I'm just not artistic enough to do more than flames though.

i'm kind of kicking myself at this point... i used to be really talented at art when i was young. then i let that go as i felt pressure to focus on "more important" things like school and then college. only to find myself now drawn back to the creative side. i like it a hell of a lot more than sitting in an office crunching numbers. so i feel behind the curve, but i'm still optimistic (or naive) enough to think i can bring it back. we'll see.

[Mickyb]

Originally Posted by FigureLLC

Anyone have some words of wisdom for striping wheels? I have a customer who wants a pinstripe around the rim of his motorcycle wheels. I don't want it to look all wobbly while the wheel is spinning.

I use one of these

[Mickyb]

Forgot to add
the ZX10r I painted has the wheels done with this bit of kit.
easy to use and leaves a great crisp line
you can see the pics in house of colour pics