Loco Wheel painting

[Yorkie59]

Hello
A number of postings have referred to the painting of loco wheels. Are the treads painted.
Or are they masked? If painted won't they go 'blotchy' very quick?
I don't like to see bright steel wheels but not sure about painting.
Any advice please.

Peter

[tom_tom_go]

I have some new loco wheels I need to paint this weekend but first I am going to try and chemically blacken them so willl let you know how I get on.

[TonyW]

Unpainted shiny wheels are my pet hate Peter!

If the treads are painted then the paint will soon wear off through usage, so there is no point in doing so.

In my view the best thing to paint wheels with is a paint brush and some Humbrol matt black.

[dougrail]

I did this for my Bertie.

The treads, ie the rail-contacting part I kept unpainted - why bother painting them?

The fronts of the wheels were first painted in etch primer, smoothed with ultra fine wet 'n' dry, then painted with topcoat.

[tom_tom_go]

In my view the best thing to paint wheels with is a paint brush and some Humbrol matt black.

Tony, do you primer the wheels before painting with Humbrol?

The last lot of RH wheels I painted Humbrol gloss black which was very hard wearing but a bit too shiny!

[TonyW]

Tony, do you primer the wheels before painting with Humbrol?

Sometimes...

If I've got some etch primer mixed up and going spare then I'll put some on first, and I definitely would for an inside-framed loco like Doug's Bertie. For the others, I can't see it makes much difference as the wheel face is not subject to handling or abrasion and I find the matt black sticks pretty well.

If I'm painting a whole loco from bare metal then the wheels would be out of the frames anyway so they'd get the primer and satin black used on the rest of the loco.

[tom_tom_go]

Thanks Tony.

Well, the chemically blackening does not work on the steel nickle plated wheels that Roundhouse make, at least not for me anyway. I also tried using engine oil and heat method several times but got no discolouring.

So I have started on one pair of wheels with two thin coats of Humbrol matt black and will see how durable it is when dry. Maybe some lacquer will help as well?

[tom_tom_go]

I think these have turned out well with two light coats of Humbrol matt black:

2017-07-23 20.12.21.jpg (804.33 KiB) Viewed 6276 times

I used a thin brush and painted in the same direction so to minimise streak lines. I like using a fan heater to speed up drying time (just a short blast after painting).

[Yorkie59]

Hello
Many thanks for all your replies. I am a great fan of Upol Acid Etch 8, but have never tried it on plated objects. Would the wheels need to be well sanded before putting it on?
Peter

[tom_tom_go]

I degreased the wheels with carb cleaner and painted straight on, no need for primer as the enamel paint has adhered well.

[Tag Gorton]

I always go for this simplest option. What I do is turn the locomotive on its side and drift paint into the dished section of the wheel with a brush. any pint over the rim can easily be wiped off. No need to use etch primer as long as de-greased. I am looking a a loco now and the paint is fine after 16years. I should say that I am talking about 16mm narrow gauge here, either Roundhouse or Accucraft...