Painting Wood Spoke Wheels

[L R Butler]

I'm getting ready to paint my wood spoke wheels on my 1926 truck. I'd be interested to hear recommendations on a good primer and paint. I want to paint them black. I know some people sand and stain them - what are your thoughts on this?

[DHort]

My spokes were smooth enough that I first put sanding sealer on them. Then just lightly sanded them. Next I just used rustoleum 2X with the hope that this will work as well as priming, sanding, and painting. Got to admit they look good. I have 5-6 coats of the rustoleum on them.

The wheels I did 6-8 years ago still look good.

[Steve Jelf]

I used gloss black Rustoleum. No primer needed.

I think they turned out OK.

[jiminbartow]

In my opinion, the best oil based wood primer and oil based high gloss black enamel for wooden spokes are by Sherwin Williams. If you have steel felloes, they should be primed with red oxide primer and painted with the same high gloss black enamel pictured. All of these coatings can be applied using a good high quality 1” artist brush and will dry without brush marks. You can see my spokes that I brush painted and how smooth and shiny they are. Best of all, they are a deep, rich, jet black. Jim Patrick

[Burger in Spokane]

A big part of my business is painting. Whole houses, cabinets, interior,
exterior, ... did 1900ft of wrought iron fence last summer. I got my rebuilt
wheels back from Stutzman last year and was not about to paint that wood,
only to have it check and crack and go to hell. So, I stained them. I recommend
oil stains for every possible application to my clients, and applied the same
logic to my own wheels. It can be difficult to find bodyless oil stains anymore,
so I make my own. I start REAL thin and as the coats soak in and the color builds,
I add more oil and colorant until I got a good result. Any time I feel the need
do more, there is no "skin" and the oil just soaks right in over the old work.
No need to explain the water and rot repelling properties of oil vs. the moisture
trapping issues of water getting under the paint skin. I USE my truck as a truck,
and have no interest in making it so shiny and perfect that it becomes contrived.
I want an as-used, fresh from the barn look. I got perfect results.

[Allan]

I start with Penetrol. It is a sealer used to penetrate wood to make good key for subsequent coats. Depending on the timber, I may apply a second coat. The same stuff can be added to enamels to thin them so they soak in further. Thinning the topcoats also makes brushing easier and results in a smoother finish coat.
Allan from down under.

[Oldav8tor]

I have natural wood spokes. Someone in the distant past replaced the original painted non-demountable wheels with demountables. The wood stain and the spokes have held up great for a century. I would definitely prep the spokes with some kind of penetrating sealer before painting. I've never used it but they do make black stains. I'm not sure whether such a product would produce the gloss of paint but it might be worth investigating.

[Rich Eagle]

There are a number of schools of thought on paining wheels. I like to coat the wheel with Varathane and then sand and coat with an Enamel. Van Sickle is my choice but Rustoleum or any equipment enamel should work. Here are some other discussions we have had.
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/41 ... 1419641336
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/70 ... 1491982573
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/50 ... 1225302633

[L R Butler]

Thanks to those who responded - the information is very helpful.

[D Stroud]

I am a verified dummy about painting, but I have wondered for some time if the flexible additives for painting "rubber" bumpers and such would help keep paint from peeling from the natural expansion and contraction of wood from low to high humidity. Any thoughts? Dave

[Allan]

David, I believe the additives used in bumper paints are not likely to be compatible with paint normally use to paint wooden wheels. A good quality household enamel over properly prepared and primed wooden spokes will give years of service without cracking and deterioration. You just need to use paints from the one system for best results.

Allan from down under.