Pin Striping Disc Wheels

[jan arnett (2)]

I have completed painting of my wheels for my 1923 MOON and now I would like to pin stripe the wheels.  Any suggestions or advice.

 

[Stude Light]

When I restored my 1923 Studebaker, I took a photo and used PowerPoint to add various pin stripes to the wheels and see how I liked it. Different colors and at different radii. In the end I opted for no stripes on that car.

 

if you decide to stripe then you could get a pinstripe brush and do it yourself or find a good pinstriper and have them do it (usually not too expensive) or buy some pinstripe tape and use that. I had to repaint a wheel on my LaSalle and someone had previously used pinstripe tape on them so I bought some tape and striped the one wheel. I just measured from the edge where the stripe would be and made little “tick” marks about every inch as a guide. Pretty easy and it came out great.
Scott

[F&J]

I used a Beugler striping tool that has different width sizes of serrated roller wheels that apply the paint.  Even the first time, it came out super nice, and with just hardware store enamel paint.  You just need to use one of your fingers outstretched against something on the wheel to act as a guide so that the stripe tracks true.   

 

Some/most of these tools come with an adjustable thin steel rod to use as a guide, but I had much better/faster results without it.

[Matt Harwood]

I have not done it, but the Beugler tool and a jig where you can spin the wheel seems like the hot ticket. Maybe some kind of arm that holds the Beugler in place while you gently spin the wheel. Probably easier said than done, but probably not that hard if you can fabricate something fairly stable and flex-free. Or just free-hand it as F&J says. Only takes a few seconds:

 

 

[Gary_Ash]

Max Corkins (Lewistown, PA) used to sell a wheel striping device.  It was a wooden cone with a steel pipe vertical shaft with a collar on top, a round bar inserted in the pipe, and an arm that could be rotated while it held a Beugler striper.  It worked OK, but I changed mine around.  I got a ~12" diameter "lazy susan" turntable from Home Depot, put an 18" diameter disc on top and placed the wheel on it.  I used the Corkins conical base and arm as a stand outside the wheel and adjusted the arm so that the striping tool could rest gently against the wheel surface.  It only takes a minute or so to get the wheel exactly centered.  The arm has to be just free enough to move up and down a bit as the wheel turns as the wheel surface may not be perfect and centering can still be off a hair. 

Edited October 13, 2020 by Gary_Ash (see edit history)

[Lawrence Helfand]

I did mine using an electric potters wheel and a stripping brush. trick is slow rotation and good flowing paint. 

[JACK M]

I have done that exact same thing as it the video.

Even the same colors.

[jan arnett (2)]

Thanks everyone for there input and it looks like another addition.

[Marty Roth]

The first time I pinstriped a disk wheel, it was on my yellow and black 1927 Chevy Roadster. I raised the front axle and placed it on jackstands, and then used a cinder block with a few differing thickness of boards to get to the desired level, and then used the Buegler wheeled tool, turning the wheel slowly for each of the black and red stripes. Then I moved the rear wheels to the front axle and did the same. It came out looking so good, that 41 years later, it still looks like a professional might have done the job, instead of a 1st timer .

[trimacar]

That ‘27 Chevy roadster was an unexpected find.  Guess it was late 70’s, I was going down the street that was sort of the used car row in Alexandria, Louisiana.  There, sitting on a lot and totally out of place, was the ‘27.  I stopped, asked, drove, bargained, bought.  Later, my great friend Marty ended up with it in a bizarre trade we did.  The 27/28Chevies may have been marginally better than a Model T, but not by much.  Marty and family got a lot of use out of that little car...

[Marty Roth]

9 minutes ago, trimacar said:

That ‘27 Chevy roadster was an unexpected find.  Guess it was late 70’s, I was going down the street that was sort of the used car row in Alexandria, Louisiana.  There, sitting on a lot and totally out of place, was the ‘27.  I stopped, asked, drove, bargained, bought.  Later, my great friend Marty ended up with it in a bizarre trade we did.  The 27/28Chevies may have been marginally better than a Model T, but not by much.  Marty and family got a lot of use out of that little car...

 

We found the '27 Chevy Capitol AA to be lightyears ahead of a Model-T. After an engine rebuild by a baton Rouge gentleman with aluminum pistons from a Pontiac, the little Chevy was comfortable at 50-55 mph on progressives tours, such as the one Charlie and I did with VMCCA across Minnesota, or the several Glidden Tours it drove. On the 1993 Glidden on the Del_Mar-Va Peninsula, the group of friends  who drove their fast 1934 Chevys were surprised that we were keeping up, as well as passing. Coming out of lunch on the final day of the tour, I saw several pairs of legs sticking out from under the '27, and suspected a possible stink-bomb. Turns out, they were trying to figure out if I had hidden an Overdrive in the driveline (No - I hadn't). 

After getting the car from David in 1979 in an admittedly bizarre trade, and later going through the engine, we also painted the previously black firewall and wheels the same yellow as the body, and then did the pinstripe.

 

Thanks again, David, for passing along a great car, still running with the next owners here in Louisiana.

[Walt G]

the paint you want to use is the same paint that is used to pin stripe the belt molding on the car. One Shot sign lettering enamel, available in just about all good art stores. It takes a while to dry!

[MochetVelo]

The wheel is the one thing I can stripe with a brush because the surface moves instead of my shaky hand. Just keep a solvent-dampened cloth handy to wipe off errors. It only takes a minute to re-do.

 

Phil

[Stude Light]

11 minutes ago, MochetVelo said:

Just keep a solvent-dampened cloth handy to wipe off errors. It only takes a minute to re-do.

I probably don’t need to mention this but just in case....By solvent, Phil is referring to mineral spirits or naptha. Don’t use something that may damage your wheel paint like lacquer thinner or enamel reducer.

Scott

[Hubert_25-25]

I first tried a friends Buegler tool with pinstriping paint but had no luck.  Just a paint mess.  Something was wrong with the tool, but I could not find the problem.  Another option is using a quality striping tape, where you remove the middle sections of tape, paint the wheels, then remove the outer tape.  It also gives professional results and looks better than some of the hand striping I have seen.     Hugh 

 

 

[jan arnett (2)]

Thanks for everyones suggestion.  See if I can find a Buegler.

 

[Graham Man]

Why not find a professional sign painter?  They are pretty easy to find, just call any old sigh shop they will know the old sign painter/pin striper.  Otherwise most motorcycle or semi truck shops will know someone.  It cost me about $100 to have 6 wheels striped, best money I ever spent they look awesome.  And done the same way they were originally done.