Hi
I need advice in two areas. One, a tried and true method of painting the rubber on tank road wheels in any scale. Two, effective way of holding small parts while painting.
Thanks
I usually leave the roadwheels on the sprue and spray paint them overall black first. Then I will use a circle template to spray the color of the center wheel. I remove them, sand down any remaining connection points, and touch up as needed.
For small items, tweezers are your friend. You can also use small clothespins or glue them onto a piece of sprue or a wooden dowel. Lots of options.
I still do everything the old-fashioned way - you can’t teach an old dog new tricks! I stick the wheels on a bamboo brochette stick and twirl while holding a paint brush against it. Usually needs some retouching. Dangerously small parts remain on the sprue while they receive necessary clean-up, then painting. After clipping off they receive touch-up.
I have an AK marker, rubber black that I’ve used. It works very well but it wasn’t a dead flat finish although not a problem as I will weather it anyway. I still mostly use the circle template on tank road wheels.
Similar to this, but I use the long ones and rotate the skewer and hold the brush in place, works like a charm
That’s the trick!! 
Yeah, the AK markers rubber black has a shine to it but flat coat and weathering will take care of that.
What @Biggles50 writes
BUT
I set the stick (I make them from bits of sprue) in the chuck of a weak
minidrill. I run it at the lowest possible speed and since the motor is weak
(NOT a Dremel!) I can use my left thumb as friction brake and slow it
down some more.
When I was doing Pz IV models (8 double wheels per side with 4 circles
per wheel) I could do them all in 15 minutes.
Game changer for me was AK paint markers rubber black. So easy and looks great - no masking just rotate while carefully getting close to rim, then do the tread area quickly. Usually two coats but they dry very fast and clear coat after because the paint is fragile. I haven’t masked a wheel or used a hole template since. I usually prime and and then air brush paint the wheel color on the entire thing, then do the rubber black with marker. I am not a rivet counter though, so if, for example, I paint the rubber to a 2nd outer rim line versus the 1st, I don’t fret.
In my experience over the last three years, the best result is achieved using an airbrush to paint tires in a nice mottled pattern, then using a circle template to paint hubs in a completely different mottled pattern. The result is very rich and interesting.
However, mounting each wheel on a toothpick and then painting with a brush or marker is much easier. What is not easier is then trying to paint interesting effects with oil paints on the otherwise completed wheels. I find that method rather difficult.
Awesome solutions! How do you guys make a road wheel template?
