How to paint wheels

Extracted from MIG Jimenez book:

The wheels can totally alter our model’s appearance (in contrast to tracks on tanks, where almost any solution can more or less work well). You should pay attention to the environment where our vehicle is to be located, trying to define it as much as possible. That is, a truck wheel in a desert plain will not have the same appearance as the same truck in the same desert zone, but travelling on a road. The dust, mud and other effects act on these elements in a very special way depending on how they are present in the surroundings and what the vehicle is doing at that particular moment in time. You should observe vehicles in your usual surroundings; your own car can serve as an example, but also the diggers and trucks that you can see in your streets every day. Hence, you will be able to describe the immense number of variables that can affect a wheel.
I have felt it necessary to gather together five different types of wheels, in different environments and situations that cover the majority of our needs. The examples have been taken from the same model of wheel (specifically an American wheel) that could well be situated in any place in the world. You should remember that techniques can be applied to any wheel on any type of vehicle at any time of year.

How to paint wheels in desert asphalt zones?

1- The vehicle base colour is painted with Tamiya paints or other paints of your own liking.

2- Then the tyres are painted using black acrylic pigments.

3- Gulf War Sand is applied with a paintbrush particularly insisting on the tyre.

4- Afterwards, the surface is soaked with Thinner to fix the pigment, moving in a circular motion towards the centre of the wheel.

5- Once dry, the appearance should be very uneven.

6- Now, the tread of the tyre is treated dry-brushed, using a dark grey Humbrol paint.

7- This is the resulting effect.

Tires in dry terrain on dirt roads

Use A-MIG:
– Dust A.MIG-072
– Buff Oilbrusher A.MIG-3517
– Dusty Earth Oilbrusher A.MIG-3523
– Europe Earth A.MIG-3004
– Matt Black A.MIG-046
– Brushes
– Paper towls
– Hairdryer

1, Thin layer of DUST A.MIG-072 around rim, the acrylic colour was applied with an airbrush.
2. Draw the radial lines using the built in brush applicator of Buff Oilbrusher A.MIG-3517. The lines run from the cavities in the tread.
3. Before the paint dries, begin to blend the lines with an AMMO #4 filbert brush moistened with enamel thinner.
4. Correct and adjust the effect of radial lines using a stick.
5. Dusty Earth Oilbrusher A.MIG-3523 is then directly applied to the tire tread.
6. Using a fine round brush and a little thinner, it is critical to ensure that the paint reaches the all recesses of the tread.
7. Remove some excess paint by gently tapping over a tread face with a paper towel.
8. Add a texture and a matte look, apply Europe Earth A.MIG-3004 pigment to the Dusty Earth Oilbrusher colour while it is still wet.
9. Dry the surface with a hair dryer and the excess removed with a dry brush.
10. Highlife the raised details on the tire face using the dry brush technique with the colour Matt Black A.MIG-046
11. Ready

How can I paint wheels in a desert terrain?

1- The vehicle base colour is painted with Ammo Mig or Tamiya paints or other paints of your own liking.