Here is one more quick picture. I took the wheels I dyed red and blacked out the center with a Sharpie marker. I did this quickly just for demonstration purposes. I now have a set of custom redline wheels.



There are other ways to color r/c wheels:

- Paint. I have painted R/C wheels in the past. I used lexan paint and it bonded fairly well to the wheel. Eventually the paint would start to chip, but it lasted longer than I expected. The advantage to paint is that you know exactly what the color is going to be when you apply it. The disadvantages are added weight and mess during application. You might also be able to use hardware store paint that is made for plastic lawn furniture.

- Marker. As you can see in the photo, a marker actually works fairly well on the brushed aluminum. However if you want any other color than black, I haven't had great success with an even application (looked splotchy). The advantages to markers are easy clean-up if you make a mistake (body wash, goo gone, general household cleaners) and easy to re-apply if the application wears off. The main disadvantage is that this process is time consuming. You may also need to buy thin tipped marker (or modify the tip of a normal marker) to reach into tight areas where the spokes meet the outer wheel. Expect to spend at least 5 minutes per wheel to get a result that looks good up close.

- Dye. As I have shown, dyeing nylon wheels/parts is fairly simple. The main disadvantage is that this is a trial and error process to get the exact result you are wanting. However, the biggest advantage is that the wheel will look better longer than paint. One thing to note though, is that using dye is similar to anodizing metal. The dye doesn't penetrate the nylon completely. If you cut/sand/chip the nylon you will eventually expose the original color.