I also took advantage of some recent warm weather to paint my wheels. I started by with a set of very used track wheels from a friend. They were crusty but straight and solid. So I used chemical stripper to remove the old paint followed by media blasting to get a clean surface. I wanted to just leave this surface but it was too uneven for me.
I followed the "diy 30 min RSR wheel finish thread". I will try to update with a link later.
The wheels received a layer of primer and then a full coating in black. I then taped off the backside of the wheels and set them level. I used a plastic paint can cap to balance the level on the center cap face and then shimmed as necessary to level. This was pretty easy.
The next step was to flood the centers of the wheels. I used a marked cup so that all 4 wheels had the same depth. The water mask then blocks paint from getting on the existing black layer.
I carefully mist coated 3 layers of wheel silver paint onto the wheels. You can see how the paint sits on the silver.
Then it was time for the unmasking. This was kinda fun. The paint layer peels back and lifts out. Here is a quick example.
You are left with a mostly crisp cut line that was so much easier than taping them off to spray the center.
In the end they look pretty good. After I get some brake dust on them the uneven finish will not be noticeable.
and yes. old, hard track tires make great wheel masks.