slicing up the tires

[JetSwing]

ok...here's the deal. i have to replace my tires but i want to paint my wheels also. instead of taking them to a shop to dismount the tires before getting them painted, i want to slice the tires up myself to take them off? do you think that's a decent plan?  :mrgreen:

i just don't have the tools to do it the proper way  

[V8Pinto]

If you have the tools to cut up a tire, you should have the tools to remove one.  You only need a bucket of soapy water, a workspace, and some levers.  A vise helps but you don't have to have it.  

Only a tire's surface is rubber, the rest is nasty tough stuff.

[V8Pinto]

On my car, I had some repairs to do to the rim in between the tire swap.  I just asked the guy at the shop if he would let me have the rims back for a day after he pulled the tires off.  It was no big deal and he didn't charge me anything except the regular R&R.  I'd just ask the guy/girl.  See what happens.