One winter project of mine is to strip the clear coat off the alloy wheels and polish them up. I know as a kid I was able to mount and un-mount tires on my dirt bike using hand tools. Is it possible to do that with car tires, or does it absolutely require the machine tire stores use?

ive done it with a tire iron and a 2x4 but only in a pinch

Why would you think you need a machine to un-mount a tire?

Maybe I am an old guy..(I actually have tire Irons) but the only difficult thing is breaking the bead...
I normally just slide the tire under the hub and let the jack down until the weight of the car breaks the bead..
Not hard at all.... once the bead is broken the tire can be removed from the wheel with the tire irons (or a large screw driver jack handle etc...)

if you want to talk difficult then try to unmount a small
tire like those on some small riding lawn mowers... lol

Bob

Personally, I'd take them to a shop. I'd be concerned about chipping or breaking an alloy wheel. Cheap insurance?

Bob convinced me. I'll have to give it a try with one tire. Worse case, if it's too hard, I can always quit and take all four or the remaining three to the tire store...

By the way, Bob, I was just looking at the pics of your various Vettes. What a great collection! I'd love to have a 69 - 72 convertible...

If you have the tire irons, it's still a lot of work, but can be done. I have done several that way.
The only drawback is protection the edge of the rim so the tire iron does not mar the surface. A few well places rags will do the trick.

Some tire machines will also mar the surface. Many of the new ones won't.

to me its more trouble than its worth, I'll spend $20 to have a shop unmount them rather than spending 2-3 hours cussing and sweating on it.

Tumarr said: to me its more trouble than its worth, I'll spend $20 to have a shop unmount them rather than spending 2-3 hours cussing and sweating on it.

I concur

Sure it is more work doing it yourself...BUT I like working on my cars... (lol)

BUT
removing 4 wheels tossing them in my truck driving to the tire store waiting with my thumb up my (a$$) to be waited on...then waiting around for a "kid" to actually "throw" my wheel/tire on the machine and dismount a tire is a hell of a lot more frustrating and time consumming then to just dismount it myself...Heck the entire process only takes 5 minutes at the most...

But Honestly I have never had any fear that I would damage a rim or wheel with a tire iron... To be honest if I scratch the inside surface of the lip on a wheel I really do not give a darn...

I am not a young guy (61) and in my youth Tires that lasted 10,000 miles were rare..which ment that I was always changing flats, patching a tube etc... Mounting and unmounting tires was just something you had to learn.
or the car would sit in the backyard...or in your girlfriends driveway blocking her old mans car...a real no no !

The only use I have for a tire shop is for balancing and I have had problems with them even doing that.

Bob

I've Bubba'd a couple of tires off rims but only when the tires were shot. I'd pull the valve stem and then slowly drive whatever car it was up and down the drive(10 ft. or so)while turning the wheel. Beads would break and then I would cut the sidewalls with a razer knife! Remaining piece with the bead came right off.
Anything nice I'd bring to a good tire place.
Mike