Before i put any time into repainting my wheels how can i tell if they're true?
They're a set of steelies.
There is one obvious ding in one of them, but the others look ok.
I bought four Pedrinis once but decided against using them so i sold them.
The buyer complained that two of them were no good so i reimbursed him for those two.

I know it must be a simple test.
Is it as simple as spinning them on a dowel or spindle of some sort?

tia

Yes, anything that will let you spin them easily. You should be able to see if the lips are flat spotted or the wheel is out of true.

Excellent.

Thanks mepstein..

Best way to check wheels to see if there true, run them on a tire ballancer, with out the tires.

I had a couple of old Fuchs wheels with some curb rash on them and took them in to my local Firestone shop. They spun them up on the wheel ballancer and they spun up true. A bit ugly, but true. Didn't even charge me for it.

If you have a regular tire shop you use, they'll probably spin them for very little.

Alternately you could bolt them to the front spindle, and use a dial indicator, or mock up a reference pointer.

If they are steel wheels and you don't see any deformities or repair witness marks, they are more than likely fine. Those things are pretty durable