Your Process of Applying Tire Decals

[TedsModeling]

I've been trying to find out the best (or most widely used) process of applying decals to tires so that they last and don't 'silver skin'.

I'd like to get feedback from the members on their way of applying tire decals.

[Erik Smith]

Trim decals. Apply decals. Use micro sol. Apply flat clear.

I have had fairly good luck with just keeping it simple. I use kit decals and also have a few from Fireball Modelworks, Slixx, and some unknown maker.

[Chief Joseph]

Here's my recommendation for using my tire lettering decals on standard kit tires: first, clean & degrease the tire pieces. Next, spray or brush a light coat of acrylic gloss onto the sidewall. Acrylic is important, because it will dry against the vinyl material and enamel won't. Future is good for this step. After the gloss has dried thoroughly, apply the decals with a decal setting solution such as Micro-set & -sol or Solvaset. After the decals have dried thoroughly, apply another acrylic gloss coat over the sidewall for the "Armor-All" look, or apply a flat clear for a more "normal" look. This is a fairly fool-proof method to get great results, and patience is the key to making it work.

[TedsModeling]

Thanks guys. Joseph - you qualified your tires as 'standard kit tires'. What about resin tires?

[TooOld]

I've been using Joseph's method with excellent results on both kit tires and painted resin tires .

I always use Future before and Dullcote after . . . I like the satin look better than a glossy looking tire .

[Chief Joseph]

Ted, I call a "standard kit tire" the ones that come in most kits-- basically a medium-hard vinyl material that has a little flex, but not much. Some kits have really soft rubbery tires and those things aren't good candidates for decals IMHO because the are so flexible. Resin tires can either be rigid or soft depending on the resin used; they would behave much like a kit tire unless they were cast in a really soft urethane rubber. Some of my aftermarket tires are cast like this, but they are either blackwalls or meant to have the letters painted.