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What to do with decals for tires?


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I purchased some decals for use on some of my kit tires but I can't find a good way for the decals to stick to the rubber. I tried dull coating them to seal them but the dull coat wrinkled when I placed the rim in the tire. The tires were washed thoroughly by the way and even lightly sanded. Please help in suggesting what to do.

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I purchased some decals for use on some of my kit tires but I can't find a good way for the decals to stick to the rubber. I tried dull coating them to seal them but the dull coat wrinkled when I placed the rim in the tire. The tires were washed thoroughly by the way and even lightly sanded. Please help in suggesting what to do.

Kevin,

I leave the wheels in the tires before applying the decals. If they are relatively new decals, you should not have to do much prep work, but if the surface is dull from sanding off raised lettering, I use several sanders to bring them back to a smooth surface. You could also brush on an acrylic gloss to make it easier to position the decals. Let this dry thoroughly, or it could soften when applying decals with water.

After the decals are in place, apply Micro-Sol once and set aside to dry thoroughly. The final step is to brush on a flat acrylic finish to kill the shine of the decals, and I always do the whole front of the tire, to make it look uniform.

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Kevin, If I can offer some additional ideas for detailing your tires. What has worked for myself is to paint the sidewall of the tire with gloss clear before applying the decals. The smoother the surface the better so that the decal doesn't show. Next , after everything is good and dry apply a light coat of semi-clear. This will seal the decals and give you a more accurate look to the sidewall. I usually sand the tires tread first and then wrap tap around the tread to keep it looking right.

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