Tyre/wheel melt. Whats the solution?

[HotRodaSaurus]

I have a few older builts that have not suffered yet, they were built in the 90s.

Some are older models others fairly newish, so what if anything can be done to prevent this happening.

Do new kits also suffer from this?

Thanks, John

[Brendan]

Bluesman is correct about using Future as a barrier. Another thing you can do is use Testor's dull coat or semigloss spray paint to seal the tires. All this does is slow the off gassing down, but will not prevent it. It will happen no matter what. It's just the nature of the beast. I try to stay with either resin or real rubber tires on my kits. Another thing you need to make sure is that where you display your kits is that you're not putting it onto a base that has vinyl paint or latex paint as it will cause the tires to melt ever quicker.

[Eshaver]

Bluesman is correct about using Future as a barrier. Another thing you can do is use Testor's dull coat or semigloss spray paint to seal the tires. All this does is slow the off gassing down, but will not prevent it. It will happen no matter what. It's just the nature of the beast. I try to stay with either resin or real rubber tires on my kits. Another thing you need to make sure is that where you display your kits is that you're not putting it onto a base that has vinyl paint or latex paint as it will cause the tires to melt ever quicker.

Please forgive me but I seem to remember wher not too long ago in another magazine wherein the "letters colum where a reader wrote in with a similar dilemma . The article editor wrote in the magazine where vynil compounds were changed since the 1960's kits had been produced, yes I will agree with that statement as I have a bag of those tires. Now personally I have not noticed what you're seeing. Ed Shaver

[Zoom Zoom]

Some brush painted acrylic flat black (or acrylic flat or semigloss clear) on the tires where the wheels/wheelbacks/wheelcovers insert will also help. Seal the tires, and make sure the wheels/wheelcovers/wheelbacks have a good coat of paint and they shouldn't melt.

[Brendan]

Please forgive me but I seem to remember wher not too long ago in another magazine wherein the "letters colum where a reader wrote in with a similar dilemma . The article editor wrote in the magazine where vynil compounds were changed since the 1960's kits had been produced, yes I will agree with that statement as I have a bag of those tires. Now personally I have not noticed what you're seeing. Ed Shaver

Yes, they did change the formula but the tire is still made of vinyl. Vinyl has a tendency to shrink over time and that's what the main problem is...

Sometimes they'll melt and shrivel up into a ball of oily mess. Or like the pictures I have below, they'll shrink on the rim and start to crack. I've had rims actually get crushed by the tire shrinking. Even with the newer kits, it will happen. One just has to be aware of this.

The pictures below are of a tire that was on a kit no more than 5 years old. The rim is metal so that's the reason it hasn't been crushed yet. I'm squeezing the tire to show the crack a little better in the photograph.

[Brendan]

Wanted to add one thing...when you go to shows and are looking for a kit, make sure you check the tires before buying. Sometimes the tires will actually melt into the plastic and ruin the kit.

[lordairgtar]

When getting a new or vintage kit, open and remove tires. If tires are bagged, they should be fine. If not, wrap tires in a paper napkinn, then place in small baggie. This will protect your styrene parts from the chemical reaction.

[MojaveRacer208]

The problem is the plasticizer compound in the vinyl of the tires. It is an oily material which makes the vinyl soft. Early model kits with vinyl tires suffered badly. Vinyl used for model tires was reformulated in the 60s, but the problem will still exist as long as you have vinyl and styrene in contact with each other. One contributing factor to the problem is having the parts in a confined space, another is high temperatures. Intermixing brands of tires and rims can get a little more risky. I DO advocate separating tires from other parts in the box by putting them in a small polyethylene ziplock bag or paper envelope to prevent damage to styrene or decals. I also find the problem more common where glue has been used to mount tires on wheels.

OTOH, I have had much worse trouble with tires made of rubber cracking than with vinyl tires melting the wheels. And "resin" parts, which are made of urethane, can have troubles with warpage and meltdown as well.

Richard