Tire Letter Decals

[kyleaustin81]

So I dull coted tire letter decals and they silvered from underneath it looks like after a dull coat of clear. Any one got any ideas other than just starting over on these. Cause I'm out of the white letters. ? They were not wet they were fully dried over night .... At a loss here as to why they silvered ? 

[mredjr]

Could be the dull coat, I have bought 2 cans lately of Testors dull coat that will not dry flat and I ave been using it for 40+ years and have never had that problem. looking at your picture it looks like yours has a shine to it.

Edited March 23, 2019 by mredjr

[kitbash1]

The only thing that I can come up with was the clear coat that was sprayed on the tires wasn't fully cured. 

[kyleaustin81]

Rustoleum matte is what i used and it sure looked like it dried clear. 

[kitbash1]

3 hours ago, kyleaustin81 said:

Rustoleum matte is what i used and it sure looked like it dried clear. 

Okay, but did you shoot a base coat of Gloss Clear on the tires before you applied the decals. If you didn't then the decals would have a hard time settling down on the side wall. This might be why they are silvering. Decals won't adhere to a matted surface. 

[restoman]

4 hours ago, kitbash1 said:

Okay, but did you shoot a base coat of Gloss Clear on the tires before you applied the decals. If you didn't then the decals would have a hard time settling down on the side wall. This might be why they are silvering. Decals won't adhere to a matted surface. 

I've found the same thing. I brush on a bit of Future before applying decals.

[kyleaustin81]

I did clear coat first .... Never had this issue or never have I ever had a powerslide decal silver like that on tires. Js. 

[Chris in Berwyn]

I had this issue once.  To try to fix it (worked fairly well) I took a new X-acto blade and poked holes in the clear film and worked Micro Sol or Set back behind the decal.  It didn't entirely fix things, but it made the tires presentable.  

[iBorg]

I'd weather them.....I think they'll look more realistic unless you're trying to make them look like stickers.

[OldTrucker]

So they aren't  too bright white I rub the side of a pencil lead over the letters then buff it off a bit .

[Jim N]

Try using a lot of decal setting solution, and you may have to do this several times.  As one of the previous posters said, this may make them look presentable.  I would not use Rustoleum clear.  I have had terrible luck with them on tires.  I use only Testor's gloss coat before I put the decals on and flat coat afterwards.

[Bill J]

No advise on saving your lettered tires. I have had this happen to me and I use Testor's acrylic flat clear out of an airbrush. It seems to happen if I apply the clear coat too wet. I think it re-wets the decal and causes the silvering. If I apply very light coats and allow some drying, I do not get the silvering. I had this happen on the same tires, same decals and the ones that silvered had been wet coated more than others that I did at the same time but gave them a few more lighter coats.

[RAMBENNA]

use future on them first , dip the decal in the future. let them dry and only coat them with Acrylic clear .  iI never have any problems.  future will save your decals already on the tire. 

[MarkJ]

Touch up the silvered areas with flat black testors acryl from the bottle between the letters . get some testors dullcote clear and decant it  into a bottle then brush the dull coat over the whole tire with a large soft bristle brush. It works. I do it all the time but not to correct silvering. I make my own tire decals and print them on white ink jet paper. after I install them I have to use the above process to hide the edges of the decal. It works surprisingly well.

 

[PatW]

The dullcoat spray I use says 'do not use decals'.

[MarkJ]

I use testors 1260 dullcote spray,  but I decant it, and put it on with a brush. I only use it on tire decals. I don't know what would happen if I sprayed it on. It might make the decal ink run. Maybe since I put  it on with a brush it drys before it can make the ink melt and run.

[yellowsportwagon]

4 hours ago, MarkJ said:

I use testors 1260 dullcote spray,  but I decant it, and put it on with a brush. I only use it on tire decals. I don't know what would happen if I sprayed it on. It might make the decal ink run. Maybe since I put  it on with a brush it drys before it can make the ink melt and run.

If you can brush it no problem spraying won’t cause ink to run. I brush my tires with the same stuff. Usually one of the last things I do on a build. That’s why I don’t spray it

[martinfan5]

I spray Testors Dullcote over decals and have never had any issues with doing so.

[Jhedir6]

I use Vallejo acrylic matte varnish. Put the decals on then top it off with the Vallejo, no issues. I usually do one coat, then another one or two more, after each coat before has dried for a few hours. 

Not NASCAR tires, but Powerslide tire details along with Tamiya kit decals on Tamiya tires. No harsh gases with acrylics.

[bigryan18]

I use Testors dullcot also and never had that problem either