Tire decals?

[Kit Basher]

I'm building the Revell "2017 Ford GT Le Mans". It's time to put the decals on the tires. I haven't done this before, so I have a couple of questions.

Any special prep needed to make the decals stick to the tires?

I'm guessing I will need to do something to take the shine off the decals. I have Testors Dullcote, but is there a better product or technique for doing this?

Can I put the tires on the wheels after decals and clear, without destroying the decals?

Any advice would be most welcome. Thanks

[Dave Van]

My way..................

I rub the tire sidewall on cloth or old T shirt. This kind smooths the surface and makes decals adhere better.

Apply tire decal like any decal. I apply Walthers Solvaset to set  them and make decal conform.

After 2-3 says I spray with 2 light coats of Testors dull coat clear. 

Results

 

[espo]

There are several ways to do this and for the most part I think it has to do with the tire you are using in the first place. What I have done is to first soak the tire in some Purple Power for an hour or so, followed by a good rinse with tape water. I'll spray the sidewall with a light coat of Tamiya clear and allow to dry. Next apply the decals and again allow them time to set. This is followed by a light second coat of clear and allowed to dry. At this point the appearance of the sidewall should be smooth and the edge of the decal unseen. A light coat of a flat or semi-gloss clear should give you the final appearance you are after. Remember when I mentioned the tire being important to the final finish? A couple of things to consider and may determine how you go about this process if you go this way. Should the tire be of a design that is very flexible or requiring a lot of man handling to mount of the wheel, you might think of mounting it on the wheel first and mask the wheel off before you start painting the tires. With a lot of flexing of the sidewalls to mount the tires it is likely that the paint on the sidewalls could crack. I'm sure there will be may others giving you information on how they decal the tire sidewalls, I would carful look at each suggestion and see what you think will work best for what you're trying to do. 

[Jim B]

I have used tire decals on a couple of models, and I have to say that I was skeptical at first.  However, that being said, I think they can ass a lot to a race car model.  Here is my Revell 2015 Corvette C7.R with the Michelin dire decals similar to the ones in the Revell Ford GT kit:

I didn't prep the tire in any way (which I might regret later), and I did mount the tire to the wheel prior to adding the decals.

[Kit Basher]

Thanks, guys. It sounds like my best bet is to put the tires on the wheels before doing the decals. The tires are kinda hollow and very flexible, very similar to the tires and decals on Jim's Corvette. I will have to mask the wheels, as I want to keep them a bit shiny.

Any additional advice would still be welcome.

 

[Fat Brian]

When I used tire decals I tested putting them directly on the tire and they silvered around the edges. The second time I brushed the sidewall with Tamiya acrylic clear then applied the decal and then hit it with another coat of clear since I wanted a shiny look. I think you're correct about putting the tires on the rims first, anything you put on the sidewall is likely to crack when putting them on the rims.

Edited July 26, 2023 by Fat Brian

[Kit Basher]

3 hours ago, Fat Brian said:

When I used tire decals I tested putting them directly on the tire and they silvered around the edges. The second time I brushed the sidewall with Tamiya acrylic clear then applied the decal and then hit it with another coat of clear since I wanted a shiny look. I think you're correct about putting the tires on the rims first, anything you put on the sidewall is likely to crack when putting them on the rims.

Yeah, I am concerned about silvering. The tires are more of a flat color, not shiny like old AMT tires. The closest thing I have to Tamiya acrylic clear is Future, I may try some on the inside of a tire and see if it sticks. I can always get Tamiya clear if that would work better.

I'm wondering if anyone has used something besides Dullcote. I have a bottle of Tamiya flat clear. Would that make any difference?

[Fat Brian]

15 minutes ago, Kit Basher said:

Yeah, I am concerned about silvering. The tires are more of a flat color, not shiny like old AMT tires. The closest thing I have to Tamiya acrylic clear is Future, I may try some on the inside of a tire and see if it sticks. I can always get Tamiya clear if that would work better.

I'm wondering if anyone has used something besides Dullcote. I have a bottle of Tamiya flat clear. Would that make any difference?

As long as the Future dries on the tires you should be fine. That should stop the silvering and the flat clear will top coat it over the decals.

[shoopdog]

29 minutes ago, Kit Basher said:

Yeah, I am concerned about silvering. The tires are more of a flat color, not shiny like old AMT tires. The closest thing I have to Tamiya acrylic clear is Future, I may try some on the inside of a tire and see if it sticks. I can always get Tamiya clear if that would work better.

I'm wondering if anyone has used something besides Dullcote. I have a bottle of Tamiya flat clear. Would that make any difference?

I have always scrubbed my tires well with soap and water and used Future. Allow it to dry overnight and then decal. I let the decal dry at least overnight before hitting with Testors Dullcoat .

[restoman]

38 minutes ago, shoopdog said:

I have always scrubbed my tires well with soap and water and used Future. Allow it to dry overnight and then decal. I let the decal dry at least overnight before hitting with Testors Dullcoat .

That's how I've done it, with an added coat of Future over the decal when dry, and then a shot of Dullcote.