Raised white letter tires

[crazyjim]

I'm getting sick of the no name black wall tires in kits and was wondering if anyone knows a way to put lettering on the tires.

[Steven Zimmerman]

Jim, there are decals available from a myriad of aftermarket decal suppliers,or you could advertise in tne Forums here and elsewhere online if you know specifically what you want. I shop the contests and swap meets ,knowing specifically what kits I want that still have RWL tires. Another source is diecast; many of these have raised white lettered tires,and aren't much more expensive then buying a set of aftermarket wheels/tires..... There are some aftermarket ones available,but I'm not familiar with who,offhand.............the'Z'man

[curt raitz]

Gee, I look at the lack of raised lettering as a positive...

means I don't have to sand and/or grind the raised lettering off the tires to put a tire decal on or airbrush the lettering using a photo-etch stencil...more realistic than the painting the raised lettering.

There are plenty of aftermarket decals (Shaboo, Slixx, etc.) and stencils available online (Stradasports, HLJ, etc.) or at a good hobby shop

[crazyjim]

Thanks for the replies Steven & Curt. Never thought of decals because I didn't think they'd stick to tires. I'll check out Shabo & Slixx. Thanks again.

[Jon Cole]

How about some tips for applying decals to tires? I have done it, I first washed the tire with mineral spirits. Anyone else?

[diymirage]

Thanks for the replies Steven & Curt. Never thought of decals because I didn't think they'd stick to tires. I'll check out Shabo & Slixx. Thanks again.

it is my understanding the best way to do this is to submerge both the decal and the tire in lukewarm water and then slide the tire under the decal while you pull the paper out from in between

at least, thats the way i do redline/whitewall decals

[Casey]

I prefer the older tires when they still had raised lettering on them versus the newere "blanked out" tires. 1:1 tires have raised letters, so if you want realism, decals and dry transfers aren't the answer IMO. I know it's a pain to detail paint the raised letters, but it's worth it.

I'll be interested to see how well some of these tire decals are still adhering to the rubber tires ten years from now.

You can clearly see that some material was removed from the sidewalls of the blanked out tires, rendering them even more unrealistic.

You are limited to which specific tires you can use if you use the older style tires, so that is one drawback. With blank ires and decals, you can replicate any tire they make a decal for.

[2002p51]

Thanks for the replies Steven & Curt. Never thought of decals because I didn't think they'd stick to tires.

Oh, don't get me started on using decals on tires!

Seriously, don't.

[curt raitz]

I have never had a problem with decals on tires...

Get'em wet, slide'em on the tire, Solvaset the heck out of'em, then a day later (after they've had a chance to dry) shoot them with a little "Dullcote".

never have had any lift or fall off...

the dry transfer decals (Shaboo) are a whole different cup of tea,

I prefer the waterslide decals or the ones ya find in Tamiya's F1, motorcycle and racing car kits

[Ben]

A neat trick for painting the raised letters on tires is to take something flat and smooth, paint the surface with a thin coat of white and then touch the side of the tire to the painted surface very lightly. With a little practice, you'll get all the letters painted pefectly in one shot!

I forget which paint is best? If I remember correctly, enamel will never dry on the vinyl tire. I have heard to use acrylic or even White Out correction fluid.