Weathering tires

[imatt88]

Hey all,

I'm sure this ones been beat to death, but I have to ask..whats a good way to weather tires for beaters or junkers?

I remember reading an article a while back, and someone mentioned using Dullcote to tone down the shine, but I tried that years ago and the tires just got sticky and nasty and looked like ######,

Any tips would be appreciated

Cheers, Ian

[Dragline]

To dull Vinyl you need to paint them with acrylic. I use Mr Hobby or Tamiya clear with some flat base added to knock off the shine. Experiment with how much flat base to add ay first.

Tamiya flat base works with most acrylic clears I have tried.

Bob

[imatt88]

Bob,

I used Dullcote on some old Revellogram NASCAR tires years ago, and it made the tires sticky.

I think I'll try acrylic like you suggested. Thanks

Cheers, Ian

Edited November 28, 2010 by imatt88

[RyanSilva]

Depending on the tire material, the dullcoat must have reacted with a old formula, Ive used dullcoat on most revell/amt tires made in the past 15 years and had great luck, no stickyness.

To make them dirty, you can shake them tires in a mixture of real dirt (sifted dirt is better) in a container.

[h3ae86]

I haven't tried it but couldn't you spray them flat black?

[imatt88]

Harold,

You kmow, I never thought of that..acrylic or enamel?

[diymirage]

dont forget the sanding, i know a lot of guys on here sand the rubber tires down to make them look more realistic

maybe one of them can chime on on how they do that ?

[Agent G]

Concentrate the dirt and dust in tread groves. It will look more like a real car, the dirt wears off the contact surfaces but is retained in the grooves.

For whitewalls I like a mix of Tamiya Clear Orange and just a drop of Tamiya Buff. I thin it out like 90% and just fog it on the whitewalls. Gives them a yellowed look.

G

[DanielG]

Check out some of the military modeling blogs, they do it all the time.

[LoneWolf15]

Sand the sidewalls as well as where the rubber meets the road . Once sanded , the tires will accept weathering chalks without a problem . Don't like the results ? Wash the tire off and start over again.

[h3ae86]

Harold,

You kmow, I never thought of that..acrylic or enamel?

I don't really know which type but I just tried it using color place flat black spray paint, and it just dulls them down some they don't really looked weathered so I don't know I'm going to try sanding them first and try again.

[935k3]

Go to the grocery store and get some of this and an old tooth brush and scrub the tires with it. It will dull the tires nicely. It's also goo for scrubbing parts for paint preparation.

[mr moto]

Harold,

You kmow, I never thought of that..acrylic or enamel?

On vinyl tires, always use acrylic. Enamel will never dry properly.

[Danno]

So many good ideas, I never tire of this subject.

Seriously, I remove any molding flash, sand the treads, and spray with Dullcote. Never a problem, and great looking ~~~ realistic appearing ~~~ tires for 'daily driver' builds.

[imatt88]

Thanks for all the tips, guys!