Automotive Forums .com - the leading automotive community online! Automotive Forums .com - the leading automotive community online!
Automotive Forums .com - the leading automotive community online! 
-
Latest | 0 Rplys
Go Back   Automotive Forums .com Car Chat > Automotive Art > Car Modeling
Car Modeling Share your passion for car modeling here! Includes sub-forum for "in progress" and "completed" vehicles.
Reply Show Printable Version Show Printable Version | Email this Page Email this Page | Subscription Subscribe to this Thread
 
Thread Tools
Old 06-06-2003, 03:17 AM   #1
exhaust smoke
AF Enthusiast
 
exhaust smoke's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: London
Posts: 1,402
Thanks: 0
Thanked 7 Times in 6 Posts
TIP: removal of tyre mold lines

No matter how good the manufacturer (i.e Tamiya) there is always going to be the central mold seam on the tyres. Road tyres are the worst when what with all the tread to consider when trying to remove the seam.

I've tried a fresh scalpel blade, but I found that I could never get a clean enough cut, there is a threat of slipping and taking away a few blocks of tread and it usually takes ages.

I've tried sanding, but this is not that easy either as the seam is thin and flimsy and you end up taking more rubber off than required. You also don't cleanly remove it either.

Well, here's a solution I stumbled accross last night when working on the Aoshima Exclusive Matrasse wheel set. The 'tool' I used was a nail clipper. It was perfect! As the cutting edge is curved for your fingernail, it was ideal to clip around the circumference of the tyre. You can get in very close, as the rubber is fairly self healing. I managed to cleanly remove the seams off four tyres in a matter of a couple of minutes.

Hope this of help to you.
exhaust smoke is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-06-2003, 03:24 AM   #2
primera man
"P-Man"
 
primera man's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Manawatu
Posts: 15,179
Thanks: 0
Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts
Send a message via AIM to primera man
Nice tip...never thought about using them before
__________________

Current Build.....1/12 Scale Camaro......Almost finished!!!

View All My Models Here.
primera man is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-06-2003, 03:27 AM   #3
GTi-VR6_A3
H4X0R T0 T3H M4X0R
 
GTi-VR6_A3's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 1,421
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Send a message via AIM to GTi-VR6_A3
great tip i have been using it for ages just never thought to post it the clippers also work well for trimming the plastic away from pieces and for cutting off of the trees. my gf showed me when she was building a gundam

-GTi-VR6_A3
__________________
-GTi-VR6_A3
GTi-VR6_A3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-06-2003, 03:39 AM   #4
chipanggo
AF Enthusiast
 
chipanggo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 305
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Hmmm. Interesting. I'll try that. :flash:
chipanggo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-06-2003, 04:47 AM   #5
mel79
AF Regular
 
mel79's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Turku (Finland)
Posts: 342
Thanks: 0
Thanked 6 Times in 6 Posts
I've given the mold seam a coat of superglue to harden the rubber. After that it's very easy to sand off. I think this method works better on slicks (I usually coat the whole thread surface and then sand it to give it a used look) but it isn't impossible to use on normal tyres either.

-Mikko
mel79 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-06-2003, 05:21 AM   #6
exhaust smoke
AF Enthusiast
Thread starter
 
exhaust smoke's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: London
Posts: 1,402
Thanks: 0
Thanked 7 Times in 6 Posts
Quote:
I've given the mold seam a coat of superglue to harden the rubber. After that it's very easy to sand off. I think this method works better on slicks (I usually coat the whole thread surface and then sand it to give it a used look) but it isn't impossible to use on normal tyres either.
Mikko,

Would this not leave white residue all over the tyre?
exhaust smoke is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-06-2003, 08:44 AM   #7
Cychalen
AF Enthusiast
 
Cychalen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Taipei
Posts: 709
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Great tip! Thanks for sharing.
You should have posted this tip 24hrs earlier. I already spent ages trying to remove mold lines on 8 tires.
12 more to go...
__________________
Completed.
Datsun 240Z #5 Monte Carlo Rally 1972

Working on.
Nissan Primera
Cychalen is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-06-2003, 08:52 AM   #8
exhaust smoke
AF Enthusiast
Thread starter
 
exhaust smoke's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: London
Posts: 1,402
Thanks: 0
Thanked 7 Times in 6 Posts
Quote:
12 more to go...
Well, now you can get them done in a matter of minutes
exhaust smoke is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-06-2003, 09:10 AM   #9
BOOSTD
AF Enthusiast
 
BOOSTD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 262
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
How do you guys remove the mold lines from the inside of the wheel?
__________________
BOOSTD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-06-2003, 09:39 AM   #10
exhaust smoke
AF Enthusiast
Thread starter
 
exhaust smoke's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: London
Posts: 1,402
Thanks: 0
Thanked 7 Times in 6 Posts
Quote:
How do you guys remove the mold lines from the inside of the wheel?
Why would you need to?

I haven't tried it, but I suppose you can turn the tyre inside out and adapt the method(s) above.
exhaust smoke is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-06-2003, 10:09 AM   #11
captain_karma
AF Newbie
 
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 4
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
another thing that works well is cuticle scisors the cutting blades are only about 3-4 cm long, they are usually very sharp and they come in both straight and curved blade variety. I get mine from where my wife gets her beauty stuff.
captain_karma is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-06-2003, 10:54 AM   #12
T\/\/iN-Tu|2Bo
AF Regular
 
T\/\/iN-Tu|2Bo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: aurora
Posts: 384
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Cool never thought of nail clippers before!
__________________
"If you feel in control. You're not going fast enough" - Mario Andretti
T\/\/iN-Tu|2Bo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-06-2003, 11:52 AM   #13
BOOSTD
AF Enthusiast
 
BOOSTD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 262
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
No dude you misunderstood. I said the wheels not the tyres. I bought some Fujimi Model 5's and the mold lines are shocking and because they are long spokes you can see the mold lines really badly through the wheel.
__________________
BOOSTD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-06-2003, 12:30 PM   #14
Alien
AF Regular
 
Alien's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 132
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Thanks for the tip, realy saves alot of time and sandingpaper:flash:
Alien is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-07-2003, 01:03 AM   #15
Murray Kish
Getting Old...
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Lugano, Switzerland
Posts: 753
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
I had a poor set of wheels with a bad seam that was hard to get rid of. I actually used little bit of lacquer thinner on a q-tip and rubbed it lightly over the seam. Be very careful if you try this because the lacquer thinner basically 'melts' the rubber. If you're careful, you can melt the seam away and a light 'scuff' with sandpaper seems to finish everything off.

Murray
Murray Kish is offline   Reply With Quote
 
Reply

POST REPLY TO THIS THREAD

Go Back   Automotive Forums .com Car Chat > Automotive Art > Car Modeling

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 02:49 AM.

Community Participation Guidelines | How to use your User Control Panel

Powered by: vBulletin | Copyright Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
 
 
no new posts