TIP:Tamiya Tire Decals

I just wanted to pass this tip on that I just found.

With Tamiya tire decals (Haven't tried on any others yet) the decal always has silver after it dries.

1. Use some Tamiya Acrylic Thinner (X-20A) and brush it on after the decal is on the tire.

2. Be careful because this makes the decal VERY soft and it's easy to mess it up at this point.

3. Use a blow dryer and heat the decal for just a second. CAUTION again too long and the decal shrivels up and is lost.

4. Dab dry with a Q Tip and press the edges down.

5. After the decal is dry the only silver should be around the edge.

6. Use some Tamiya Extra Thin Cement and with very little on the brush gently brush down the edges with 1 pass. Any more and the decal will shrivel up.

Be careful not to use too much or the decal will melt from the glue.

7. After the glue has dried I use some black pastels to dull the finish of the tire. The glue on the tire causes a shine so you will not want to get too sloppy when applying the glue.

If done right the result is amazing!

I just cleaned up some of my old kits tires with this method and it makes a huge difference!

Hope this helps!

Chris

my way is apply the decal like normal.

then once that is set up, clearcoat your tire with lacquer dullcoat, (testors)

this seals in your decal, gives the tire the proper shine, and you have no trouble.

i do the same for water slide decals on my nascar's except you clear coat the tire with gloss lacquer, before you apply the decal, then dullcoat over decal.

you have to use lacquer because it is the only paint that will dry on the tires.

heres my tamiya decal.

also i rub on graphite, (pencil dust) onto the sidewall to give the white decals a more realalistic look. they are never super bright white.

http://www.arcor.de/palb/alben/01/1904101/1024_6434626538343262.jpg

Hmmm, ive never had a real prob with them b4...maybe thats just me though

Looks great JTRACING!

Chris

Anybody tried the painting templates like the ones in Tamiya's photo-etched sets?

Can't you use microset and microsol?

Can't you use microset and microsol?

yes but only for water slide decals,you only need microsol also.,

but the Tamiya ones are differant. you place the decal on the tire backwards, and wet the backing paper, and let it sit until its transparent, then the decals are transferd to the tires.

Any decal solvent works fine on those decals, but mild solvents are safer.
I did several sets at my demos at the last TamiyaCon, and just did a set last night.
Apply water to the tire first, then follow the instructions.
If there is any silvering, (only happens to me on these occasionally), let the lettering dry.
Then carefully apply the decal solvent where it is silvered.
Wait a couple minutes and carfully blot down, let dry and seal with Dullcote... - Mark

Mr Tremblett, thank you good sir! That little tip about the pencil/graphite dust is genius :)