Tips to paint white wall tires ????

[deedlit]

Hi all,

I'd like to put white wall tires on my '67 beetle.
Here is how it looks right now


and how it'll look at the end (hope so)


I've searched in Americansatco , yes they have white wall tires but too wide to keep the "stock" look on the bug. I've then decided to paint them but :
-don't know how to mask the tires to have each tire equal
-don't know which paint to use
-don't know if I have to sand the side of the tire before painting
-...

All information is very appreciated. Feel free to give your advise.

Thanks
Deedlit

[bigfrit]

Q1:-don't know how to mask the tires to have each tire equal

A1: Use this little utensil, made by OLFA, doesn't cost more then 2 € and is blockabe, s you have the same size all over again.






Q2: don't know which paint to use

A2: don't use enamels, they don't dry that well on rubber tyres

Q3:don't know if I have to sand the side of the tire before painting

A3: lightly sand with a 600 or so paper, should give a nice grip to the surface.

Olivier

[ales]

Agreed with Oli. Although the "utensil" I use is a compass that has two needles instead of 1 needle and I pensil.

[deedlit]

Thanks Guys,

I'll try it this evening.
I'll recycle an old compass and fit an X-acto blade in place of the pencil.

Do you think that Tamiya White primer (in can) would be good?

[Focus2000]

How about inserting the wheel into a Dremel, letting it rip, and carefully lowering a brush/gundam into the desired position for a second or two?

I haven't tried it myself but it might work

[daggerlee]

Do it while the tire is on the rim BTW, and mask the rim. This is so when you're fitting the tire to the rim you won't stretch it and break the paint. I'd go for a semigloss white myself but flat white (like tamiya primer) wouldn't hurt.

[Sidewinder-03]

Try useing a plastic hole template(you can find one in the school supply aisle at a department store or an art supply store). Just find the right size hole and tape your tire to it so it's centered over the hole and airbrush flat white acrylic paint to the exposed area. The good thing about the template is that you can use it over and over again.