Painting Tire Accents

Shabo makes all sorts of dry transfer tire lettering.
For painting, use acrylic because the enamel won't completely dry and remains tacky.

there was a company that used to make dry transfers, i am not sure if they still do.
but they had white & yellow 'Goodyear' in 1/24 or 1/25.
easiest way to apply them would be to mount the tires backward and apply them
to the smooth side.
Slixx makes decals, but you end up w/ silvering issues.

maybe if you got a soft artists pencil in yellow or white,
you could rub it (sideways) over the raised letters instead of
trying to 'write' on the letters tops,

Thanks for the tips guys......I think laziness may prevail and I may try the drybrushing suggestion first.....

RODC

HEY,
Toothpicks or wire. Not the greatest way but by far the easiest and quickest.
And it doesnt look too bad if you do t right.

Randy

i get the little twisty tie things from bread bags, take the paper part of to expose metal, and then i let the paint sit out for an hour or so to thicken, then i just dot the paint on, not brush.

wildwilliam: that's exactly what I mean. I use that technique for radiators and it works quite well. I thin out some flat black and coat the entire radiator w/ that, then I drybrush flat aluminum for the veins and ribs, etc. It looks pretty good...like anything else, it takes a lot of practice.

would a drybrushing technique work?
if you can pull out the detail of an instrument panel, etc,
i think it might work on tires too.

I would use a drybrush technique using quite a big brush. Trying to paint on the lettering with a small brush is too fraught with dangers!
Take out some of the thick pigment from the bottom of the paint tin - do not stir it first - put it in a little dish, dip a fairly large, flat brush in it and then brush out the paint on a piece of cloth or kitchen tissue until there are no streaks coming from the bristles. Then, gently float the brush over the lettering with gentle strokes - you should see the paint begin to colour the lettering. Keep going until the lettering stands out from the tyre. Remember, with this type of work, less is more! Don't overdo it!
Hope this helps.

Actually, when I do any sort of raised lettering, I do not use my smallest brush. I use a small one yes, but not the teeny, teeny one. I also make sure the paint is not too thin. It requires a steady hand, and I lightly dab the paint on. I use this technique when I do radiators, raised lettering on engines, etc.

I hate trying to do this. I always mess it up. One day I notice a white make-up pencil on my wifes 'bench'. Somehow, it ended up on my workbench a few minutes later? How did that happen? Oh well, I figured I'd try it out on the white lettering. It worked fairly well. I have no idea what the original 'purpose' of the make-up pencil was (lips? eyes? etc, etc) and I'm afraid to ask... However, it's much softer than a normal pencil crayon and seems to stick quite well to the tires. I like that I can sharpen it with a pencil sharpener.

I give the edge of my tire a spray of dull-coat to seal it it. Otherwise it would smear from handling.

Murray