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                        Color for aircraft tires

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                        50 replies
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                        12
                        MikeV
                        • Member since
                          April 2003
                        • From: Hayward, CA
                        Color for aircraft tires
                        Posted by MikeV on Friday, July 16, 2004 6:11 PM
                        Have you guys found any color or color mixture that looks right for the rubber on aircraft tires? I painted mine MM Acryl Flat Black and they just don't look right in that color. I do have an older bottle of Testors "Rubber" color but I don't remember if that looks right or not.

                        Thanks

                        Mike

                        “Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom. " Charles Spurgeon
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                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 16, 2004 6:28 PM
                        Mike, that Testor's "Rubber" colour you have looks spot on I reckon.

                        Cheers...Snowy
                        Report Abuse
                        saltydog
                        • Member since
                          July 2003
                        • From: Lower Alabama
                        Posted by saltydog on Friday, July 16, 2004 6:41 PM
                        i paint mine flat black and then do alot of dry brushing with grays and dark umber. i works out fairly close. i've seen the color "rubber" but i've never used it. later.
                        Chris The Origins of Murphy's Law: "In the begginning there was nothing, and it exploded."!!! _________ chris
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                        MikeV
                        • Member since
                          April 2003
                        • From: Hayward, CA
                        Posted by MikeV on Friday, July 16, 2004 6:41 PM
                        Snowy,

                        I just tried it and now the tire looks like a Tootsie Roll. Laugh [(-D]
                        It is too brown for rubber.

                        Mike

                        “Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom. " Charles Spurgeon
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                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 16, 2004 7:20 PM
                        Mike, I just used Testors Rubber on some True Details P47 tyres and they look great but I should have told you there was a few more steps I did. After painting them I hit them with Future, after that cured, ran a Burnt Umber oil wash into the tread pattern. After that I hit them with a flat coat, then, as Salty points out some careful dry brushing with some lighter grey enamels to pop out the tread highlights and sidewalls. Fairly involved, but the result is worth the effort and your tyres will look very realistic. I don't think you will ever get that result straight out of a bottle. Hope this helps you a little. By the way Mike, if your kit parts are starting to look like food, you know it's time to take a break and eat. Smile,Wink, & Grin [swg]

                        Cheers....Snowy
                        Report Abuse
                        qmiester
                        • Member since
                          May 2003
                        • From: Central USA
                        Posted by qmiester on Friday, July 16, 2004 7:49 PM
                        Mike,

                        For years the commonly used paint for used tires was Testors Hotrod Primer - It's darker than Panzer Grey but lighter than flat black. Unfortunatly it was discontinued about 15 years ago (came across 3 bottles of it in the Misc. paints box in an out of the way HS in a small town in western Kansas a couple of years ago - all were usable so I grabbed them). You might try to add white to your black until it is just a little lighter than the black. And I agree with you, the current Testors Rubber is much too brown.
                        Quincy
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                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 16, 2004 8:30 PM
                        I use testors rubber followed by a wash of black and a light dry brushing.
                        John
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                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 16, 2004 8:51 PM
                        I use Color of Eagles (also called Aircraft Colors) Tire Black. To me, it really looks the part. It's one of the only acrylic paints I use. You can see it on my Avenger below.

                        Hope this helps.
                        Report Abuse
                        rjkplasticmod
                        • Member since
                          February 2003
                        • From: A Spartan in the Wolverine State
                        Posted by rjkplasticmod on Friday, July 16, 2004 9:03 PM
                        For more modern AC, like your F-15, Floquil " Weathered Black" is pretty good out of the bottle, but like others have said, some washes & dry brushing won't hurt. The Testors "Rubber" is pretty good for WWI AC but nothing later.
                        RICK At My Age, I've Seen It All, Done It All, But I Don't Remember It All...
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                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 16, 2004 9:16 PM
                        Gunze Samgyo makes a tire black also that works good, then dry brush with grey on treads.
                        Report Abuse
                        MikeV
                        • Member since
                          April 2003
                        • From: Hayward, CA
                        Posted by MikeV on Friday, July 16, 2004 10:40 PM
                        Pix,

                        Who makes "Aircraft Colors" paints? I don't think I have seen them in stores.

                        Rick,

                        Thanks for the heads up about Floquil weathered black as it also looks pretty good from what I can tell from Testors web site.

                        Thanks everyone for all of the good suggestions.

                        Mike

                        “Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom. " Charles Spurgeon
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                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 16, 2004 11:08 PM
                        Mike - I oder mine from Eagle Strike Productions:
                        http://www.eaglestrikeproductions.com/

                        Click "Aircraft Colors" logo. it is listed under "Basic Colors." They don't need mixing, and two coats of their RLM 04 Yellow over white covers VERY well. They're great paints, for acrylics (I prefer enamels).
                        Report Abuse
                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 16, 2004 11:39 PM
                        I airbrushed flar black with a drop or two of flat white.
                        Report Abuse
                        Mark Joyce
                        • Member since
                          March 2004
                        • From: Placerville, CA USA
                        Posted by Mark Joyce on Friday, July 16, 2004 11:58 PM
                        I still have a partial bottle of Aeromaster's Tire Black that I bought years ago, and I'm quite satisfied with the color. After painting the tire, I drybrush either brown or grey, depending on what type of surface the aircraft flew from (dirt or otherwise).

                        Mike, I tried using Testor's Rubber once before and like you didn't like the results--too brown. I had never associated the color with a Tootsie Roll, but that's a pretty accurate comparison!Laugh [(-D]

                        Mark
                        Ignorance is bliss
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                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, July 17, 2004 12:18 AM
                        I use Polly scale's SQ. black rlm 66. Perfect on tires
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                        darson
                        • Member since
                          February 2003
                        • From: Melbourne, Australia
                        Posted by darson on Saturday, July 17, 2004 12:25 AM
                        Mike,

                        I have been using Tamiya's Nato Black (XF-69) for a quite a while now and it makes a ver realistic (IMHO) rubber color for any sort of tires. Give it a try.

                        Cheers
                        Darren
                        Report Abuse
                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, July 17, 2004 2:51 AM
                        Mike.......
                        Aeromaster (enamals & acrylics) did a "Tire Black" which i thought was quite accurate......
                        it's kinda like a satin black but, with a little grey in it......over here i've found a dark grey------>Xtracrylix (FS16081).....(wishes it was FS36081) but, it'll do nicely once toned down.......
                        works good.....lasts a long time.....
                        Report Abuse
                        KJ200
                        • Member since
                          July 2003
                        • From: Bicester, England
                        Posted by KJ200 on Saturday, July 17, 2004 4:30 AM
                        Mike, like Woodbeck, I use RLM66, followed up with a dark wash, and dry brushing. Find this works really well on treaded tyres, as the RM66 is not so dark as to hide the detail accentuated by the wash.

                        Karl

                        Currently on the bench: AZ Models 1/72 Mig 17PF

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                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, July 17, 2004 6:03 AM
                        Good tip with the NATO Black darson I'll get some and try it, the Tamiya stuff is a bit easier to clean up, not to mention that now these guys have me checking my tyres over and over to see if they're too brown. Blindfold [X-)]. There's nothin' strikes fear into the enemy's heart like a fully loaded P47 on Tootsie rolls thundering down the runway. Laugh [(-D]

                        Cheers...Snowy
                        Report Abuse
                        Jim Barton
                        • Member since
                          February 2003
                        Posted by Jim Barton on Saturday, July 17, 2004 12:34 PM
                        QUOTE: Originally posted by MikeV

                        Snowy,

                        I just tried it and now the tire looks like a Tootsie Roll. Laugh [(-D]
                        It is too brown for rubber.

                        Mike


                        Well, at least it's better than looking like a Lifesaver.Big Smile [:D]

                        The last time I had to paint tires was on the MiG-21 that I built a few years back and I just simply mixed a droplet of flat white into a small amount of flat black dispensed in one of those little plastic cups you sometimes get with take-out food (that hold salsa or parmesan cheese for example).

                        "Whaddya mean 'Who's flying the plane?!' Nobody's flying the plane!"

                        Report Abuse
                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, July 17, 2004 1:27 PM
                        See, me and KJ are on the same wavelength....time for the rest of you to join us!!!!Wink [;)]Alien [alien]Alien [alien]
                        Report Abuse
                        rjkplasticmod
                        • Member since
                          February 2003
                        • From: A Spartan in the Wolverine State
                        Posted by rjkplasticmod on Saturday, July 17, 2004 2:38 PM
                        Thanks Mike, try the Floquil, I think you'll like it. "Aircraft Colors" is a new line of acrylics designed for airbrushing, manufactured by Vallejo. I use their regular line extensively for brush painting, but haven't tried the new paints. From what I've read they are high Quality.

                        Regards, Rick
                        RICK At My Age, I've Seen It All, Done It All, But I Don't Remember It All...
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                        KJ200
                        • Member since
                          July 2003
                        • From: Bicester, England
                        Posted by KJ200 on Saturday, July 17, 2004 4:39 PM
                        Woodbeck, it's not called schwartzegrau for nothing is it?

                        You'd have though someone apart from us would have spotted that!!LOL

                        Karl

                        Currently on the bench: AZ Models 1/72 Mig 17PF

                        Report Abuse
                        MikeV
                        • Member since
                          April 2003
                        • From: Hayward, CA
                        Posted by MikeV on Saturday, July 17, 2004 7:20 PM
                        Rick,

                        I just got back from the LHS with a jar of Floquil Weathered Black.
                        I am going to go try it out right now thinned with some mineral spirits and see how it looks. Wink [;)]

                        Mike

                        “Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom. " Charles Spurgeon
                        Report Abuse
                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, July 17, 2004 7:32 PM
                        LOL Karl, and he still bought something else Wink [;)]. Seriously Mike its not so much in how dark or tootsie roll you go, its the washes afterwards that make a tire.
                        Report Abuse
                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, July 17, 2004 7:32 PM
                        i usually take some flat black and mix just a tibble of flat white.
                        Report Abuse
                        rjkplasticmod
                        • Member since
                          February 2003
                        • From: A Spartan in the Wolverine State
                        Posted by rjkplasticmod on Saturday, July 17, 2004 8:37 PM
                        Mike, hope it works out well for you. I've never thinned Floquil with anything except laquer thinner. Let me know how the thinner & color works out.

                        Regards, Rick
                        RICK At My Age, I've Seen It All, Done It All, But I Don't Remember It All...
                        Report Abuse
                        MikeV
                        • Member since
                          April 2003
                        • From: Hayward, CA
                        Posted by MikeV on Saturday, July 17, 2004 9:30 PM
                        Rick,

                        It came out good. The color is still slightly gray but is a lot better than the flat black or the Testors Rubber color.
                        The mineral spirits work great with Floquil as they are an enamel anyhow I believe. I have used mineral spirits before with floquil primer with good results also.
                        What do you wash and dry brush it with on modern aircraft tires?

                        Mike

                        “Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom. " Charles Spurgeon
                        Report Abuse
                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, July 18, 2004 12:49 PM
                        drybrush silver Big Smile [:D]

                        Mike, Try Flat black mixed with a LITTLE white (like in a 5:1 ratio) and about 2 parts of gloss. thats what i use. works great, it's kinda glossy but not too glossy, not flat, and not all black (scale effect)
                        Report Abuse
                        Anonymous
                        • Member since
                          November 2005
                        Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, July 18, 2004 5:58 PM
                        Hey Mike, Could it be that you are almost ready to show us your F-15?Whistling [:-^]
                        Report Abuse
                        12
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