Question on Painting Vinyl Tires

[Leopard2]

I have right now the Trumpeter 1/35 M1130 Command Stryker on the bench. Since the tires are to shiny and to black I painted them with Tamiya NATO black. But the paint flakes off after it is dry. What can I do to make the paint adhere better to the tires?

Thanks,

Joe

 

[Sharkmouth]

I replaced mine with resin copies. Barring that, lightly sanding kills the shine but you run the risk of raising fibers and ruining the tires.

Regards,

 

[Leopard2]

I might give it a try with the sanding. Thanks Saul.

 

[AndyFettes]

The trouble with those kind of tyres is that they have a lot of release mold agent on them Id give them a good wash in alcohol and then prime them with a, erm, a primer lol

 

[Sharkmouth]

I do like Andy's suggestion too but (this is years ago) the alcohol dried out the tires too much. Perhaps scrubbing with a toothbrush loaded with grease cutting dishwashing detergent is in order.

Of course, primer is a great suggestion.

Regards,

 

[AndyFettes]

Hey Saul, I actually like your idea better than mine and of course most people readily have washing up liquid easily to hand

 

[Leopard2]

Thanks for the tips guys. I think I try the dish washing soap first and see how that goes and if that doesn't work I go to the step with sanding.

Joe

 

[tanktrax]

Why oh why do the model companies persist with these stupid "rubber" tyres? They aren't realistic in any way and are a pain in the butt to both remove the mold seam and to paint. It surely can't be a cost saving measure and would have to be easier to mold them in plastic like the rest of the kit....

It's good to see companies like Bronco producing kits with the wheels molded in plastic (eg. M1117). I find that I'm nearly always replacing the rubbr tyres with aftermarket resin ones now... Just for the convenience of not having to deal with the rubber crap... And to have a more realistic look to the kit with having "weighted" tyres.

 

[Leopard2]

I have the most problems with Vinyl from Trumpeter. Even for their so-called "gluable" Vinyl Tracks I yet have to find a glue that works. Dragon DS- Tracks....no problem. Tamiya Rubber bands...no problem. Trumpeter Vinyl Tracks.....big problem.

 

[TomN]

Try scrubbing the tire with an old toothbrush and some Comet Cleanser. The cleanser is abrasive and will help to dull the sheen a bit.

HTH,
Tom