White tire lettering

[bbowser]

Looking for tips on the best way to letter racing tires with raised lettering.  I know about using acrylic not enamel paint.  I'm working on an AMT Indycar and need to letter both sides of the tires.  Thanks in advance.

[jchrisf]

I use the Japanese Gelly Roll 08 white pen that I got at Michaels.  It takes a very lite touch with good lighting and magnifaction.  I practiced on four tires before I got the hang of it.  I just used alcohol to wipe them off and start again.  Once I got the hang of it I was able to slowly and carefully do all four without a problem.  I found pushing the pen towards the edges worked better for me.  If you barely touch it to the tire it will flow out nicely and you can move the ink around with the pen.

You can also sand them off and use decals.

 

Edited September 18, 2021 by jchrisf

[Bucky]

I use the jelly roll pens, too. It's a fairly easy way to get the white letters.

[bbowser]

Thanks for the replies. I'll look for those pens.  I used to love the Shabo transfers for Nascar tires but they apparently are no longer available.

[slusher]

11 hours ago, Bucky said:

I use the jelly roll pens, too. It's a fairly easy way to get the white letters.

I have had good results using Gelly pen, I picked it up on eBay…

[chris chabre]

im not sure this will work on 1:25 scale, but on some of the tonka restoration videos, the restorer sprays paint onto a flat surface and "dips" the tire into the wet paint.

NOTE: I HAVE NOT attempted this technique in any scale so IDK if it will work.

[Zippi]

On 9/18/2021 at 1:41 PM, jchrisf said:

I use the Japanese Gelly Roll 08 white pen that I got at Michaels.  It takes a very lite touch with good lighting and magnifaction.  I practiced on four tires before I got the hang of it.  I just used alcohol to wipe them off and start again.  Once I got the hang of it I was able to slowly and carefully do all four without a problem.  I found pushing the pen towards the edges worked better for me.  If you barely touch it to the tire it will flow out nicely and you can move the ink around with the pen.

You can also sand them off and use decals.

 

I saw that HL carries the 0.5mm tip.  Is that the size you use?

[jchrisf]

9 minutes ago, Zippi said:

I saw that HL carries the 0.5mm tip.  Is that the size you use?

Mine is the 08.. I just looked it up and it looks like it is the .8mm pen.  I don't remember if they had different sizes when I purchased mine and if they did why I choose that one.

 

Edited September 20, 2021 by jchrisf

[Zippi]

21 minutes ago, jchrisf said:

Mine is the 08.. I just looked it up and it looks like it is the .8mm pen.  I don't remember if they had different sizes when I purchased mine and if they did why I choose that one.

 

Thanks Chris.  I'm headed to HL this morning as they have their 40% off.  

[bbowser]

Got a pen today.  How rugged is the ink and how long for it dry?

[SfanGoch]

The gel pen ink is not very durable. It rubs off vinyl and rubber surfaces easily. Spray, or brush on, clear flat. Brushing on can cause the gel ink to dissolve and lift. I write from experience using the pen on tires from the Accurate Miniatures Corvette GS.

[Bills72sj]

I have 15 built models with RWL tires done with Gelly Roll ink. I have had zero adhesion problems. Some of them are over 14 years old.

[Paul Payne]

Now that Shabo seems to be out of business. does anyone else make either dry transfers or decals for the old style Firestone lettering? I have a number of tires with no molded lettering so a pen won't work. BTW, I work in 1/25th scale, and would like lettering for 40's style hot rod tires.

[jchrisf]

12 hours ago, Paul Payne said:

Now that Shabo seems to be out of business. does anyone else make either dry transfers or decals for the old style Firestone lettering? I have a number of tires with no molded lettering so a pen won't work. BTW, I work in 1/25th scale, and would like lettering for 40's style hot rod tires.

Can you use water slide decals?

https://www.scalehobbyist.com/catagories/browse.php?kw=tire,decals

[Paul Payne]

I have never tried to use decals on tires, but to get that lettering I would certainly try some! Here is a pic of the Firestone Shabo lettering on my A-V8.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[jchrisf]

How about these

https://www.mikesdecals.com/goodyearfirestone-1960s-tire-decals-powerslide-p-3936.html

https://www.mikesdecals.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=firestone&search_in_description=0&osCsid=3dd2ee69b9d0a71d76bf7c7a437c8440

[Paul Payne]

Chris, thanks for the links.

[bbowser]

Decals are a good option.  If the sidewalls are reasonably smooth I apply the decal and then brush on clear flat.  They will not stand any flexing so its best to mount them first.

[Paul Payne]

Bruce, good tip- will keep that in mind!

[Brutalform]

Brush some white acrylic paint nice and evenly onto an old CD, or DVD, and use your tire just like a rubber stamp. Done many tires this way. 

[NOBLNG]

On 9/18/2021 at 1:11 PM, bbowser said:

Looking for tips on the best way to letter racing tires with raised lettering.  I know about using acrylic not enamel paint.  I'm working on an AMT Indycar and need to letter both sides of the tires.  Thanks in advance.

I did these by rolling the side of the tip of this pen over the letters. I don’t know if this pen is available in white, but this silver was close enough for me and went on real nice.

[Bugatti Fan]

The lens look like a good idea. I have used Artists Acrylic for picking out lettering on tyres. It is good for painting white wall tyres too

[Snake45]

I just did the rear tires on this one (the fronts were already painted, so had to match 'em with the rears) with Folk Art craft acrylic flat white, applied with the tip of a toothpick. Went pretty easily and smoothly, one of my best tire-lettering jobs ever. 

[Anglia105E]

I used a toothpick / cocktail stick to apply some Vallejo Polished Gold acrylic onto ' Firestone ' tyre lettering, for my Lotus F1 car in 1:12 scale.

This procedure does take a long time and a steady hand though, so I am always on the lookout for alternative methods ! All the suggestions in this topic are useful, so thanks guys.

David

[bbowser]

What I was able to do with the Gelly pen, happy with the results!