Cheap Wide Whitewalls (revisited) using "White Tire Paint"

Todd: I tried some paint I got from Callies Customs and wasnt happy with the results. It yellowed fairly quicky and I found the consistancy of the paint to be difficult to work with.

I have the materials to grind a set of tires but with everything else I have on my plate, it's been difficult to find the tiime.

A week or so ago I was at AllstarDerrick's shop and I brought up my desire to get a set of whitewalls for my F100. He suggested portawalls and in fact he has them on his shop truck. I was always under the impression that portawalls weren't meant fro radials but with a little further investigation plus Derrick's insight I've shelled out the minimial amount of money and purchased a set.

The manufactur suggests running smaller diameter portawall on a minimum of a 75R radial. I have yet to mount them but I know Derrick has been happy with the set on his C10.

 

Looks pretty good Todd, might do a set for the FED Well maybe the '58 anyway. Can I borrow your tools?

 

Absolutely!

I even have some truck caps that are perfectly suited to be sacrificed for your wheels

It's set up for 2 1/2" white walls, but that's easy enough to change with a 2nd reference hole in the "compass"...

 

Well Todd, you've seen mine. They were painted with 3 coats of KILZ and one coat of exterior latex four and a half years ago with no touch up. They are discolored and dirty, but nothing a recoat won't handle. I think yours, (with actual prep work) are going to do just fine.

 

Hey those look good! Saw a guy making whitewalls out of RWL tires at some show a few years ago. Since the White is actually a layer of rubber he was just grinding the black off. Dirty work. Think he was getting $35 a tire. Don't think you could get as wide a wall as you have though.

 

My wide whites on my Ventura are getting a little marked up, I used some spray on upholstery paint that worked good for about 4 months at a time, and it takes 2 cans, so there's 26 bucks already. I'll try this stuff next time...

 

I appreciate all the feedback (both positive and negative).

I think this is just something that needed to be settled. The Bird isn't going anywhere, so I figured this would be a good test bed. I realize there are other methods, this is just the one I felt good trying.

Hell, as long as the paint stays intact, I really dont mind touching them up annually if they need it. We'll just se how it goes. The next set I do, I'll probably spray on, just to see how that works with the paint thinned out a bit. I anticipate it will take a few coats...

 

His truck looks great, but here are a few examples, beyond my personal experience, of why I don't spend money on port-a-walls anymore...

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=446153

 

I have only used the white wall paint near the wheels after I ground out the white wall. Still holding on after a year and a half. Westley Bleche white takes care of my brown walls.

 

I've used this stuff, but it's not as great as it first appears to be. It's great if you take your car out once every couple of weeks, but Iv'e had mixed success with my daily driver.
I have sanded, degreased several times, washed with water and detergent-and always the same thing happens- after a few weeks small radial cracks appeared- which got bigger, let water and dirt in- which made them bigger again, etc.
I have also tried them on "old" tyres (5-6 years), but the stuff just doe'snt last. It also peels off like a cheese slice if you curb a tyre, and when you touch it up, you can ppick the colour difference a mile away, so you really need to re-coat rather than touch-up.
I just kept using the stuff until it ran out, but I would'nt use it again.
Unfortunately where I live a set of real whitewalls will cost about $1,000,
and you can stick your portawalls (on radials) in your porta-potty.

 

THANKS for doing this.

here is the guy's homepage, on a Mercedes enthusiast's site:

http://www.mbzponton.org/valueadded/other/tirepaint.htm
======


I knew of the product, and there are a bunch of mentions of this product on here, but I only remember one guy mentioning using it.

But he said it weathered well, (if PREPPED right), and he drove his car, too.

The tire paint guyseller in Iceland markets it primarily through a Mercedes OPonton enthusiast site.
======
If Krylon Fusion works (the best results I have ever read about on here were about that Fusuion)...then this specialty stuff should.
But you have to work a little on the tires first.
Must be high-tech...the guy has a lab coat and everything!

 

======
I am setting up some tires to do, and you came up with the same way to get the radius and even the way you set the tape/scribed a line in the tape.

~~Only difference is I am putting a big bolt through the middle, and the "arm" just gets bolted onto it, turns around.

Too much trouble to find the exact center of a hubcap and drill it, even!

 

Well, it's been 3 weeks. While there has been some staining, I think it was just from handling ater the fact. They were finger shaped, etc.

As the manufacturer suggests, and a product I have always used on my whitewalls, Westley's Bleach white melted the stains off, and they were as new once again.

Sorry, no pictures...

 

laquer thinner on a rag, wipe one direction with the whitewall. cleans them off to perfect white.

 

I dont know how portawalls work, but couldnt you glue them on with a really strong glue?

 

Very nice job and good photos showing all steps. Hope you do a follow-up as to how well they hold up. I painted my tires with somekind of whitewall paint back in the darkages (1960's) and they never did dry completly...hell even bugs stuck to them !

 

you did a nice job and your razor blade jig is sweet man, good thinking

 

any updates?

 

any updates?

 

I'll roll it out this weekend and take some pictures...they're still looking good. Definitely well-worth the effort for the cost savings.

Haven't had it on the road, as I've been working on the engine bay:

http://jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=499718

 

I thought they looked good! and the car looked good on me too! I think it's time I made up a set for the '58 Effie, you saw what the old tires looked like on my scooter trailer, I may need your help and tools. There is also a 472 that needs to be finished, I'm sure you wont mind helping me. lol

 

Not a bit!

Think I mentioned that I'd like to try spraying the paint this time instead of brushing it. May experiment with some HF spray guns before attacking your tires...

 

you did a heck of a good job ! i really like the way you cut the tape !!! if they fade or chip , just redo !! darn fine job !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! steve

 

Thanks Steve!

and, for the record, that picture Tim posted was taken about a week ago after a quick wipe down and scrub with Westley's...

 

Jerry painted the old tires on his '51 Stude Commander 232" V-8 back then in the early to mid '60's and I installed narrower, but still "wider" sidewall tire rings on my '57.

Suckers were a trip to get mounted properly as you set the tire beads!

And DON'T get a finger, thumb or the fat of your hand caught in the bead when she pop's!!!!

pdq67

 

Btt

 

Hello, I have a Fiat 500 '66 with radial tires and wanted to try this product "White Wall Tire Paint". I read on this site mbzponton.org painting can be used only on diagonal tires. What do you think?

@ BIGREDTODD you've tried it painting on radial tires? how long does the effect?
Thanks and sorry for my English

 

Looks awsome I'm going to do that with my 13 inch tires.

 

Dragging up an old thread.

I too was looking for a cheap route to get wide whites, and stumbled accross this product. From the research I did it seemed to be the best on the market, and I was disappointed to find it was not available other than by giving your credit card info to someone in Iceland. I contacted Orn, and figured I could possibly provide a service by buying in quantity and offering this paint on Ebay, and with secure payment through Paypal.

I am now selling this product on E-bay. I just wanted to let those interested know that it is now available there.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/bmf63/m.htm...Accessories&vxp=mtr&rt=nc&_trksid=p4340.l2562

The performance of this product varies quite a bit. A big part of the variable is in the tire. When the manufacturer makes the tire they use a mold release agent that penetrates the outer rubber in the tire. This mold realease can cause the paint to have poor adhesion, and will also cause yellowing.

A couple of ways to mitigate these problems are to buy used tires, or get your new tires, and run them a while before you move forward on painting them. This will allow the mold release to ware off.Yes you can have success with this paint on raidals. Definately clean the tires well, and then clean them again, and again before painting. Orn recommend using paint thinner to clean before painting. Multiple coats are required, make sure you get enough paint.

If you follow the 1st post in this thread from BIGREDTODD, and the other recomendations here you will have good results.

Sorry if this post is against the rules of the site. I just wanted the info to be out there. Good luck DIY'ers

 

Since we're back from the dead, how are the tires looking after two years?