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Tire Paint (Painted Lettering)


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I was a sporty-car racer in the 1960s and '70s, and I liked the colored lettering on tires. I could do an essay on methods and reasons to not waste your time.

Suffice it to say, paint of any kind doesn't have a chance on real rubber tires, since the rubber has volatiles in the sidewalls, and they boil to the surface and discolor the stuff you put on the letters, whether or not the tires are in use.

 

What works is the way the Original Equipment Manufacturers did it: cast the letters in a mold that fits over a cast-in white sidewall, grind off the rubber covering the tops of the letter casts, voilà, Raised White Letters.

 

Actually, the paint works good for a few days, if it is worth it to you.

 

orig.jpg

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I used that JCWhitney stuff in period: it looked good for a while, but eventually it was thick and looked like (ageist code coming up) the makeup on a dowager, cracking and flaking off. I still have the "crayon" of paint from JCW. Still doesn't last.

 

The cast-in RWLs are good-looking, but they are in a band of extra rubber that has bad heat-dissipation effects not really appropriate for high-performance tires.

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yea this is going to date me but I really liked the Goodyear Polyglass and BFG white letter tires from back in the day............. GG

 

Good one Glen - also will date myself (although off topic) - How about the Red line, Blue line or Gold line and then the Double Red, Blue or Gold Line (colors of thin side walls for you youngsters that don't know). As Archie and Edith sang - "Those were the days".
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Wayne I remember them to, seems like I saw a tire company doing a redline that would look great on my GT/BJ. Also forgot to mention the Firestone Wide Oval. When I was in college I had a set of Goodyear Polyglass G70 14s white letters on one of my cars and thought I was the stuff. Times sure change.......... GG

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Wayne I remember them to, seems like I saw a tire company doing a redline that would look great on my GT/BJ. Also forgot to mention the Firestone Wide Oval. When I was in college I had a set of Goodyear Polyglass G70 14s white letters on one of my cars and thought I was the stuff. Times sure change.......... GG

 

GLen, There were many great and unique variations in our time. Nice to know that places like Coker Tire and Diamond Back are making the same tires new and can be had in Radial or Bias Ply in most cases - if anyone wants to spruce up their Shelby or go original with their other classic toys.
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