Quote:
Originally Posted by Antny
Anyone paint their letters on? I don't want stickers, so I got a paint stencil kit for mine. What paint have you used with success?
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I wanted to paint letters on and did a lot of research on the paint. I experimented with white plasti dip (I use black on trim frequently with great success) and it didn't work for me. For one, I put it on one of my truck tires to see what happened with some miles. I didn't prep the truck tire except a slight cleaning but it was a medium tan color after a week and brown after two or three weeks. For two, I don't know that you can peel up a template and not take the plasti dip with it. I couldn't.
I wound up with Ranger but ran into another issue. The template kit wants you to clean the tire thoroughly with mineral spirits to remove all the
oil possible. The paint wants you to leave it as is. I barely experimented with getting one template sticker to adhere and gave up on it.
I went with the treadwear letters and it was the right move. I was worried they'd look stuck on and I wanted that vintage painted on look.
I'm really happy with how they turned out. They don't look stuck on until you get right up to them, even from the side profile. The glue they give you works. They aren't going anywhere and they take on a slightly worn look with road wear that works.
My tip for treadwear is to cut all the nipples on the face of the tire, to clean 3X with mineral sprits and to work from the center out on each letter. Use a picture of a billboard to work off of because its freehand. Note, as others here have done, I also cut some of the letters vertically to more closely match the look of the painted on letters. Use scotch tape to hold them in place while you glue and apply.
If anybody wants to go stencils, I have the whole kit in 2" ready to go and I'll sell you for half price, just PM me.
