Applying Firestone and goodyear tire ring decals and logos

[grandsport3]

Afternoon fellows, I had read somewhere on the site about applying floor wax over the tire decals, it was mentioned Pledge or the other floor wax. I have some Fujimi Chap 2D tires I want to put on a Corvette GS, Chaparrals and other sports racers. What is the proper procedure? I picked up some "Quick Shine" Hardwood Floor Luster with Carnuba Wax. So what is base?, decal first, then wax or wax first then decal covered over with wax with a brush? I purchased some stick on blue Goodyear rings and gold Firestone's (actually orangish and a little small diameter). Should the stick on's be covered by brush with wax or clear paint? Any help would be appreciated. Thanx, John

[tatocorvette]

I use Future floor wax which is not really a wax. The idea is to apply it as a gloss coat over the tire so the decal has a smooth surface to adhere to. After dry, dullcoat can be used to tone the shine down and seal the decal.
Here some examples:









Thanks,
Ismael

[Ben_B]

I think just about any clear acrylic gloss will work fine. I alternate between Future and good old-fashioned Microscale Clear Gloss. The best thing about Future, or whatever they’re calling it this week, is that you can airbrush it without thinning. I still do thin it, however, using Tamiya X-20A thinner. DO NOT use the regular X-20. That’s for enamels.

My go-to flat coat has been Microscale Clear Flat for decades. I had nothing but trouble when I tried Dullcote, however many others use it all the time without any problems.

Ben

[Joel_W]

I also pre gloss coat the tires with Future/Pledge but brush it on. Still only takes 20 min to dry, but I give it a few hours. Decal as usual. I clearcoat the decal with Micro Matt finish. If I used a lacquer Gloss then I'll seal the decals with Testors Dullcoat and a drop or two of a earth/dust color to tone down the overall look a tad more then the Matt finish does.

joel

[grandsport3]

Afternoon Fellows, Well, for the 1st time job they didn't come out too bad (except the front "Firestone" kept flipping over and would not open up)! Found out the gold rings for the rear tires on the Fujimi Chap 2D were a little oversize, had to cut out about 1/8 to 3/16 inch, fronts were fine. After slight soak in hot water, have to pull the rings OVER and along either side up the tire, then use small wet paint brush to position and move around. Let set and dry and brush over another coast of "Quick Shine" floor wax, found out "Quick Shine will crack if tire cut or pushed on, be careful but a new coast will cover cracking up. Need to get 2 more Firestone names and 4 logos off EBay. Can't wait to do some Goodyears and Dunlops! Thanks for viewing. John