Has anyone tried white wall tire paint?

[Mr. Belvedere]

I do not have $800.00 to put new wwwradials on my car so I found a guy in Iceland of all places who developed a tire paint that is elastomeric and there are a few different people on the bay that have also developed similar white wall tire paint. They all claim that their products are vastly superior to the old white wall paint from back in the 60's. Anyone have first hand knowledge or experience with this?

[Plymouthy Adams]

not to run you off by any means but this is a trick the boys on the HAMB do daily as it fits the traditional rod theme...they should be able to steer you to the best product for the best buck...

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/

[JIPJOBXX]

Have you thought about using Port-A-Walls? I bought a set for my Dodge and they really look real but the key to keeping them from flying oft is to glue them in place. I bought my set for 35 dollars down in LA. Jon

[Mr. Belvedere]

Thanks Tim I'll check with them. Jon, I thought about that but heard they are troublesome and the people who sell them recommend that only somebody who knows what they are doing put them on. What type of glue did you use?

[greg g]

I ran into a fellow the other day who had painted on whitewall. I must say they looked great. Said he used Behr Brand acrylic house paint. He also said he used Zinser Killz as a sealer primer. On my other computer I have a link to a site that might be the one from Iceland you mentioned. If the car is a Mercedes sedan it the same product and it looked pretty good.

[JIPJOBXX]

I just went down to my local tire shop (Firestone) and had them deflate the tires and then just used a good spray glue on the tire and the port-a-wall. I have not had any trouble with mine coming oft. Just be prepared to help your tire man with the installation of these rings. Three of the four went on really easy but the last one keeped on popping out of the rim. But with a little perseverance the job was completed and they look just fine. Kind of fun to have on the old time machine as its just another part of history I like to point out to people when I show of the car. Obey the way, do you remember fiftys name we named those old Port-A-Walls? We called them Faultsey wall. Jon

[Mr. Belvedere]

Because of liability issues I figured it would be difficult to get any shop especially a chain shop to do that. What did they charge to put em on?

[JIPJOBXX]

They charge 30 dollars. I don't know about liability but if that is an issue than just take it to a smaller tire shop maybe one that sell used tires.

[BobT-47P15]

Back in the late 50s, I used to put those rings on myself. At the filling station, using their equipment. But that was another time.

Sometimes they went on real easy. Sometimes you had to keep pounding it around the edges with a rubber mallet to get it right. Never did use glue. These were not the 4 inch ones, but about 2 1/2" wide or so.

Having the rings centered just right around edge of the rim is the trick.

Are you putting them onto radial or bias ply tires?

I did have trouble one time in the 80s trying to keep 4" rings

on a Buick Riviera that had radials. Too much flex and drove faster

than on an older car.

[Mr. Belvedere]

Hey Bob, I plan on using them on a set of radials. I notice they recommend that you don't use any larger than a 2" porta wall because of sidewall flex on a radial. I would prefer something closer to 3". But I guess you can't have everything, especially if you are doing it on the cheap.

[Phil Martin]

Go to www.CalliesKustoms.com Look at thier whitewall paint. I'm thinking about trying it. Has anybody used this. Not a bad price if it works.

[BobT-47P15]

Wellll, Mr B, were it me I would want just a little wider than 2 inch whites.

maybe two and a fraction like a half, 3/4 or 7/8 or some such.

I have seen some very heavy rubber portawalls, and there are also some

thinner, more flexible ones. Guess if you try the paint thing and it

eventually wears off, you can do something else. Some of those

paint on things I have seen looked just like the real thing.

[hkestes41]

There are also several discussions on the HAMB of guys lightly grinding their white letter or skinny white walls to make a wide white.

I guess that if there are white letters or a skinny white wall on the tire it is made by having a wide white which is then covered by black on the side wall. They remove the black to uncover the wide white that is hidden. One of the threads included a video of a guy doing the process.

[james curl]

One of the car mags did an article on this subject, seems to work very good if you have the skills required.

[NatesSedan]

I saw that video as well. It looked pretty good albeit a little discomforting as well. Here is a link I saved on the subject of paint.

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

[dodgebomb]

portawalls look good in the driveway but will fly apart and whitewall paint that works is a complete myth. The sooner you stop trying to convince yourself otherwise the better off you'll be! Bias ply white walls are about $100.00 a pop and come in all widths, heights and are the real deal. Or go on craigslist or hit the swapmeet. Whenever I dont need any, is exactly when I come across them...

[Mr. Belvedere]

Actually the cheapest bias ply I've found that were new are 130.00 each brand new and that does not include shipping or installation. Not too many on craigs list and they get snapped up pretty fast when they do show up if they are reasonably priced.

[Normspeed]

Mr. B, be sure to clean up carefully. I've used this stuff with great success. Removing it can be a hassle.