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DIY Whitewalls with Krylon Spray Paint IN PROGRESS

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53K views 44 replies 22 participants last post by  thewump  
#1 ·
OK.. so there's the deal. I've done the paint job, but if I'm having a REALLY HARD TIME WAITING FOR IT TO DRY BEFORE I REMOVE THE MASKING TAPE so here I am trying to distract myself..

So this will either be:

a) A great way to DIY whitewall your tires or
b) How NOT to whitewall your tires

Since I read the Aced-It thread and saw that he painted his tires I've been thinking I should try it. I need a new rear, but the tread on the front is really good, so best case scenario I'm making a tire that I would replace with a whitewall great, and worst case scenario I'm trashing a tire that I would replace with a whitewall. Can't loose.

Aced-it brushed on an Elastomatic (sp?) paint (right Ace?) which research showed to be a kind of roofing paint, but I can only find it locally by the gallon for $60 so .. eh.

I've read around the hot-rod forums and what I found about DIY whitewalls is:

- roofing paint works great
- roofing paint doesn't work at all
- whitewall paint works great
- whitewall paint doesn't work at all
- krylon paint works great
- krylon paint doesn't work at all

So, I reckon the real truth is:

- if you get the prep right it works great no matter what paint you use
- if you get the prep wrong it sucks no matter what paint you use

I always create a better result with a spray than a brush, so I'm going with Krylon. I decided to do all this ON the bike with the front lifted so I can spin the wheel and spray from whatever angle I want.

So, here's the way I did it.. and in a few hours I'll be able to post results of the edging, and by end of day tomorrow I'll be able to post what happens after 200 miles.

Materials:
- Frogtape Masking tape (from ACE Hardware) because it claims to contain pixie dust that reacts to paint and creates a really good edge.
- Krylon Fusion Satin White (Paint Code 2420)
- 5Star 5900 Automotive wax and grease remover
- wire wool.

1) Picked off all the dumb little spikey moulding bits of rubber because they would get in the way of masking tape
2) Washed with soap and water
3) Degreased with 5Star (I'm told that scuffing surfaces can push grease deeper)
4) Rubbed down with wire wool to create a bit of a key. I didn't go at it with a drill attachment or anything because I know I wouldn't get consistency up to the rim and edge line, so fingers crossed what I did is enough.
5) Washed with soam and water again
6) Degreased again

7) Masked the inner rim. This was pretty easy.. just ran my thumbnail along the tape and turned the wheel pushing the edge into the channel between the rim and tire. This leaves the tape sticking up in the air as you can see in the photo below.. which is perfect.. I cut a circle of plastic, and stuck it to the inside of the tape. That was easy and tidy.

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.. and now I want black solid rims.. that looks bad ass.

8) After much photoshopping I decided on how wide I wanted the whitewall. I spun the wheel with a pair of scissors against the tire to create an edge line i could follow with the tape.

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9) I sliced in to the tape like this so it I could get the curve nicer. In the end, I had to smooth out the line somewhat anyway with small bits of tape, and in hindsight making a cut ever 3/4 inch would have been optimal for ease and good curveability.

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First side done!

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Second Side Done!

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.. leaving a nice series of tabs of tape

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10) Laid a strip of plastic on the tire tread, folded in the tabs and went round again with tape to close up all the gaps.

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READY TO GO.

11) First coat. Spun the wheel slowly and went pretty light all around on both sides.

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Let it dry for 5 minutes then did the same again.
Let it dry for 5 minutes then did the same again.
Let it dry 15 minutes then did a more systematic thorough coat
Let it dry 15 minutes did the same again
Let it dry 1 hour, dropped it off the jack and rolled it outside.

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Is it going to be awesome????

I DON'T BLOODY KNOW and it's driving me insane. I have a terrible habit of spoiling really good paint jobs by not waiting long enough before removing the masking and then not waiting long enough to reassemble..

More soon.

K
 
#3 ·
Won't Krylon crack with the flexing and stretching the tire does???? Aced it has a tread that he did the same but with a rubberized type paint and it worked well, If the Krylon has issues perhaps you could try it with the stuff Aced it used.

Dauntae
 
#4 ·
We will see. I've heard people saying everything from "it peels off" to "there are tiny cracks" to "it's great"

.. and I've seen exactly the same responses with the rubberized Elastomatic roof paints.. so it's all about prep. I've done a fair amount of paint work and it's always all about prep.

This is well degreased, and a very thin coat but time will tell. This time tomorrow I'll be laughing or crying.

K
 
#10 ·
looks great so far now lets hope it doesnt just start flaking like the bondo off my truck....
 
#16 ·
I have been put off whitewall tires because we get a lot of rain here and they would need a lot of cleaning after each ride..However reading this thread has inspired me..Particularly the bit about needing to replace the tires soon anyway.. So in a few weeks I will be trying this on my existing tires...

Thanks for a good thread..

John.
 
#17 ·
OK.. so 200 miles later.

The bottom line is that this can absolutely work.. BUT.. the trick I think is de-greasing because I have perfection on one side issues on the other.

I think that I was right to only do enough coats to get by.. not plaster it on thick, and I think that is what people do who report multiple hairline cracks.

My NON BRAKE side is absolutely perfect.

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but my BRAKE side needs some love:

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I'm going to say categorically that this is to do with prep, and could be one of two things:

1) This was the darker side of where I was doing the job, and possibly didn't get as much focus
2) This is the brake side - so brake dust or similar on the tire over time needs significantly more prep.

I think that the situation is definitely salvageable, but a bit of a pain in the ass.. so if you do what I did.. get SERIOUSLY SERIOUS about degreasing. I'll give it a few days then see how widespread this issue is on that side and decide what to do. Worse case scenario, I go at it with steel wool, then do it again on that side after a serious degrease and roughing session.

K
 
#21 ·
The idea is good for old tires that will be replaced for next season and I will be doing it on one of my bikes..but I think I will just slap it on with a brush, that way if it peels or flakes or gets too dirty I can just touch it up quickly with a brush and leave the new tires black until they have some wear on them..

John.
 
#23 ·
The right side is still 100% perfect. The brake side is aweful. I'm going to fix that on Saturday hopefully and will post more pics.

The take aways are:

1) This absolutely works in terms of look and pliability and resiliance.
2) As in all painting, prep is everything
3) Brake dust requires really good prep / grease removal treatment.

K
 
#24 ·
was it in full shade the entire time (24 hours) it was drying or did one side get sun dried at all?....
 
#25 · (Edited)
OK.. so here I am. I am totally convinced that the issues I have with the brake side are to do with brake dust buildup.

I just pulled the wheel and here is the NON brake side after a month which conclusively proves that Krylon absolutely CAN be used as a ghetto whitewall product. The only comment is that this has definitely faded to more of a cream color, but I will follow up with whether traditional whitewall cleaning products can deal with that.

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Here is the BRAKE side

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FUGLY!!!!!

I went at it with my degreaser product, and turns out it rips through the paint, and completely removes it, so I spent about 30 minutes doing that getting ALL the paint off. Degreaser, soap and water. Degreaser, soap and water.

After that, I went at it with wire wool because it had a sheen to it. Near the end, here's a picture showing a little bit of left over sheen.

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So after much work I had a really nice uniform flat "squeaky" clean surface. I masked and painted.

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It's night now, but here's how it looks - as before, fairly spectacular

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Will mount tomorrow and I have a big ride on Sunday so will post how it holds up. First time around the issues on the brake side were fairly immediately apparent. Hope it works out because the whitewall I just bought and put on the rear is all kinds of lame ass skinny compared to this, and if this works out I'll take the rear off and use the same treatment to take the puny 1.5 inch of whitewall out another inch towards the tread.

K