Hi everyone,
I'm about to start on my first AFV club kit, and it has rubber wheels. This doesn't bother me much, as I'm happy to do an OOB build as long as the paint and pigments stick.

So, has anyone had problems with them and solvent based paints like enamels and lacquers? How about with Tamiya acrylics?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Gaz

I built my AFV Club Stryker using the box rubber wheels. I used enamels and tamiya acrylics with zero issues.

Thank you Dustin!

Good to see you again!

Gaz

Hi Gaz

What kit is it? Only AFV Club kits I have, all have rubber tyres not rubber wheels

Scrub the tyres with a Kitchen Scourer first to get the shine off them and give the paint something to bite on. Prime them with a good primer to seal them and then you should be good to go.

If the tyres have bits you need to cut off, then use these bits to test your enamels and lacquers on. See how they react before possibly having issues on the model parts.

Been about 5 years on my Stryker,no problems yet.Used AK enamel dust wash

Experienced no problems with AFV Club rubber tires. (155mm towed gun)

I suggest you do not paint tires at all. Scrub with synthetic kitchen scrubber then weather with pastel chalks (available at Michael's Art Supply in the US or online) or with powered weathering pigments. (Even cigarette ash or white school chalk will work.) You are (probably) only looking for a dusty effect anyway.

Pastel dust will hunker down into the "tooth" of the scrubbed rubber - chalk will stay put- no sealer will be necessary.


HobbyBoss White 666 cargo truck converted to semi-tractor.
Rubber tires with pastel weathering.
These rubber tires are now 5-6 years old
with no sign of rot of any kind.

p.s. I used the side of an abrasive cut-off wheel in my Dremel tool to gently rough up the tread and remove the center mold seam.

No problem sir.

I've been around, lurking mostly. Sadly I've been fairly absent in the hobby for lack of motivation.

Cheers

Exact same story on the tires below as reported for the ones above on the White 666 semi tractor. Except these are Tamiya hollow rubber tires and the model itself is well over twelve years old.**

Roughed up the tread and removed the center mold seams using the side of an abrasive cut-off disk chucked in my Dremel. All weathering done with pastels. To me the only need for actual paint on rubber is if you want to add somewhat extreme oil stains to the wheel bearings that spreads all the way out onto the tire and/or a heavy mud treatment.



** I campaigned this model eleven years ago. It took roughly 2-3 years to build and all the kits I scavenged for parts (including the tires) were used not new. So if you are worried about the tires falling apart it is anybody's guess exactly how long it has been since these tires were actually manufactured somewhere in the Far East but I know it is at least 14+.

Great replies guys! Thank you! I never thought to scrub them with a Dremel.

Dusty is the overall effect I'm going for. I want my Pervitin hyped crew and vehicle to look like they've raced from the Rhine to Cherbourg.

Gaz

This has been a really helpful thread. I've always been very skeptical of rubber tyres, mainly because I'm concerned about them perishing or going hard/warping later on. That White 666 is a masterpiece and the techniques shared on here are really helpful!

I have a PAK40 from Dragon that I've always been too scared to build as I didn't trust the tyres...maybe I should rethink it.

p.s. I sometimes grind a little "flat" into the bottoms of my rubber tires, again using my Dremel. It is not as good as the very popular "sagged" resin tires but it does help to give some impression regarding the weight of the vehicle on the tires.

Thanks for sharing your awesome pics and advice to my query!

Gaz

10-4

Danada!
You're Welcome

Mike proving he really IS the chassis guy!

Love seeing your work Mike.

Thanks Peter

_________________________________

OK, this is WAY off topic I admit, and I apologize

But this is why I call myself the chassis guy.
I probably care more for underbody detail than what is up on top!
Here is another view of my Mack NO.


Still missing a tailpipe!