Painting whitewalls black

F

fried okra

Senior Member
My 1931 all black Tudor came to me with whitewall tires and almost white cream colored wheels. It also has dual fender mounted whitewall spares.

I am contemplating using tire black on the whitewalls to kinda tone the overall contrast and and give the car a more period look.

I am surmising once you use tire black on whitewalls there is no turning back. And maybe the tire black might not work as well as I am hoping.

Has anyone else gone down this road before?
 
Hollywood art directors would spray whitwalls with a hair product called tips and streaks or streaks and tips. it was not a permanent fix, temporary only and would eventually wash off.
 
A few years ago I saved a friend who had the same problem as you some money. Take the tires off the rims and reverse them with the whitewalls on the inside.


Vic
 
I reversed whitewalls last year on our '35 to make it look better.
Spray the white with black satin Rustoleum while they are off the rims.

"Every Model A looks 100X better with blackwall tires" - that's my story and I'm sticking to it!
 
And then there are those who point to the whitewalls in several color Ford advertisements and love them. Dealer installed option! I remember in High School (60's) painting white walls on blackwalls with a concoction from Warshawsky's on South State Street in Chicago.
 
I first turned the whitewall facing the inside . I painted over the white part with satin black paint in a spray can .
 
I greatly support you good taste.


Firestone tire dealers have a black spray which they use to cover raised white lettering when not wanted. Doesn't good bad either.


Unless you reverse the tires, try not to 'curb' them after painting.
 
On my newest project, I’m rebuilding (frame up) ‘28 Sport coupe. Both front fenders have spare tire wells. The two existing spare tires have been mounted (reversed)with the white wall side on the inside. The tire tread is good - they are a little checked, but I think they are in good shape. I would rather not have to buy new spare tires. I would like to paint that white side black. What kind of paint should be used?
 
I've tried several things to hide the wretched white wall that were on one of my cars when I got it. None worked well and strangely, the same number were permanent.
I eventually gave up and drove the tread off them only to have the value of our $ turn to turds. Now, replacing them even with black walls is out of the question.
 
I remember here years ago, when Firestone was making tires and exporting them, you couldn't buy the whitewalls for some reason, but someone quickly discovered they were covering the whitewalls with a black solution to disguise them for the local market. Out with the prepsol / thinners, and presto you had a set of whitewalls, which were the rage on As and early V8s at the time.
 
I used rubber bumper paint (spray) it is somewhat flexible and has held up well.
Works for steering wheels also....
 
I inverted my whitewalls on my 22 Baby Grand yrs ago. dont mind that the insides are white..............
 
Had an old can of Dupont #7 tire black ..worked real good..tires looked like black walls ..no white ever showed thru after one year..then I bot new blacks....sc
 
Just another thought, how about the fairly new "Flex Seal" paint in a small can. It's black and dries like rubber.
 
fried okra said:
My 1931 all black Tudor came to me with whitewall tires and almost white cream colored wheels. It also has dual fender mounted whitewall spares.

I am contemplating using tire black on the whitewalls to kinda tone the overall contrast and and give the car a more period look.

I am surmising once you use tire black on whitewalls there is no turning back. And maybe the tire black might not work as well as I am hoping.

Has anyone else gone down this road before?
Click to expand...

I found a product on the web I ordered and used on two white wall tires that was done two years ago and the tires had the ww turned in and this product has been run in the rain and has been holding up well. I am adding a picture of the container. Warning!! Don't get this stuff on anything but where you want it. It is permanent! It is called m. e. Miller tire "BLACK TIRE PAINT! It is water based and cleans up ok! But it stays on rubber very well! Cannot seem to upload the photo. Will try by email to your account.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top