Instructions for applying tire lettering decals & tips for prepping your tires.

In this article, I will share some tips for preparing your tires to apply tire decals, and also to make your tires look more realistic.

I must first say that the tire decals I offer are not designed to be placed over any existing raised lettering on your tires. They are intended to be applied on a smooth surface.

To remove any raised lettering you may have, fit your tire on something that can be chucked up to a drill. I use the butt of a phillips screwdriver to slip the tire over, then chuck the shaft of the screwdriver into the drill. With your tire spinning on the drill, sand the sidewalls of the tire, first starting with 320 grit sandpaper, and then with 800 grit. Then, give it a final scuff with some ultra fine steel wool to give it the desired look. You can improvise on what you use, but this works for me. You can also sand the tread or slick area of the tire with the 320 grit paper to give it a more realistic look.

To prepare your tire for the decal, spray a light coat of laquer dullcoat over the tire for better adhesion. Take care not to spray too heavy of a coat on. Just a mist coat is good. I recommend using clearcoats formulated for models only, such as Testor's Dull Cote, part #1260.

Now on to the decal. When trimming your decal, first use a coin as a guide to score the inner radius of the decal, using an exacto knife. You don't want to cut through the paper on this side. You'll use this as a tab to hold on to while applying the decal as shown in the picture.