Problem with Mercedes Tire Mounting

[chevyrsss]

I have finally finished some of the wheels. I am having a problem mounting the tires on the wheels. I mounted one, but it seems that the rubber got a little streched out. Anyone have any ideas? I do not want to ruin the tires.

[xken]

Not sure what kind of rubber they are but in the past I have put tires into a pot of water and brought slowly just to a boil and then let simmer, the heat expands them and then they shrink as they cool. Remove the tire you put on the hot water may restore it back to orignial shape. Do them one at at a time and leave them in the simmering water to stay hot until you are done with them all.

If the signifiacant other asks what you are doing just tell her tire soup and please pass the salt.

Ken

[Tage]

Ken gave you the easy part.

Next, place the heated rubber tire on the rim wearing oven mitts to prevent burns.

[chevyrsss]

I'll give it a try tonight. Thanks!

[mouppe]

Here is what I did. You have parts for six tyres. Four mounted and two spares. The car looks better with only one spare mounted. So you will only use the best five of the six tyres. (The extra tyre makes a good paperweight.)

Mount the tyres on the wheels from the inside. Then if there is any stretch it will be hidden when mounted. You can soften them up a little in hot water, but if it is too hot you will permanently stretch the tyres and ruin them. I did not use any water, just a watchmaker's screwdriver to work the tyre round the rim.

Now you MUST paint whitewalls on the tyres. This is one of the most high-impact improvements you can make to the model. Email Marvin Meit at modelmotorcars .com and ask him for his tutorial on whitewalls. I think I detailed how to do it in my build log on this site as well. As ever, try the technique on your worst wheel first!

All the best
Mouppe.

[ScaleMotorcars]

Here you go. This is the old SMC tut on Whitewalls done by Chuck Darnell

http://www.scalemotorcars.com/page104.html

[SVtrackhead]

Letting a tire sit about 4" under an incandescent light bulb for a few minutes will warm it up nicely, too, and keep it dry.

[Nortley]

Some lubricant might help here. I've mounted a good many 1:1 scale motorcycle tires with liquid soap, it works a treat and, not surprisingly, washes right off. There are dedicated tire mounting lubes out there too. ArmorAll is also a pretty good rubber lube, but would probably leave your tires too shiny.

[mouppe]

I would not use acrylic paint to paint the whitewalls. It may crack when you stretch the tyre over the rim. Better to use Tamiya PS-1 which is specifically for RC bodies and will stretch.

Mouppe.

[SVtrackhead]

even better to paint the whitewalls after you mount the tires