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Post by oldchopperguy on Feb 6, 2016 17:39:28 GMT -5
OK boyz and gurlz...
For those of you who followed my "adventure" of attempting to paint whitewalls on my 140/70/12 rear tire, after TWO SEASONS of total frustration I MAY have some new hope!
I first used "Dr. Whitewall" paint. Did not work! Peeled right off.
Then, I used "Motor City" whitewall paint. It worked, sort of... After a week, it began to yellow, then brown and immediately showed bubbles which I meticulously slit, glued down with rubber-cement and painted over. At least MOST of the paint stayed put, albeit in a sorry shade of gray/brown... LOL!
Then, I tried Krylon spray vinyl paint. It stuck, stayed white, but exhibited cracking like broken safety-glass. Still the best from a few feet away, but the broken-glass look was miserable.
So... desperate to make "Minnie Mouse's" rear tire at least look presentable, I dug through the dark recesses of my storage shed and I found this can of Wally World brand of latex exterior paint.
Now, it IS mighty old... Left over from painting my car-port 25 years ago. It DOES smell funky, but has NO visible mildew or discoloration. I would think today's Wal-Mart "Color Place" brand exterior paint would be about the same product.
I stirred the bejeebers out of it (after which, it SMELLED better... LOL!) and after giving the rear-tire's old painted sidewalls a good disk-sanding while spinning the wheel on fast-idle, to smooth off the rough spots a little, I gave both brown, putrid-looking old whitewalls a single coat. I did not expect much beyond a temporary "freshening-up" of the tire, but was AMAZED at how the paint went on smoother, whiter, with better ONE-COAT opacity/coverage, and with fewer brush-marks compared to any other of my attempts.
You can see in the picture, that spillage on the label is more than 20 years old, and not even the green ink from the label has seeped into the white. And that old white is still snowy-white... Amazing! If it only will do so well on my tire... LOL!
I've now ridden two weeks, purposely getting up to 70+mph, heating up the tires good and hot, and accelerating and braking hard, since that speed and tire-flexing is what always degraded the other paints in mere days.
Woo-HOO! So far, NO cracks, NO bubbles, NO peeling and NO discoloration... Still snowy-white and intact. I did a truly quick and crummy job, anticipating poor results and now wish I'd have prepped better. If this paint lasts for a thousand miles, I will DEFINITELY do a more careful job of sanding and repainting for the new season.
This paint at least initially, seems to be better than any product made for whitewall-painting that I've tried so far.
So... For those few other souls who, like me, will try about ANYTHING to obtain wide-whites on their ride for which NOBODY makes whitewalls... I suggest trying out outdoor latex house-paint. For those who have scoots for which they make 'em, I HIGHLY recommend the SHINKO P-rated whitewalls!
I will DEFINITELY keep posting to let others know if this stuff works long-term, or is another failure. So far, it's the ONLY paint that has lasted for even 100 miles with no degradation. A good start at least, and better than anything else I've tried!
Hope it DOES work! Minnie Mouse's little black shoes DEFINITELY dance better wearing white spats!
Ride safe,
Leo (actually having whites front AND back... at least for now) in Texas
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Post by cyborg on Feb 6, 2016 22:21:02 GMT -5
The only bummer is its flat wall and will stain ,,,,but if you like white walls that's about as white as it gets
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Post by SylvreKat on Feb 7, 2016 1:04:17 GMT -5
Hey, congrats Leo on finally finding a solution for the whitewall!
Have a bone of success, you old dog you. Woof!
>'Kat
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Post by oldchopperguy on Feb 7, 2016 20:53:16 GMT -5
Hey, congrats Leo on finally finding a solution for the whitewall! Have a bone of success, you old dog you. Woof! >'Kat
Thanks Kat! Have a bone yourself! I'm still far from declaring this a solution though... Only time and miles will tell, but every other method I've tried has discolored, blistered, cracked or peeled within a few days, and a few miles of highway speeds. I now have 250 miles, and over 2 weeks on this paint with NO changes or problems! A definitely GOOD start! How it will stand up to 100+ degree weather and serious road-heat, only time and riding will tell...
I ran some errands today, and took some pix while the tire is still "pristine"... Hope it will STAY that way for at least a reasonable amount of time... Re-painting with this stuff takes only a few minutes to sand the tire and brush on a new coat.
Amazingly, as you can see in the pix, the color and flat texture is almost IDENTICAL to the front Shinko factory-whitewall. Again, I do HOPE it stays relatively like this for some time. This stuff so far is staying snowy-white, a VERY pleasant surprise after the constant dirty brown and gray I have gotten used to... LOL!
I didn't realize until looking at the pix that I got road tar all over the fishtail exhaust... EEEWWW! I'll have to get out the lacquer-thinner and polish... Oh well, this is still "pre-season" and just testing out the tire paint. The Mouse will get some spit-n'-polish by spring!
Of course, painted fake whitewalls are definitely in the "Rat Bike" category, meant only to create a look from a distance, but THIS paint actually looks good until you get right on top of it!
The rims need a red stripe on 'em, and the brake-calipers need to be painted red!
Looks REALLY promising... I'll keep posting as time and miles get put on...
Ride safe!
Leo (still lovin' wide-whites) in Texas
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Post by scoot08 on Feb 20, 2016 16:00:44 GMT -5
ataboy chopper guy where there's a will there's a way.and by the way your scoot looks cool.later
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Post by oldchopperguy on Feb 20, 2016 18:09:21 GMT -5
ataboy chopper guy where there's a will there's a way.and by the way your scoot looks cool.later Scoot08,
Many thanks! Have a bone on the Old Chopper Guy...
Fortunately, WHITE vehicles PHOTOGRAPH really well... LOL... pretty well "hiding" road-rash and schmootz... "Minnie Mouse" is now 8 years old, with 15K miles on the clock and she shows plenty of honest wear and tear, but she still "presents" herself OK.
To celebrate the apparent success of the whitewall paint, I also put a red stripe on the rims. My old hands are no longer steady enough to use the dagger striping-brush and One-Shot, so I reverted to a REALLY crude (but quite effective) trick of using an industrial felt-marker. It's easy to control while turning the wheel, and lasts about as well as brushed-on enamel. When it fades from wear, it can be "refreshed" in just minutes.
I think the 1950's "Americanization" of the old girl still needs a few touches like some studs and fringe on the saddlebags... Maybe a little checkerboard trim on the plastics in homage to the WWII "nose-art" era. And of course, I am converting an original 1940's "illuminated swan" hood ornament to LED and will see if I can work that atrocity into the old girl's cosmetics SOMEHOW... LOLOLOL! I'm just hopelessly lost in the fifties, now that I'm about to turn 70...
Half the fun of tweaking an OLD ride is not worrying about ruining "resale value". Just put your own mark on it and enjoy riding, not worrying what others may think about your bad taste! 
Ride safe!
Leo in Texas
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Post by scoot08 on Feb 26, 2016 21:26:22 GMT -5
Hey chopperguy , I too put red stripes on my mag wheels, here's a little tip you may like use 3m pin stripping tape it works great and really stays on I've had mine on for 2 years now and if you want to change it just pull it off and start again. you can find it at most auto parts stores for less than 7.00 dollars. check it out. p.s. thanks for the bone.later
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Post by oldchopperguy on Feb 26, 2016 23:27:45 GMT -5
Hey chopperguy , I too put red stripes on my mag wheels, here's a little tip you may like use 3m pin stripping tape it works great and really stays on I've had mine on for 2 years now and if you want to change it just pull it off and start again. you can find it at most auto parts stores for less than 7.00 dollars. check it out. p.s. thanks for the bone.later
Hey, THANKS for the tip!
I do like the professional striping tape, I even did the rims once with the 1/4" 3M tape. I used to be REALLY good with the stuff, even doing numerous paid jobs for shops long ago.
However, my old eyes, old hands and diminishing hand-eye coordination made my wheel stripes less than professional. A little wobbly and off-center in places. Considering that, the marker worked out very good... Getting OLD really does SUCK... Beats the alternative though... LOL!
Ride safe!
Leo
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Post by oldchopperguy on Feb 29, 2016 22:31:46 GMT -5
QUICK UPDATE...
Well boyz & gurlz... It's now been some time, and a lot of miles and this old house-paint is STILL snowy-white and free of any cracks, blisters or checking. It doesn't even seem to stain... Cleans right up with soap and water.
The only cosmetic defects are those UNDER the paint, from 2 seasons of trying EVERYTHING ELSE... Duh... 
Surely the year+ aging of the rubber and lots of old paint underneath helps some, but THIS is amazing. EVERY other paint I've tried has yellowed, turned brown, cracked and blistered in a week, REGARDLESS of the coats underneath.
So, for those so inclined to paint a whitewall (and at this point, I cannot recommend it) I'd START with quality latex outdoor house paint. A brand-new tire will surely give more trouble with discoloration, but this stuff looks like the very best solution so far... And I've tried EVERYTHING!
Thinking WAY back to the sixties, we painted whitewalls on our old cars and found exterior house-paint to work better than the expensive little cans of paint MADE for the purpose!
The more time goes by, the more I'm reminded to try what worked fifty years ago...
Dang! It's SO nice to have that back tire STAY white! When I can, I do believe I'll now sand the sidewalls down smoother, and CAREFULLY re-paint with this stuff! Worth the effort now that the paint STICKS, LASTS and STAYS WHITE...
Ride RAT... and ride safe!
Leo in Texas
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