Hi, I have a customer that is looking for a lettered tire cover. My past experience is that most don't take vinyl lettering very well. Does anyone have a supplier that sells vinyl receptive tire covers? Thanks Nicholas
Posted by Jillbeans (Member # 1912) on :
Hi Nick! In all honesty, lettering tire covers is a sucky job. The hard plastic ones are a great substrate for vinyl application. However, they are never a high-ticket item for me. But this might be a golden opportunity for you to pick up a brush and a can of 1-Shot...I do both paint and vinyl, but I always have more success in doing those damn things with paint. It's cheaper than buying a roll of vinyl as well. I have a painted tire cover out there (the yucky pleather kind) that is 4 years old, lettered in 1-Shot & featuring a jungle scene. It still looks good. Just make sure you clean the cover thoroughly beforehand to insure adhesion. RapidPrep is great for this,if you can find it, but regular old wax-n-grease remover works well too. You can either leave the cover on the tire, or make a quick & dirty circle insert out of coroplast to stiffen up the cover. Good Luck! Love- JILL Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
I just saw a jeep cross my path in traffic last night. I had designed a logo for this guy that was a circular shape & did 2 doors, t-shirts biz cards etc. 2 years ago he had asked me if I could get his tire cover done up in the same full color design. What I did was cut a piece of 1/8" sintra, apply my edge print, & rivet the thing to his heavy-duty vinyl cover... the thing really looks great!
Posted by Steven Girard (Member # 3931) on :
Hi! vynil ink ...we did snowmobiles and jet skis seat with that...it's doing the job perfectly!!!!!
Posted by Mike Clayton Graphics (Member # 723) on :
I did a vinyl wheel cover years ago, took forever for the one shot to dry. Thats when i was just starting.
MC
Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
my green van 1976 dodge i had from 88-95, i bought a cheapie cover cut out a circle of cardboard,taped the card board to the tire, put on cover, lettered with 1 shot and it was still good when o got rid of the van.
Posted by Joe Endicott (Member # 628) on :
I agree with Steven, We have found vinyl inks to do the trick.
Posted by Janette Balogh (Member # 192) on :
Vinyl inks work real well. They really fuse with the vinyl material, wear well for the long term, and it doesn't take long to dry.
A strong caution. Vinyl ink is very toxic. Make sure you have plenty of ventalation, and that you wear a mask (the darth-vader kind! ) when using it. The ink itself is very thick, (often used for silk screening) and you will have to thin it with either the thinner they make for it, or lacquer thinner (if I remember correctly) will work too. (someone please correct me on the latter if that's inaccurate)
DO NOT use vinyl inks on any vinyl material that has been painted with anything else first. It will bubble up paint in no time flat.
Although vinyl ink is a hassle to work with, and will really fume up the place, the results are terrific.
Recently, I have been mixing in a smidget of Frog Juice into One Shot for painting PVC. It's worked great for paint adhesion and dries quickly. Although I have not tried it, I wonder if the same would hold true for vinyl on a tire cover. Could be worth a test.
As for using vinyl on vinyl tire covers, I just don't see it holding for the long term. I could be wrong, but I still think paint would be the way to go.
Nettie
Posted by roger bailey (Member # 556) on :
If you decide on vinyl, clean it first with Rapid Prep, then clean again with Rapid Tac II, then apply wet with Rapid Tac II.
We have a number of manufacturers and rental companys in Southern Oregon who love this method and R.T. products.
Roger Posted by Michael Boone (Member # 308) on :
Ronan makes a specialty paint for this type of application Acrylic brushing colors its thick like screen printing ink I thin it with lacquer thinner.
Posted by Si Allen (Member # 420) on :
Most vinyl, acrylic, or vinylacetate latex paints will stick to vinyl tire covers very well!
I have used gloss latex trim and/or gloss craft paints, to do lettering and graphics on these type of jobs.
I did a tire cover on a friend's motorhome around 9 years ago...tire cover is starting to fall apart, BUT the grapics still look good!
Just clean the vinyl ass others have recomeneded, and paint away!
Posted by Steven Girard (Member # 3931) on :
....hi! again ..yess clean it before with lacquer thinner ..but very quickly..and also thin with it....sometime i'm doing one shot on vinyl banner,i'm using enam-l-koat to prime it but i didn't test it on tire covers.......godd luck
Posted by phil duncan (Member # 3125) on :
Check one of the Letterville sponsor's..Cambridge Canvas in Ontario, Canada, they can supply both for vinyl and inks.. hope this helps Phil
Posted by Bill Diaz (Member # 2549) on :
House of Kolors Lettering and Stripping enamel sticks to vinyl and letters like 1 Shot and covers much better than inks. You do not need a primer for this paint. I use it for tire covers (golf bags, bowling bags, etc.) It also sticks to and does not come off high performance cast vinyl. I use it to trick out vinyl on my semi truck work. If it will go a million miles on a semi and make it through repeated washes at those Blue Beacons, you can be sure it will hold up on a tire cover. Check out Joey Madden's web site for more details on this paint.
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) when using it. The ink itself is very thick, (often used for silk screening) and you will have to thin it with either the thinner they make for it, or lacquer thinner (if I remember correctly) will work too. (someone please correct me on the latter if that's inaccurate)