How to Blacken Raised White Lettering On Tires

Friends-
Here's a new question. How can I paint or otherwise blacken the raised white letters on tires ?
I remember there used to be a product called Tire Black for painting black-walled tires, so maybe that would work.....?

I like a detailed car to look " clean ", not cluttered, and I hate the look of raised white letters advertising the make and model of the tires. Reversing the already-installed tires to put the black-wall side out is not worth the expense and trouble.

I need a product or procedure that will blacken the white letters. Any ideas ?

Doug

Mr Delmont

It is very simple, to eliminate raised white letters. Just turn the tires around on the rims and put the raised white letters on the inside.

They did that to a set of tires I bought at Les Schwab Tires that were whitewalls and I wanted only black sidewalls.

No worry to paint over the white raised letters.

Regards
Marnie Joseph
IDA

Marnie-
Thanks.
I appreciate your responding, but the tires in question are already installed ( I said this in the original post ) and reversing them would require considerable work and expense including re-balancing. Sometimes tires that have worn unevenly due to bad alignment cause big handling problems when reversed ( not likely here, though ).

I figure there must be a way to dye the whole sidewall black....
Doug

Doug:

You can use 'BLACK AGAIN" to color the tires black.. you should be able to find the product at Pep Boys or any automotive store. Clean the tire well and sponge on the black again products, it should do the trick.

Sorry, I did not see that in your post. In any case, if you plan to keep the vehicle I can only say that I am told that products like "Black Again" are not permanent and will wear off and you will be reapplying this product over and over again.

The permanent fix is to reverse the tires.

Regards

Concours :
Come to think of it, I've got a Griots product similar to Black Again. I may try that product first. Thanks.

Marnie :
You are right that the fix will be temporary but I've found this stuff lasts a long time on plastic, so who knows ? It might hold up on rubber as well.

Thanks both of you.
Doug

Any kind of paint or dye will not last very long. Either turn the tires around, or live with the white letters.

Doug:

How about taking a sharp razor and thinly slicing off the white portion of the lettering, then you wont have to worry about turning around the tires or the "black again" wearing off.(lol)

Gina

Quote:reversing them would require considerable work and expense including re-balancing.
Doug is this a personal vehicle or a customer,friend? To reverse and balance four tires and rims is what 60 to 80 bucks and that in canada ;-0

Gina-
I actually wondered about removing enough rubber to get rid of the white. We'll see. I tried the Griot's Bumper and Trim Restorer in a " test spot " and the white shows through .

Larry A- I imagine you are right that temporary coverings aren't going to work for long.

Pro Mobile-
I own the vehicle and I'll be darned if I'm driving it all the way to Canada to get the tires reversed ! (LOL)

At this point, I'm almost ready to give up and live with the lettering. I figured, though, that any solution we came up with here will help others and not just me, so why not hash it out ?
Doug

Update-
I checked elsewhere and found out that the white lettering is white down to the core, so you can't shave, buff or cut the white letters off.
I'm betting that no one wants to junk up his car's appearance to advertise some brand and model of tires ; I wish the tire companies would simply produce blackwalls for the consumer market. Until that happens, someone can make a fortune by developing a permanent black rubber dye for detailers.
At this stage, I'm not going to get the tires reversed because of cost and the chance the tire shop will do damage or balance the tires improperly.

Doug

Guys-
I am informed that "Tire Black" will cover white but we are not sure the product is still available. To be continued...
Doug

We are informed here that Tire Black will, in fact, cover white, but it is not permanent.

And, we are also informed here at IDA that white wall tires and raised white letters are "white" to the core, as you say.

Thank you for your input Mr Delmont.

Marnie-
The only two things that are permanent are death and taxes ( but death doesn't keep happening year after year ! LOL ).
Doug

New Info :
No one is able to find Tire Black in stores but Firestone Tire Centers, according to another forum, have a similar product for commercial use only.

From another forum :" I used Kiwi black leather shoe dye and it worked great. Can't tell the raised letters were ever white...."

Also mentioned was brushed on Eastwoods undercoating.

Doug

Update-
Tried the Kiwi Leather Dye on my tires. It did not blacken the lettering enough.

Hopefully the professional detailers on this forum, at least those who make a living detailing cars will listen to other detailers who make a living detailing cars or suppliers who make their living selling professional products.

Why would you want to listen to someone who tells you to use Kiwi shoe dye to color white letters on tires.

Why not use Joy to wash your hair or Tide liquid laundry detergent to take a bath.

Be discerning in where you get your information from detailers.

Bud-
I already owned the product. I saw little risk in trying the suggestion. Back to the drawing board.

I LISTEN to everyone. I pick and choose what info to follow. I find some pros wrong on things too.
Doug

Doug my email was directed to detailers who make a living detailing cars, not to car enthusiasts.

I am telling detailers to use discerment when taking advise from people who do not make their living detailing cars or selling products for detailing cars.

I do not believe that you do either do you?

Bud-
My advice can sink or swim on its own merits.

I am not detailing cars professionally or selling products now, as you point out.
The issue here is not advice, anyway. I wasn't advising anyone to use Kiwi's product. I simply posted that someone had suggested it. Then I tried it out and reported my findings.

Best of all, since I am not a pro detailer or a supplier, all of this info comes from an independent, objective and, dare I say, trustworthy source.

I will be conferring with my contacts in the auto body supply business to see if there is a recommended product for this. I may hunt down some Black Again or Forever Black For Tires too.

You know, telescopic sights were once scoffed at by military leaders as enthusiast junk but today they are in wide use by the military. Sometimes the pros can learn from the enthusiasts...
Doug

Doug

No offense intended in my statement. But there are so many myths and misinformation floating around in the detail industry and so little real education available that a detailer must be careful what they take as advise and be quite critical of the source.

Even to say a person should listen to a professional detailer or a detail supplier has to be taken with a grain of salt. A great many detailers who make a good living detailing cars do many things incorrectly and a great many suppliers provide misinformation, especially about chemicals.

It behooves a person looking to learn about the art of detailing to do their own research and then compare opinions to see which one makes the best sense to them, logically.

Another very good source of information for detailers is the International Detailing Association website forum at www.the-ida.com where a detailer will find the best of the best professional detailers and a good numnber of the major suppliers participating.

Regards

Will it make you happy, Bud, if I affirm that the great minds at your IDA can give great advice on all subjects ? Including :

1) Transmuting lead into gold.
2) Lottery-winning strategies.
3) Finding the meaning of life.
4) Making your second million dollars.
5) Hardball divorce tactics.
6) Suing a lawyer and winning.
7) Do-it-yourself brain surgery.
8) Miracle weight loss.
9) Safe stock market investing.
10) Natural male enhancement.

I'm willing to match this forum against all others for accuracy and usefulness and I'm putting a plug in right now for the International Spam Association. Join my group to get help from professional spammers.
Doug

Update :
I checked the info on " Black Again " and it appears to be more of a dressing than a dye. Same story with Mother's "Back to Black". Not what I need.

Emailed Forever Black for info on their Tire Gel but no response so far...

My body shop supply company says covering raised white letters is a question they've heard since they opened for business years ago. They say SEM paint for rubber bumpers might work.

Doug