mountain
Well-known member
I decided to put radial tires on my S110 and I thought I would share my experience with everyone, it may help someone. I started searching for a nice set of whitewall all over the internet and I could not find any that were in my price range. So I decided that I was going to just paint my own in the classy 50's style I love so much. I found that the radial tire that is recommended to replace my original bias ply tire (7.00-16) is a 215/85R16. The cheapest I found for a set of these whites walls was $224.00. I found a good deal on a set of black wall 215/85R16 for $457.96 on Amazon with shipping included. After speaking with my purchasing agent (my wife) I bought them. I decided that I didn't like the raised lettering on the side wall so I proceeded to smooth them out. This sounds a lot easier than it is, but I found a great way to do it. After trying to sand it off and melting my sanding wheel I put my rust remover on my drill and gave it a shot, it worked great. You can buy these little gems at Wal-Mart or most auto stores for about 5 bucks. Be super careful when you are grinding the sidewalls not to cut too deep, just take off the lettering and smooth out the rest a little bit. The amount of rubber I actually took off I am sure it did not affect the structural integrity of the tire but please be careful, safety first. After I got all four tires smoothed out and I went over them closely to make sure I got all of the lettering (I found a couple spots each time I thought I was done) I wiped them down with some wax remover to clean them up before paint. I had got online and bought some white wall tire paint from a place called Ranger Tire Paint for $15.00, the can was really small so I was glad I bought two cans. I taped off the outer edge of the tire with electrical tape since it stretches around the corners nicely. I tried to use a trim roller first and it kept leaving little pieces of the roller in the paint, frustrating. I put on two thin coats of this tire paint and you could see the roller marks, so I went and got a good 3" paint brush. I put on a third coat of this paint and it went on a little smoother, but you can still see brush marks. It may have been because my shop was only about 55 degrees when I painted it, but I am not sure.Lets just say that I am not to happy with the way these tires turned out. The paint started to peal and looked like I had mixed dirty water water with it. Next I tried the Krylon trick, this is holding up a little better, but it is still a little brownish. I am still on the hunt for a good product to use. I hope this help someone who wants to put some big, fat whites on your truck on a tight budget. I am going to try to include some pics for everyone, if anyone has any questions don't hesitate to ask. Good luck!
