I need to restore the whitewalls on my 38 sedan. I wonder if anybody has any experience on which way to go.
The problem is that, while my Kelly Springfied Benchmark PS tires have a long life ahead of them (with the penny test, Lincoln's head goes in to his chin), the whitewalls look awful. They are cracked and peeling horribly.
I am leaning toward the paint. I just figure that, with proper prep and occasional light cleaning, I will get a couple of years out of it. The inserts just look like something difficult to install, and I'm afraid they'll start peeling off in a few months.
Has anybody had any experience with the paint or the portawalls?
I think your tires are trying to tell you something. THEY ARE DANGEROUS AND NEED TO BE REPLACED. The penny test is not a good indication of tire reliability for older tires. Most tires are past their prime and reliability after 10 years, and should be watched carefully for signs of failure. And that is tires without cracks in their side walls. What would happen if you had a tire blow out at over 10 miles an hour? Could you still steer? The potential risks are not worth $600 dollars per tire!!! Good luck, Mike
I used white tire paint to "do over" a set of very old blackwall tires.The tires were quite weather checked which necessitated 2 coats to get a "professional job" .I got the paint from calliewick@aol.com for $24 a small can enuf to coat 4 tires once. My experience___ the paint is very unforgiving if you kiss a curb. No brillo pad clean-up as with ww tires. The painted areas developed small "air blisters" 1/4 inch round by 1/4 inch hi I'm thinking caused by air pressure leaking thru the weather checks in the tire casing. On balance, the painted tire looks as good as ww tires from a distance. Portawalls have a tendency not to conform to the contour of the tire sidewall and stick out like a sore thumb. Paint is a good cheap stop gap measure as you save your money for a real set of ww tires
