Weathering "rubber" tires

I am starting my build on the SdKfz251 and I’m not sure how to paint the front tires so that they don’t look “factory fresh”, or just plain flat-black. Suggestions?

A weathered tire looks more like a dark to medium gray than black. Just go look at a row of parked cars and look at what color the tires really are! I’ve mixed a home-brew that looks like a dark gray. I paint the tire with that and add appropriate washes depending on what result I’m looking for.

HTH
Glenn

Dry brush different shades of grey. Even hit with a light layer of dust. Add a wash also.

I just drove my Tamiya M4 around the back yard for about an hour. Talk about some nice weathering. [;)]

I usually just paint them black … then weather and dust them with pastels to lighten the effect.

I do the same as Robert .
There is a color out there called Tire black if you can find it. Works great, I had some but I left the lid on mine ajared for a few years to long.[:(!] And now I cant find it.

What works Great (My LHS suggested it) I found to my suprise is Black Ink, from Games Workshop. I guess it’s the stuff people paint their warhammer characters with. It goes on like a charm, and looks like real rubber tires.

I paint them flat black, then the weathering process takes care of the ‘new’ look. A standard dustcoat will tone down the look nicely

Thanks for all the great suggestions.

That’s what I like about these forums. There’s a wealth of ideas and experience to help anybody with just about any question. I especially like Ausf’s idea about driving it around the backyard for 3or 4 hours.

I paint the wheels black then weather them with gray pastels and finish by rubbing a graphite lead pencil around the edges for that “worn” look.

I’m with the “flat black and weather” group

What do you put it on over? Bare plastic, or a base coat of some kind?

M.