Since my post last week about making homemade tires, I have received many messages to explain my process. Rather than answer each one individually, I thought it would be easier to make one post for those who are interested.
I want to start by saying that I am no expert on the subject and can only tell you what works for me, and for our wood track surface. You may want to change the recipe as suits your own needs.
I will start by showing you the products used and how I set them up prior to actually mixing. Since I want to work quickly and mix and pour while it stays liquid, I lay out all of the parts within easy reac, opened and ready to use:
I use household measuring spoons to keep the mix as consistant as possible. I only mix enough to pour 10 - 12 pair at a time, so 4 teaspoons of Vytaflex 40 Part B is put into a cup.
Next I add a drop of urethane Dye into part B and stir till black throughout, maybe 10 seconds or so.
I next add same amount of Part A vytaflex 40 to cup and mix till blended, about a minute or untill your sure you have mixed it well.
Here is where I add an extra step that you may or may not want to add, I add a half teaspoon each of Part A and B of a silicone called Ecoflex 0030, a very low viscosity silicone that in my many tries at making the urethane grip better, this is what works for me. If you choose not to add this, the straight urethane tires are still very good.
Mix the silicone in and you are ready to fill molds:
After filling molds, I tap the center of each a few times to release any trapped air, and add liquid rubber if needed:
After I am sure all tire molds are completely filled, I use, im my case a brass rod, to skim any excess material off the top of the molds and actually try to pull some material out so it is a bit below the surface, trying to eliminate a lot of excess flash in the finished tire:
To this point, it has taken about 10 - 15 minutes. Now it is time to let it cure, I put a heat box as explained in my earlier post over it and let sit. I have been able to demold after only 5 hrs instead of the recommended 16 hrs needed at room temp. Here is an example of an SCX Nascar tire just out of the mold :
I hope this answers questions to those that asked me for the recipe and good luck if you attempt it, I found that once you get comfortable, it is quite simple to do.
Rick
I want to start by saying that I am no expert on the subject and can only tell you what works for me, and for our wood track surface. You may want to change the recipe as suits your own needs.
I will start by showing you the products used and how I set them up prior to actually mixing. Since I want to work quickly and mix and pour while it stays liquid, I lay out all of the parts within easy reac, opened and ready to use:
I use household measuring spoons to keep the mix as consistant as possible. I only mix enough to pour 10 - 12 pair at a time, so 4 teaspoons of Vytaflex 40 Part B is put into a cup.
Next I add a drop of urethane Dye into part B and stir till black throughout, maybe 10 seconds or so.
I next add same amount of Part A vytaflex 40 to cup and mix till blended, about a minute or untill your sure you have mixed it well.
Here is where I add an extra step that you may or may not want to add, I add a half teaspoon each of Part A and B of a silicone called Ecoflex 0030, a very low viscosity silicone that in my many tries at making the urethane grip better, this is what works for me. If you choose not to add this, the straight urethane tires are still very good.
Mix the silicone in and you are ready to fill molds:
After filling molds, I tap the center of each a few times to release any trapped air, and add liquid rubber if needed:
After I am sure all tire molds are completely filled, I use, im my case a brass rod, to skim any excess material off the top of the molds and actually try to pull some material out so it is a bit below the surface, trying to eliminate a lot of excess flash in the finished tire:
To this point, it has taken about 10 - 15 minutes. Now it is time to let it cure, I put a heat box as explained in my earlier post over it and let sit. I have been able to demold after only 5 hrs instead of the recommended 16 hrs needed at room temp. Here is an example of an SCX Nascar tire just out of the mold :
I hope this answers questions to those that asked me for the recipe and good luck if you attempt it, I found that once you get comfortable, it is quite simple to do.
Rick
