You’ve probably seen them. You’re sitting on the grid at Daytona, staring at the back of a Dallara P217, and instead of that generic, default iRacing pattern that looks like it was designed in 2005, there’s a crisp, vibrant Red Bull livery. Or maybe a rusted-out "Shitbox Edition" skin on a Mazda MX-5. You want that. Everyone wants that.
But honestly? Setting it up the first time can feel like a chore.
iRacing is a masterpiece of simulation, but its built-in paint shop is, well, let's call it "limited." If you want to look like a professional racing team—or just a guy with a funny meme on his hood—you need to know how to use Trading Paints for iRacing. It’s the industry standard. It’s free. And once you get the hang of it, you’ll never go back to those stock stripes again.
Why iRacing Doesn't Do This Automatically
iRacing is a data hog. To keep the physics engine running at a billion calculations per second, they have to be careful with how much visual data gets pushed through the pipe. That's why the custom schemes aren't stored on iRacing's servers.
Trading Paints acts as the middleman.
It’s a third-party platform founded by Steve Luvender and Shawn Nash. Basically, it’s a massive cloud library where drivers upload their own .tga files. When you join a session, a little program on your PC pings their server, asks "What is everyone wearing?", and downloads the files to your local hard drive.
Simple? Kinda. But there are some quirks you’ve gotta navigate to make sure your beautiful chrome Porsche actually shows up for everyone else.
The Bare Minimum Setup
First things first. You need an account. Go to the Trading Paints website and sign up using your iRacing Customer ID. You can find that ID in the iRacing UI under your profile. Don't worry, they aren't going to steal your account; they just need to know which driver goes with which paint.
Now, here is the part people miss: The Downloader.
You cannot just pick a paint on the website and expect it to appear. You have to download the Trading Paints "Updater" or "Downloader" app. This is a tiny piece of software that sits in your system tray. If that app isn't running while you're in the sim, you’re just going to see everyone in their "white and green" default liveries.
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Keep it running. Always.
Finding Your First Paint
Once the app is installed, go to the "Showcase" tab on the website. This is where the magic happens. You can filter by car—say, the Toyota GR86—and scroll through thousands of designs.
When you find one you like, click "Race This Paint." That’s it. Next time you load into a session with that car, the Downloader will see your selection, grab the file, and shove it into your Documents/iRacing/paint folder.
Making Your Own Masterpiece
Maybe you don't want to use someone else's work. Maybe you have a local plumbing business you want to sponsor, or you just want your name on the door. To do this, you're going to need Photoshop, GIMP, or a web-based tool like Photopea.
iRacing provides "templates" for every car. You download these as .psd files.
The TGA Secret
When you're done playing Picasso, you have to save your file as a 24-bit TGA. If you include transparency (like for a custom windshield banner), it has to be 32-bit.
Name the file car_XXXXXX.tga, where the X’s are your iRacing Customer ID.
Drop that file into the specific car folder inside your iRacing directory. If you're using Trading Paints, you can go to "My Paints" on their site, select the car, and upload that TGA file to the "Custom Paint" slot. Now, every single person in your split who has Trading Paints running will see your custom work instead of a blank car.
Common Blunders and "Why Is My Car White?"
It happens to the best of us. You spend three hours on a livery, hop into a race, and your car is plain white. Or worse, it’s the wrong car's paint stretched over your chassis like a bad horror movie.
1. The Downloader isn't open. Check your system tray. If the little "TP" icon isn't there, you're invisible.
2. The "Clean Up" setting. Inside the Trading Paints Downloader options, there’s a box for "Automatically refresh paints." If this is off, you might be seeing old, cached versions of liveries from three months ago.
3. Sim Racing "Paint Lag." Sometimes, when a lot of people join at once, it takes a minute for the app to download everything. Don't panic if everyone looks generic during the first three minutes of practice. Give it a second.
4. Spec Maps. This is the "Pro" stuff. If you see a car that looks incredibly shiny or matte, that’s a Spec Map. It’s a second file (a car_spec_XXXXXX.mip or .tga) that tells the sim how light should bounce off the surface. If you’re uploading a custom paint to Trading Paints, make sure you also upload your Spec Map if you made one. Otherwise, your "chrome" car will just look like flat grey.
The "Pro" Version: Is It Worth It?
Trading Paints is free. Most people never pay a dime.
However, they have a "Pro" subscription. Honestly, for most casual racers, it’s a luxury, not a necessity. But it does offer a few cool things:
- Custom Numbering: You know how iRacing forces those big, ugly white numbers on your door? Pro lets you hide them so you can use your own custom-styled numbers that fit the livery.
- Suit and Helmet Paints: Want to match your firesuit to your car? That’s a Pro feature.
- Vehicle-Specific Paints: You can set a different paint for the same car depending on which series you're running. A "night" version for an endurance race and a "day" version for sprints.
If you're just starting out, stick to the free version. There's plenty to play with.
Night Racing and the Chrome Problem
One thing people often forget when learning how to use Trading Paints for iRacing is the "Night Mode" issue.
iRacing has dynamic time of day. A paint that looks incredible at high noon might look like a dark, muddy mess under the lights at Bristol. If you're designing your own, always test your colors in different lighting conditions.
Also, avoid "fake" shadows. The iRacing engine does a great job of casting real-time shadows. If you paint shadows onto your livery manually, it often looks weird and "uncanny valley" when the car is moving. Let the engine do the heavy lifting.
Keeping Your Files Clean
Your Documents/iRacing/paint folder is going to get huge.
Like, really huge.
Every time you race against 40 people, you’re downloading 40 TGA files. Over a season, this can eat up gigabytes of space.
The Trading Paints Downloader has a "Clean up paints on exit" option. Check this box. It deletes the downloaded files once you close iRacing. Since the app will just redownload them next time you race, there's no reason to let them rot on your SSD.
Actionable Next Steps
Ready to stop looking like a rookie?
- Open the iRacing UI and grab your Customer ID from the top right profile section.
- Head to TradingPaints.com and create your account.
- Download and install the Trading Paints Downloader. Make sure it launches on startup.
- Go to the Showcase, find your favorite car, and hit "Race This Paint" on a design that catches your eye.
- Launch iRacing, hop into a practice session, and wait about 30 seconds. Your new look should "snap" into place.
If you're feeling brave, download the template for the Mazda MX-5 and open it in Photopea. Change the color of one panel, save it as a TGA, and try to get it to show up on your car in a solo test session. Once you see your own work on the track, there’s no going back. You're a part of the custom livery community now.
Go fast, look good, and try not to wreck in Turn 1.
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