cleaning white wall tyres

[igor]

Hi folk some time ago I mentioned on here (somewhere) that after 100,000ks we had to replace the tyres on our panelvan.
We bought some new ones (whitewalls Sumitomo) and after 1600ks the white is now brown. I have used everything I could think of from bleach, to toothpaste, jiff, thinners, special whitewall cleaner from Antique Tyres... the list goes on
(We spoke to several people at the Bendigo AHD how they kept their whitewalls white.........all suggestions I had tried)
Today we were considering the prospect of disgarding them and wasting a lot of money.
Then Roger had a can of WD40 in his hand and for whatever reason decided to spray some on a rag and try on our sedan (has the same tyres, same problem less k's) and BINGO wiping about 3" at a time and then rinsing with a wet cloth we now have white whitewalls again!!!!!!!!
And the bank balance is untouched... That has got to be a great result.
This might now work for everyone but worth a try.
cheers
Lesley

[Mick Jagger]

wd 40 ,so good

[Blacky]

Cheers for the tip Lesley , will give it a go on mine

[Mick]

i'll have to give it a go i have 2 that were very brown i gave them a scrub with fine stainless steel wool made a huge improvement but still not perfect

[rosco]

Well done, Lesley - I couldn't bring myself to throw away good tyres for the sake of whitewalls... I'd probably have had them reversed on the rims and run without them.

I'm pretty confident that you know why tyres go brown... there is an additive included in the compound which prevents the rubber (or whatever tyre manufacturers now use) from ageing... it's sort of like "sunscreen" for tyres. When they are exposed to UV, this stuff leaches out to the surface to protect it... I expect it is part of the whitewall compound as well.

I have never had whitewalls, and have no purpose to - however, when I treat my tyres with a dressing - I have found that the brown on the surface is either removed or coated by the tyre dressing.
I note that some of this brown comes off and onto a cloth after the dressing has penetrated the surface.

I seem to have more success using Bowdens Tyre Shine than many of the others I have used. I will send an email to Dan Bowden and ask him what he uses on any whitewall tyres he has on the many, many vehicles Bowdens own and maintain.... then report back here to your post.

Thanks for sharing,

frats,
Rosco

[igor]

Thanks Rosco
It was a positive day when Roger just happened to try the WD40.
I had spent the best part of the day polishing the panelvan and "cracked it" when I had the body of it looking really nice then to look at the really bad "brown whitewalls" I wondered why I had wasted a day.
WD40 is not invasive, (like so many of the other stuff I had tried) so was well worth it. However I am always willing to listen to other ideas and try new products. Will be keen to hear what Dan Bowden has to say.
cheers
Lesley

[rosco]

Yes indeed, Lesley - I am aghast at so many "so called" vehicle detailing product manufacturers - there are only two that I now use, and I'm rapidly walking away from one of them - no names, no pack drill.

I have emailed Dan at Bowden's for his response to your issue - I fully expect to receive an email back with his best advice.
If you look at their website, there is reference to restoring "old" tyres... but, I cannot find it in the documentation - this I will refer to Dan if it is not forthcoming.....

They state that they use "Tyre Sheen" for their vehicles with whitewalls... in particular his Dad's Hot Rods and Roadsters.
According to the info on tyre sheen, it will clean the tyre and remove the brown from the surface.

In reference to WD40, I note you mention it is "food grade".
This had now ignited some thought on another product I use in my slot-car interests for many things.... Inox MX-3.... which is also food grade. It is found in most automotive accessory outlets, but mainly in an aerosol... which I detest. I did manage to find some in liquid form and purchased a couple of litres of it. It is amazing for the contact braids and electric rails on our slot cars and track... it does not break down, nor does it congeal... I would be very interested to learn if anyone has used it to clean out the UV additive from tyres which has come to the surface....

Thanks for your update, Lesley - it would very much appear that you have found your silver bullet for this whitewall tyre issue - I just hope it holds up for you and doesn't break down in a disappointing time and manner.....

frats,
Rosco

[Blacky]

will see how white they still are when they roll into Mandurah

[rosco]

Blacky, I doubt they'll have any Nullabor red dirt on them - there's no need to go off road on the way across.

frats,
Rosco

[Devilrod]

Along the same lines as the wd40 I've been using supercheap export brand degreaser for years, simply spray on before you start to wish, ri set off when wetting the car then clean with soapy water. Never had any issues and a cheap solution too!

[igor]

Sadly I have never ever had trouble with whitewalls before, (on both our sedan and panelvan) only getting a wash with the soapy water I had left from washing the car and they were sparkly always. Even at 100,000k's that part was still good as new. Just crap tyres but too expensive to replace at such low mileage.
Never mind, what works for someone does not work for others....Anything is worth a try though.

[Devilrod]

Sadly I think you're right, poor quality tyres could be the main cause. I have seen portawalls do similar and we initially thought it was the brand of there shine leaching into the portawall. Maybe it's just the tyres causing it....

[Mick]

i'm pretty sure the browning is something to do with silicone (i've been told don't use silicone on tires for this reason) and cheap tires usually are high in silicone content

[igor]

All a bit of a mystery. The Hankooks were "tyre shined" and never had a problem....pity they just wore out but the white walls were still perfect.
These tyres (I don't) they certainly weren't cheap $ wise, but cheap and nasty in quality.
On speaking to a hot rod builder here, he said one of the things that he has been told is that whitewall tyres no longer come into OZ with the blue protective coating on them so the tyres are just stacked together, this could be part of the problem as well. (These tyres of ours certainly did not have that coating) At this stage the white walls are still white, WD40 has worked for us and like I said before has saved a lot of money for now. That has got to be good.

[rosco]

Following this with interest, Igor....
Heard back from Bowdens - they have vehicles with whitewalls and have made some suggestions.
If your WD40 is working fine, no reason to fix it...... let me know if you want Bowdens suggestions.

frats,
Rosco