Anyone else sand their whitewall tires today?

[Turboomni]

Over here we call that stuff Gatorade. And people drink it ,I guess for whiter teeth.

 

[challenger]

Indeed but here we don't get 250ml for free.

 

[78Brougham]

I have used every, cleaning, brightening, bleaching, and voo-doo juice known to man and the next day they are that yellow brown. 

As long as you wear a brown necktie, they'd be perfect! God bless Rodney Dangerfield.

Besides.... I thought Pedro came by every day to "Buff your wheels"

 

[Duncan]

Huh, all I ever used to use was some good old Comet cleanser and a scrub pad - but I don't remember if they had yellowed or not when I did it.

 

[commando1]

Spent a cupla hrs doing my OCD Google Search last night.
This is what I learned.
Specifically: Why do whitewalls turn yellowish?
It's not dirt or reacting to Ozone or any of that stuff.
The synthetic rubber compounds have "oils" that leech to the surface.
ALL over the entire surface of the tire. The whitewall is the collateral damage of the oils leaching.
Best (albeit very short term) solution.
A solvent, not a degeaser, will wipe off the oils leached to the surface.
The best solvent for these synthetic rubber "oils"?
M. E. K.
Followed by Acetone, Lacquer Thinner, etc.

OK. I tried it out going nuclear right from the start with MEK and a clean colth.
IT WORKS. It literally wipes off.

That's my scientific research for today. Your mileage may vary.
These are not your father's rubber tires.

 

[Big_John]

I used to use Westleys Bleche-Wite. I swore by the stuff. There wasn't a whitewall or other tire I couldn't clean up. Squirt it on a dry tire, let it sit and then hose it off. If they were really dirty, hit it with a scrub brush when you apply it.

Then Westleys was bought up by Black Magic.

It's almost worthless now.

 

[commando1]

I used to use Westleys Bleche-Wite. I swore by the stuff.

Absolutely. Worked like nothing else. Now? Phhhhtttt....

 

[73Coupe]

I used to use Westleys Bleche-Wite. I swore by the stuff. There wasn't a whitewall or other tire I couldn't clean up. Squirt it on a dry tire, let it sit and then hose it off. If they were really dirty, hit it with a scrub brush when you apply it.

Then Westleys was bought up by Black Magic.

It's almost worthless now.

Really...I haven't noticed a difference other than the black magic logo on the bottle. It still cleans my whites nicely, using the method you described, and is an overall great cleaner for rubber, black or white. The chemical smells the same as it did years ago. Maybe they diluted it more?

 

[saylor]

careful with that ketone boss, it will dry rubber rollers out. then you have to put rejuvenator on it. but that swells rubber. then your rollers are out of round. then you have to buy new rollers. so its a cycle.

(10yrs of printing experience in a past life)

 

[MarPar]

careful with that ketone boss, it will dry rubber rollers out. then you have to put rejuvenator on it. but that swells rubber. then your rollers are out of round. then you have to buy new rollers. so its a cycle.

(10yrs of printing experience in a past life)

would the acteone be less harmful?

 

[rapidtrans]

I'm sure Coker or DiamondBack sell some expensive cleaners but Westleys works fine for me. Brillo pads or sanding deteriorates the white surface faster in my experience. Developed fine scratches than got dirtier faster.

 

[Big_John]

If your tires are fairly clean to begin with, Blech-wite will still work, but its ability to clean up a really dirty and neglected tire is limited.

I use No Touch foam on my car. It cleans it nicely, the tire sheen is about right (for me) when it's done and it's pretty easy to use. Just spray it on and walk away.... It's not gonna work on something really dirty though.