Yes I know, another freaking whitewall tyres thread, but unfortunately I'm really in the shit this time. Just changed over to my winter wheels (painted steel as opposed chrome) with very very low mileage whitewalls on to find that they have been incorrectly stored over the summer and the oil from the Blackwall has stained the whitewalls very badly. We have tried every tyre cleaner known to man and even resorted to heavy grit sandpaper, which temporarily made the stains fade, but hey presto they came back againdoes any of you guys out there have any tricks to save these tyres or are they fucked? Thanks in advance for any help you can give me. Paul
I do but you won't like it. Whitewall paint, I believe you can still buy it from Whittney. Basically it is just white paint but in the more modern formulas it won't be as bad to flake off.
Hey no numbskull talk, that's my friend your talking about. I am sure you couldn't forsee this one Paul, I can't say I have ever seen this happen. You might call or e-mail Coker tire for some advice on this dilema. At worst, it doesn't look all that bad. I have used sandpaper of different grades to clean blems out of my whites, but I guess that is old news. Good luck pal, wish we could just skip this winter b.s.? ~sololobo~
If they do need painting theres this uk guy called mr whitewall, maybe it would be wiser having him do it, seems to be a pro. his website, http://www.mrwhitewalls.com/ but most the stuffs on his blog. didnt think they were that tempremental. =/
Paul, Have you tried any of the bleack based cleaners. Even though tire manufacturers tell us not to use it I've found that it do's work on stuff other cleaners will not. My tires go into black trash bags individually when it's storage time,seems to keep them like new till next season. Good luck, Ralphie
Cheers for that, I just managed to track down a phone number for him and have left a message in case worst comes to the worst. Paul
Not wanting to be a doomer here, but I'm sure that the disscoloration is deep, real deep. Beaner's solution may be the only way. But at least you could just paint over the discolored areas and not the whole tire. I think they warn you about this on the Coker website. or in the catalog.
Paul, here's what Diamond Back have to say about it: What Ruins Whitewall Tires? If you have your car serviced and the tires have to be removed for any reason, be sure you are there to supervise how they are handled. Chemical agents such as oils and grease can affect the white rubber to cause permanent problems. And guess what will cause permanent staining of whitewalls? Stacking tires with the black side of one tire against the white sidewall of another! Remember what I said about how chemicals from black rubber will leach into white rubber? Well, there is no protective barrier on the outside of the white rubber, so if the tires are stacked one on another, or even leaned against one another, it can happen very fast. It looks like a brown stain — and it’s permanent. All the cleaning agents in the world won’t get rid of it. What it means is that you should never leave your whitewall tires unattended in a service shop. They might get moved and stacked. Also, be sure to tell the service technicians right up front not to touch the whitewall itself with greasy, dirty hands! And speaking of ruining whitewall tires, right here is the perfect place to mention how NOT to clean your whitewalls. If you want to ruin them over time, one of the best ways is to use cleaners that contain bleach. Yep...whitewall cleaner. Now you’re probably thinking “But I’ve always used whitewall cleaner.” Yes, it gets them clean alright, but what you will notice over time is that the whitewalls start to get dried out and lose that nice “smooth and shiney” surface quality (which also makes them easy to clean). If your whitewalls are dried out already, that’s probably why. Instead of whitewall cleaner, use a soap pad or a scrubby sponge with a cleaning agent like 409, Simple Green, etc. And never use tire coatings on the whitewall. They can cause discoloration, too.
Thanks for that weasel, I had a pretty good idea that that was the case, but unfortunately I had no choice but to let someone else do it for me as I can't get it into the shed where they were stored to supervise. It's beginning to look like I'm boned. Mind you, Christmas is coming and I sure do like the look of the embossed whitewall on good year radials. Paul
Ive seen this happen. It most often occurs during the mounting process and/or when being transported back to the vehicle for installation. The tires get leaned or stacked with the black part touching the whitewall. The problem is you have a stain, not just a dirty tire. The carbon black oils in the tire have migrated into the whitewall portion of the tire and Im afraid normal cleaning isnt going to help much. Heres what I recommend, go to your auto parts store and buy some rubber prep chemical. I most commonly see Rub-O Matic brand. Apply it to a clean terry cloth, then rub on the affected area. The Rub-O Matic chemical has a high evaporation rate, so only an small area can be done at a time. You can use 120 grit sand paper, but that's not always required. I would not use a courser grit. Also, it should be noted that you may have to repeat these steps a few times. The stain will most likely return, but hopefully will be lighter in appearance. Also be careful not to get any of the chemical on your wheels. Jess Hoodenpyle Vice President - Sales and Customer Service Coker Tire Company 1317 Chestnut Street Chattanooga, TN 37402 Toll Free: 1-800-251-6336 www.Coker.com
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