Oh No!!! another whitewall thread

[stouchton]

OK this is a little different and I did not want to derail the previous thread.

My Goodyear white walls have turned brown. Tried just about everything to clean one of them. Normally they just see a wet towel - never have used chemicals on them.

Bought them thru Universal, who have been helping me with a warranty claim. Looks like Goodyear wants the tires back which is an issue for me. I need to remove them from my pristine rims, which runs a high risk of chipping paint. So removing them is going to cost me, one way or another. And imagine if this happens again.... (why didn't I buy Firestone???)

I would actually prefer not to go thru this if I could somehow get them white again (and yes, they must be white - wife's orders).

I have tried Simple Green, Scotchbrite, Power Eraser and Bleche White. All I succeeded in doing is making the one tire slightly less brown. Power Eraser did absolutely nothing.

Do any of you Ford Barners have any other tricks up your sleeves???

[29Cabriolet]

Originally Posted by stouchton

(why didn't I buy Firestone???)

On the verge of buying 4 new tires and am wondering which - Firestone or Goodyear. Always had good luck with Goodyears on my modern vehicles. Is it known or common that Goodyears tend to discolor more than Firestones?

Originally Posted by stouchton

Do any of you Ford Barners have any other tricks up your sleeves???

Surely one of the Black wall Barners want to weigh in so let's just get it out of the way up front: Replace them with the way the should be! Black walls!

PS I love the look of the white walls on my Cabriolet. As long as I own the car, it will be cursed with the dreaded white

[31 Model A]

I have Firestones and they haven't turned yellow yet and I no longer have any wives, so I really can't help. I guess was just lucky in the tire situation and never lucky in the other.

I did wash them with Simple Green after first bought her but it was more to get off dirt than yellowing.

I can understand the fear of chipping the paint on the wheels, that did happen to me when I took the spares off to wash them.

[Dollar Bill]

I had the same problem with my Harley tires. Tried the usual methods you mentioned with no positive results. Finally resorted to wet sanding the whitewalls with 150 grit sandpaper. I'm told the brown tint bleeds through from the black rubber beneath. After the initial sanding, I am now able to get them white again with a stainless steel brush and Simple Green.

Try the sandpaper on a small area, if it doesn't brighten up then you may have to resort to paint (Latex Kilz) or bite the bullet and send them back.

[George Miller]

Since I worked in a used car cleaning up cars as a kid.I have always had good luck with Brillo pads. I do not like using chemicals. Usually clean them on my cars about once a year.

[Dbbc]

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Aloha,
Same problem here, there are turning yellow. Use both the brillo pad and simple green, works but got to scrub for awhile. Last time used 200 grit wet sand paper, worked better, nice and white... at least for a few weeks.

[Tim B.]

Have you thought of taking them to a motorcycle shop to change them? The reason I ask is that after chipping paint on a few rims I picked up a used Coats 220 manual tire changer that is used by motorcycle shops. It works slick, it supports the rim correctly and with all the protective non-scratch shields installed I haven't had any paint damage. While there is always some risk, motorcycle shops deal with expensive wheels (including rim types and tube sizes similar to Model A's) and should have the correct equipment to prevent damage.

[tbirdtbird]

welcome to whitewalls.

If Blechley's didn't cut it i am not sure what will. Or if it will last.

the real problem is the quality of the white rubber. It was always weaker somehow than black rubber, as I recall from my service station days in junior high.

today that white rubber is crappier than it has ever been. Some EPA thing I am sure.

I am all but certain that whether Goodyear or Firestone they all come from the same place. Coker has bought up all the old molds that modern tire companies have absolutely no use for

[C26Pinelake]

I have 4 sets of Goodyear white walls on my old cars and never a problem. I have a set of Firestones and they also have been good. Obviously you might expect that Goodyear would want the tires back if they exchange for another set. I once had a problem with
B.F. Goodrich and they paid for the removal. You failed to mention the age of the tires, how old are they ?
Wayne

[stouchton]

Thanks for all the feedback - got some thinking and scrubbing to do. I did not try the brillo pad or any type of sanding (wet or dry).

I only have a couple tire irons, and agree the motorcycle tire changer would be the way to go! I took the old tires to an automotive shop to swap wheels and should have done it myself - they did it by hand and chipped a lot of the paint. At least I take my time and use a rubber and rags to protect rim.

The tires are less than one year old, with about 250 miles on them.

My fear is the brown is something leaching thru, and will keep getting worse.

[31 Model A]

It could be the batch mixture from the factory, who knows. Possible some cleaner chemicals has a negative affect of the chemicals used in the rubber.

I think maybe it's the luck of the draw.

[C26Pinelake]

I am sure you can remove the tires without damage to the rims if you take your time and use the correct tools. I change my own because most technicians at the tire shops have never R/R a set of Model A tires, in fact many may never have seen a Model A. Wayne

[Jerry Kzoo]

I had to recently put a new set of tires on my car. I watched a video posted about being able to remove a tire without using any tools by:

1 Mounting your rim on a fixed hub(Rear wheel jacked up with E brake on)

2 Pinching the inside and outside beads of the tire into the wheel center recess

3 Getting lip of tire started over edge of rim and working around

4 Using a rubber hose over edge of rim to get started to avoid chipping paint if you need to use a tool to get started

While it is not as easy as the video made it out to be it was a lot easier than I thought to get the tires off and the new ones on.

Whichever way you decide to go, good luck!!

Jerry

[Ron W]

The best cleaner for whitewalls is Castrol Super Clean! Works way better than anything else but do not let it dry on before rinsing. I wet tires first. Spray on Super Clean and you will see the dirt dripping off. rinse with water or your car wash and then water. Available at Wal-Mart. Ron W

[hardtimes]

"fear is the brown is leaching thru, and will continue''
Well, fear not, as that's what happens with tires. Anyway, all of the tires that I've ever bought. How many even bother to look for brown, on tires on their newer cars.
We check these old cars with mag glass, cause that's what we do,eh !
My set of 16" steel belt Coker white walls have gotten browner between cleanings and they are over 10 yrs old. And, as said, the 'white' rubber on my tires is almost transparent..ha !
I've used every type cleaner/method mentioned so far here, but same/same happens. This will be last set of white walls on any of my vehicles.

However, about two months ago I 'stumbled ' onto something quite accidently , while doing some brake changing work. I'm experimenting to see whether the BROWN disappeared for good or just temporarily. So far(2 mos out), I've only done two of four...all is good to look at. Not being a 'chemist', I showed a buddy here what I'd discovered. He just smirked and pretended to be interested !

[Mike V. Florida]

It is a common problem with whitewalls. Have fun keeping them white.

[zzlegend]

Originally Posted by hardtimes

"fear is the brown is leaching thru, and will continue''
Well, fear not, as that's what happens with tires. Anyway, all of the tires that I've ever bought. How many even bother to look for brown, on tires on their newer cars.
We check these old cars with mag glass, cause that's what we do,eh !
My set of 16" steel belt Coker white walls have gotten browner between cleanings and they are over 10 yrs old. And, as said, the 'white' rubber on my tires is almost transparent..ha !
I've used every type cleaner/method mentioned so far here, but same/same happens. This will be last set of white walls on any of my vehicles.

However, about two months ago I 'stumbled ' onto something quite accidently , while doing some brake changing work. I'm experimenting to see whether the BROWN disappeared for good or just temporarily. So far(2 mos out), I've only done two of four...all is good to look at. Not being a 'chemist', I showed a buddy here what I'd discovered. He just smirked and pretended to be interested !

Hey,,,,,,,,,,,,i didn't smirk.........I smiled.

[Jwilli]

I changed my tires by removing them from the back side of the rim. If there are any chips, they will only be seen by someone laying under the car.

[1931 flamingo]

Tire company wants the tires back? Amazing! ! !
Deal with it. Have Universal contact them (or you contact them), get them to agree to dismount them, ship them, ship the replacements to you and mount. All done.
BTY I've got F/stones (6) from the 80's from Australia they say, some sidewall checking, great tread. Bleachewhite cleans them up nicely, sometimes brillo pad, and they aren't yellowing.
Paul in CT

[Mitch//pa]

stouchton

they can be removed by hand without damaging the paint if you protect the rim but i understand it's painstaking....
since they offered to take back the tires, i would give them back in a heartbeat and not mess with them..
another alternative is to find someone close by with this state of the art hunter machine.. it pops the tires on and off effortlessly not even a chance of nicking the rim... i am not to far from you so the offer is on the table to bring them to me and i will remove them for free on my hunter machine.