I picked up 4 BF Goodrich radials for my driver a little over two years ago. Looked great at first. Last year I just couldn't get the lettering bright anymore. It seemed to have a little brownish tinge to it. This year the whole sidewall is discolored with a light brown tint. Of course, I can mask the problem by constantly using a tire dressing. Is this in the rubber compound itself or did I introduce an undesirable chemical to cause it? Is there a cure? Has anyone else had such a problem? Is it a BF Goodrich problem? Solutions? Suggestions? Thanks in advance! Jon
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Re: Tire discoloration??? Duke
You don't say what wheels you are using, but the wheel cleaner I used for my KO's caused my whitewalls to brown in a few spots. I use Bleche-White (sp?) to get them white again. It's some sort of bleaching agent. -
Re: Tire discoloration??? Duke
Jon I stacked up a new extra set of tires after cleaning off the blue shipping protection. The white letters were brown in a few days and you could clean them up but the brown kept coming back forever. LyleLyle
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brown stuff is mold release *NM*
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Re: Tire discoloration??? Duke
Jon,
Clem is right...mold release. The same thing happened to a set of tires I stored in my attic. Despite no sun, or exposure to weather the mold release turned brown. I cleaned it off with brush cleaner, but I'm sure many other solvents will work.Comment
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i even find the brake fluid in the
see thru master cylinder on my quads and dirt bikes turn brown after a short time because of the mold releaseComment
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Re: Tire discoloration??? Duke
Clem had the right answer - mold release. The best thing I've found to clean it off is mineral spirits and old rags. Use rags that you are willing to throw away because you will never get that stuff off them. It's NASTY!
Mineral spirits dries rapidly and will not hurt the tires, but I'm not sure about white letters as the last set of tires I had that were anything other than blackwall were the OE General Jetaires on my SWC.
When tires are new you can't see the mold release, but, trust me, it's there, and it will rear its ugly head before the tires wear out.
I now thoroughly clean the mold release off at least the outside sidewall (and have done the inside sidewall on some) before I have new tires mounted, which is no problem since I usually buy tires via mail order/internet, so I can clean them up before I go to my tire store for mounting. I just keep spritzing and wiping until the rag stays fairly clean.
DukeComment
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Thanks everyone........
I will give the mineral spirts a try realizing it may buck its ugly head a few more times before I'm able to get it all. I have a custom set of repro Micky Thompsons that the tires are mounted on. I will take great measures to protect them in the process just out of fear. Again, thanks to everyone! Now to get rid of those brownies. Regards, JonComment
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Re: Thanks everyone........
If new colored-letter tires (without the protective wrapping) are inadvertently stacked such that the back side of one tire is in contact with the colored letters on the tire below it, the oils from the black rubber will be absorbed into the colored letters on the other tire, and you'll NEVER get the discoloration out. A kid at a Goodyear store did that to a set of tires that were special-ordered for my Grand Sport the day before I brought the car in, and the tires were ruined - even the Goodyear lab guy in Akron said to scrap them, and Goodyear paid for a new set. Those are the same oils that will permanently stain most painted garage floors.Comment
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Re: Thanks everyone........
John,I had the very same problem with a set of Tiger Paw Uniroyals. The white walls turned brown 2 days after cleaning.I'm convinced that they were stacked incorrectly, thus causing the oils to contaminate the whitewalls. It was so bad, I took the tires back and exchanged them for a new set. The new ones get brown,too but not near as much or as soon as the first set. I can actually get a month or so out of the whitewall now. I'll try the mineral spirits on them.
DonComment
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Re: Thanks everyone........
Sounds crude but an old car lot trick is to rub the white letters with a flat rock or flat piece of concrete block. RobComment
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