White wall tires

[Ted K.]

Almost a stupid question, but here goes. I am cleaning white wall tires on a 63 that have not been cleaned in years. I have used every thing from Bleech White, straight bleach, Ausome, brillo pads, scrub pads, hand cleaner, etc. all with poor results. Anyone have a trick to make white wall tires bright white?

[Frank D.]

[Ted K.]

Re: White wall tires

Love it. Will give it a try.

[Patrick H.]

Re: White wall tires

Lacquer thinner

[Jimmy G.]

Re: White wall tires

Fine sandpaper

[Frank D.]

Re: White wall tires

I have used one of those foam sanding blocks before and they worked - for a while. If these tires are indeed "several years old" then there might be hope of resurrecting the white walls; on many more versions of popular tires; like Uniroyal, you'll never keep them white. Petroleum byproducts leech through the sidewalls into the white area and the vendors don't sell enough to carte to address the issue. This is well documented on other car sites - I finally switched to Hankook white walls - I hate running foreign tires on a vintage Corvette but these STAY white - so there you have it.

[Jimmy G.]

Re: White wall tires

I was in the white pigment business for 30+ years and we sold Titanium Dioxide to tire manufacturers for the production of RWL and WW tires. Many times the smaller manufacturers used the incorrect version to make tires. if you use the version house paint is made with (rutile), it is intended to last forever. Unfortunately the binder turns yellow with age causing the WW to yellow. The correct pigment (anatase) for WW tires is a very poor pigment for weathering and in theory, when you scrub it it washes away leaving a fresh bright white surface showing. More info than you wanted but now you know why.

[John D.]

Re: White wall tires

My Uniroyal Tiger Paw whitewalls went yellow and were replaced free of charge- parts only-no labor as a one time goodwill gesture they said. The replacements are not looking good either. Will try the sandpaper or white shoe polish. They have almost zero miles on them so I'm reluctant to toss them at least for now.

[Richard M.]

Re: White wall tires

I was in the white pigment business for 30+ years and we sold Titanium Dioxide to tire manufacturers for the production of RWL and WW tires. Many times the smaller manufacturers used the incorrect version to make tires. if you use the version house paint is made with (rutile), it is intended to last forever. Unfortunately the binder turns yellow with age causing the WW to yellow. The correct pigment (anatase) for WW tires is a very poor pigment for weathering and in theory, when you scrub it it washes away leaving a fresh bright white surface showing. More info than you wanted but now you know why.

Jimmy you solved a mystery I've had forever. Great information.

My old Sears white walls on my 59 when I first got it 35 years ago had yellowed. Bleech White, the original recipe, worked, but not per instructions.

I had to use a 1"x2" brass scrub brush with it. Worked great. I'd see the yellow disappear and a new layer of pure white would appear.

Now I know why..... wow 35 years later. Thanks!

Rich

[Frank D.]

Re: White wall tires

My Uniroyal Tiger Paw whitewalls went yellow and were replaced free of charge- parts only-no labor as a one time goodwill gesture they said. The replacements are not looking good either. Will try the sandpaper or white shoe polish. They have almost zero miles on them so I'm reluctant to toss them at least for now.

I went through the same drill with Uniroyal after my first set of tires "browned out"; same thing happened. A foam sanding block will whiten them temporarily but in 2-3 weeks they will turn brown again. I started a thread on this issue over on that "other" forum which is up to like 500 posts now with people having the same issue. All of which is why I run the Hankook Optima 724's now and two years later the whtie walls are still white.

[Duke W.]

Re: White wall tires

I think the best way to deal with the "white wall issue" that seems to be recurring with increasing frequency is to replace them with blackwalls. I recall not long after I took delivery of my special order SWC i asked myself why the hell I ordered whitewalls. That problem was solved when the General Jetaires threw off chucks of rubber the first time I hot lapped Kent for a day and within a year I replaced them with a set of blackwall, of course, Michelin X radials.

When was the last time you saw a vintage Ferrari or Porsche with whitewalls?

Duke

[Frank D.]

[Richard M.]

Re: White wall tires

Hmmm, never knew that. JG?

I think the best way to deal with the "white wall issue" that seems to be recurring with increasing frequency is to replace them with blackwalls. I recall not long after I took delivery of my special order SWC i asked myself why the hell I ordered whitewalls. That problem was solved when the General Jetaires threw off chucks of rubber the first time I hot lapped Kent for a day and within a year I replaced them with a set of blackwall, of course, Michelin X radials.

When was the last time you saw a vintage Ferrari or Porsche with whitewalls?

Duke

Whitehall Michelin X-ONE's on our '72 E-Type coupe, made in USA in 1997. They were still like new when I took them off a few months ago. Spare still in the boot still brand new appearance, never touched pavement. The 4 takeoffs still looked fine but told the new owner I'd get new Coopers on it. I put the 4 oldies out by the road for county pickup. Takes about a week for them to get here after calling in Walked by the kitchen window next day, some guy in a van stopped, started loading up. I ran out and told him they're 24 years old and not good for highway. He said they look new, thanks, I'll be ok. Nothing like good old American rubber.

BTW, another option.... Black shoe polish on the whitewalls, then reverse them.... lol

Rich

[Frank D.]

Re: White wall tires

Yes Rich - apparently another "63-only" thing per the JG, blackwall tires then the rims are painted body color; white wall tires they are painted gloss black.

[Duke W.]

Re: White wall tires

Yeah. except if I go blackwalla on my 63 the rims have to be repainted body color to be “correct”. Roght ?

Right, but if you're not going through judging, who cares. I don't like the look of that '63 only feature. Very few jobs were built with either the base rayon or optional nylon blackwalls, but it added cost and complication to the production process, which is probably why it ended if not for aesthetic reasons.

Duke