| runningon8 | -- 10-02-2016 @ 5:55 PM |
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What is the best product to clean and maintain white wall tires? I know some products will yellow or dull them...
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| ken ct. | -- 10-02-2016 @ 6:13 PM |
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I use Westleys and a stiff brush (not a metal one). Works wonders for them. ken ct.
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| TomO | -- 10-03-2016 @ 9:06 AM |
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Any of the tire dressings seem to yellow the whitewalls. Some tires have brighter white walls than others. I also use Westleys White wall cleaner. Tom
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| TomO | -- 10-03-2016 @ 9:07 AM |
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Here is the tire from my Merc Tom
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| len47merc | -- 10-03-2016 @ 11:38 AM |
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I try to avoid bleach products on whitewalls if possible, though I have used Westleys and have a bottle in the garage for the white letters on another vehicle. There is an alkaline cleaner called 'Red Ripper' concentrate that I cut with water 16 to 1 that cleans and keeps the whitewalls white both very well, and does not seem to create the drying-out effect that bleach products seem to produce over time. EDIT - Coker's endorsed 'Simple Green' when I purchased the Firestones, but I found it insufficient in cleaning power and whitening ability for my preference. Steve This message was edited by len47merc on 10-3-16 @ 11:40 AM
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| woodiewagon46 | -- 10-03-2016 @ 2:58 PM |
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Try Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. I used them and they seem to work great. I also use Westley,s with a soft brush and it works fine also.
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| 1934 Ford | -- 10-03-2016 @ 3:40 PM |
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Depends on how dirty they are. After a 700 mile Glidden Tour week, I use bleach white. Normal local driving and to freshen them up, Simple Green. After a flat tire. all of the above. 1934 Ford's since 1972
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| JT Ford | -- 10-05-2016 @ 7:34 AM |
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409 works for me and it is better that simple green. Wesley's is the best cleaner for tires but DB advises not to use it, the bleach dries out the rubber.
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| TomO | -- 10-05-2016 @ 8:49 AM |
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DB had a problem with their process and blamed Wesleys for it. There is no chlorine bleach in Wesleys. Tom
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| len47merc | -- 10-05-2016 @ 9:25 AM |
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Tom is correct (as ususal!). Many people believe Westleys/Black Magic contains bleach due to the 'BLECHE-WITE' name on the label, but it only contains sodium metasilicate which is basically an alkaline material/cleaner. I was erroneously advised by Coker to avoid Westleys on my Firestones because it contained bleach. After going through this discussion with them they would not relent and indicated use of Westley's would 'void the warranty' on the tires. Hmmm... Still keep a bottle in the garage and use it on white letters and whitewalls at times. Steve
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| woodiewagon46 | -- 10-05-2016 @ 11:05 AM |
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Len, I would not put stock in anything Coker tells you. I (and several others) had a severe wear issue with their tires, and we were told that Coker tires are for "Show Cars" only, not drivers.
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| Gary M. | -- 10-05-2016 @ 6:19 PM |
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Don't use dressing on the white wall. Carefully apply dressing to only the black part outside the whitewall. If you dress the whitewall , dirt will stick all over it and it will discolor the white.
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| len47merc | -- 10-06-2016 @ 6:14 AM |
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Digressing from the topic for a moment to respond to woodiewagon46 - I too received the 'show car only' representation from Coker which I rejected, this after going through and returning several sets (you would not believe how many) of Firestones at their expense before finally receiving a full set that both road-force tested acceptably on Hunter equipment and also ran smooth at highway speeds. After going through this debacle with them, during which time my 'case' was bumped up the chain on two occasions, and to their credit during which time they remained reasonably customer sensitive and supportive, the tires have performed well and show little to no wear, and are wearing evenly after several thousand miles (5K+) of long distance and local driving. It was an exhaustive, time consuming and frustrating exercise. If the tires were only for 'show cars only' they should have been, IMHO, represented that way on their website - which of course for THEIR obvious business reasons they are not. Additionally, Coker initially advised that the tires would have to be run at 32 psi or the warraty would be voided. After less that 2K miles the tread was 75% gone in the middle of the tires. After speaking with them and educating them on the proper tire pressure for my '47 Merc (26 psi), which they validated, they stood behind their error and replaced that set as well. The set on the car which has even and little wear after 5K+ miles has been maintained at 26 psi since install. Back to the topic - I have been pleased with the performance of the tires and the whitewalls and have maintained the whiteness with the products mentioned above. I do not use any wheel dressing on the whitewalls or the rubber and the tires still look great. I too use the Simple Green for mild cleaning as needed, and originally Westleys (now diluted Red Ripper) to whiten the whitewalls when necessary. Steve
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| Big Red 51 | -- 10-06-2016 @ 7:01 AM |
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Diamond Back Experience - I have used the DB Michelin radial tire WWW on my '51 F1 and on my '53 Victoria, both original rims, for 6 years with plenty of hiway trips at speed for several thousand miles. No problems what soever. I run them at 32 PSI and clean the white walls only with a fine steel wool and soap/water, period. I am due for a set next year due to age, not wear, and DB is now using Michelin Defender for the white walls set. I installed a set of Coker radials on my '54 Victoria original rims in 2000 which I sold 5 years ago and as of last year they were still on the '54 and are driven. I WOULD NOT ever drive them with that age, locally maybe. Don
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| trjford8 | -- 10-06-2016 @ 7:22 AM |
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I use Fantastic Spray Cleaner on my DB wide whites. Seems to work just as good as Westley's or any of the other whitewall cleaners.
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| TomO | -- 10-06-2016 @ 9:12 AM |
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LA's Totally Awesome General Purpose Cleaner also works very well and is only $3.00 a gallon at Dollar General. I have also used Maguier's car wash soap to clean the white walls. After washing the car, I take my wheel brush and wash the wheels and tires. It works quite well unless there are grease or tar spots on the tires. Tom
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| Grant | -- 10-07-2016 @ 4:09 AM |
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We use S.O.S. steel wool soap pads. And elbow grease. Cost is about two bucks for ten. They do a very nice job on wide whitewalls, and also clean up the black portion of a tire quite well too. And these little pads make a dirty hub cap shiny again with a minimum of effort.
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| randycapes417@yahoo.com | -- 10-11-2016 @ 5:54 PM |
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The Mr Clean magic erasers worked very well! Thanks
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| 56MarkII | -- 10-14-2016 @ 11:16 PM |
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I have Firestone Deluxe Champions on my Merc and Continental and for years all I have been using is Spray Nine and a stiff bathroom brush used for cleaning hands and fingernails. The only time I ever used steel wool is on curb scuffs. My tires are quite old now on my Merc and never had issues using this cleaner. Also regarding tire pressure I always run 32-34 PSI in these tires with even normal wear on my 50 Merc and very heavy 56 Continental.
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