Whitewall Cleaner

[Bill Bickle 15098]

I have wide whitewalls on my early LaSalles and have neglected them to the degree that they are a dark brown on the edge as well as a little yellow.  I would like to make them like new yet I see a lot of cleaners that may be harmful to the surrounding paint etc.  and some are harsh on the rubber.  Looking for tried and true cleaners.

[03vorteczr2]

I use sos pads or scotchbrite on my whitewalls but I havent had to clean them from being dark brown or yellow. If the discoloration is just on the surface it might be able to be scrubbed off. I have never used any cleaners on the whitewalls. Hope this helps.

Chris

[Otto Skorzeny]

I have used Westley's Bleche-Wite on my tires for 20 years or more.

It works extremely well with no harmful effects and no yellowing. I use my Cadillac as a regular car and put thousands of miles on it and the tires get dirty and scuffed. I've used this product on 3 sets of bias plies and one set of radials on this car.

Bleche-Wite cleans scuffs and dirt so well you won't see any blemishes.

In the photo below, the Cadillac 's tires have over 9000 miles on them and still look good.

I also use it on the white letter tires on my work truck.

Here is the product:  http://www.westleys.com/

[Joe Manna]

Otto,your 56 looks great for an everyday car.What is that in the background?

According to theDiamondback brochure,Westleys is no good.They say it contains bleach,hence the name "Bleach White".They recommend,"Simple Green" Now,I use bleach white on my 51 Chevy and my 91 Cad.They come out white.

[Otto Skorzeny]

 I believe Diamondback has its facts wrong.

I don't know how it got it's somewhat confusing name but it's Bleche-Wite, not Bleach-White.

The two active ingredients are sodium metasilicate and sodium orthosilicate. Neither of these chemicals is found in bleach.

Household clorine bleach contains sodium hypochlorite as the active ingredient. This chemical is not found in Westley's Bleche-Wite.

In fact, here is a link to a site that shows what's in it. None of the stuff is bleach.

http://whatsinproducts.com/search_brands.php?PHPSESSID=52595641e811465ea8b63a5720c59382

Some of the same chemicals in Bleche-Wite are also found in Turtle Wax car wash, Dove bar soap with moisterizing lotion, Woolite, Caress moisterizing bar, etc.

The car in the background is a 55 Chevy, I think. This was taken at Drive Invasion at a local drive in theatre. They have an annual party with old cars, B movies, live bands, beer, etc. I go every year.

[bill henry]

i use Comet and a scrub brush

[Jack Mcilwraith]

Bill  you can obtain a product at your local Canadian Tire--Simoniz tire cleaner [contains bleche-wite]. i have been using this for two years with good results.

[Steve Passmore]

I have used Westley's Bleche-Wite on my tires for 20 years or more.

:  http://www.westleys.com/

I agree 100% with Forrest on this and for the same length of time, sadly its no longer available here but was replaced by Coker Tire Cleaner that is a complete waste of time, you may as well use hand soap. When in you country for the 2005 National Meet I bough a gallon of concentrated Bleche Wite and sent it back home to myself as we couldn't take it on the plane, I'm still using it.   I have tried every form of cleaner and scrubber but nothing comes near Bleche Wite

[Otto Skorzeny]

Let me know when you need more, Steve. I could probably help you out.

I actually look forward to cleaning my tires with Bleche-Wite because it's so satisfying. Instant gratification.

[Mike Josephic CLC #3877]

I have wide whitewalls on my early LaSalles and have neglected them to the degree that they are a dark brown on the edge as well as a little yellow.  I would like to make them like new yet I see a lot of cleaners that may be harmful to the surrounding paint etc.  and some are harsh on the rubber.  Looking for tried and true cleaners.

[/color]

Hi Bill:

Forrest is correct that "Bleche-Wite" does not contain any chlorine bleach.  I also feel
it's the best product out there for cleaning white wall tires.  It will not harm your tires.
However, keep it away from painted areas as it will remove wax from your car's finish.

You don't say how old your tires are, but what's causing the brown / yellow discoloration
you're seeing is the black base of the tire bleeding up through the white wall.  Once that
starts to happen, you may or may not be able to get it sparking white again.  In any case, it will
return again in a few weeks / months and there is no permanent "cure" for this except to
purchase new tires.

Mike

[Barry Norman]

I have found that  thinner will remove the brown stains. I use lots of paper towels and am very careful not to hit the black part and the whitewall with the same towel.

[Mike Josephic CLC #3877]

I have found that  thinner will remove the brown stains. I use lots of paper towels and am very careful not to hit the black part and the whitewall with the same towel.

I would strongly recommend against using thinner (lacquer thinner) as it will have a negative
effect on the rubber -- it may remove a stain but also degrades the whitewall.

Mike

[Steve Passmore]

I would strongly recommend against using thinner (lacquer thinner) as it will have a negative
effect on the rubber -- it may remove a stain but also degrades the whitewall.

Mike

I would have to agree here as the thinners seem to remove the surface of the rubber leaving it vulnerable to easy re staining, having said that, with very old tyres that will not clean up or have never been cleaned in years sometimes I have used thinners myself just as a quick fix to get to the next tyre change, in cases like this conventional cleaners have little effect.  Use Bleche Wite regularly from the get go and theres no problem.
"
(Quote)   Let me know when you need more, Steve. I could probably help you out."

Thank you Forrest, You don't know how much I appreciate that, You may regret offering,