Guest cardinal905 Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 The 26 Buick I just bought has beautiful new whitewall Firestones, however there are several, what looks like oil stains on the white part. Anybody have a magic bullet for cleaning this, I tried whitewall cleaner---alcohol---and laqquer thinner (lightly) with no success??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Wolk Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Mineral spirits works great. It melts the top layer, taking the stain with it. Once you use it the whitewalls seem to stay white much longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidP Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 I'm sure others will know better than myself, but I was always afraid to use any heavy solvents to clean the whitewalls on my cars!I usually just use a mild kitchen abrasive (scotch) type of pad or the S O S pad with Ajax/Comet/Old Dutch to scrub the whitewalls ... The last couple of years ... I added a few drops of BAM ... the toilet bowl cleaner ... to cut through the crud ... Works GREAT ... and think it's safe for the rubber on the tires ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Wolk Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 I wouldn't use an SOS pad because the iron filings will break off in the rubber and discolor it. The mineral spirits takes very little material off. Just don't leave it wet for an extended period of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ZondaC12 Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Westley's Bleche-Wite right here! Love it love it looooooove it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ex98thdrill Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Westley's Bleche-Wite right here! Love it love it looooooove it!</div></div>Oh no-no-no-no-no. That stuff is an acid. If you're not carefull, it will destroy paint, chrome, aluminum and anything that it will come in contact with. The stuff is great for getting the grime off of the tires, but if you're not carefull, it is also great at doing damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seldenguy Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 I have all whites on one of my early cars and have been using carbureter cleaner on a clean rag for years. Doesn't seem to show any ill effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Wolk Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 Carb cleaner is also a solvent. I've experienced chalking of both the black and white wall when I used Westley's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkV Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 Bleche White! But, I always do it before I wash the car, so, if there is any excess, it will get washed away, I use it on all the cars. I even used it on my dirty vinyl interior on my Mustang and it did wonders, it looks like brand new now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ZondaC12 Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 Oh believe me, I had someone at a cruise night tell me a story about someone he knew who had an axe to grind and contaminated another individual's engine OIL with Westley's and exclaimed afterwards "Yeah man Westley's is VICIOUS". It just about locked the motor up. I lightly spray it on the tire, so it's not running down onto my hubcaps or the painted part of the wheel or anything, and scrub to loosen all the grime, then I rinse VERY thoroughly including the wheel itself, and the fender near the wheel well in case any might have oversprayed. There's a big ol' warning on the back that talks about painted surfaces, mag wheels aluminum wheels etc and NOT to allow it to even come into contact.Additionally it's not a highly common occassion that I'm getting out that spray bottle...I drive the car a lot but the whites stay pretty clean for quite a while! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Wolf Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 I used to use Wesley but never again.It works but when you put your car in the sun or drive it and get the tires hot your whites turn brown, it's a good thing it's easy because you have to do it all the time. Once you have used it on a tire you can't go back.I started using Coker's 2 part cleaner. It a little harder to clean but you only have to do when you have done something to get the tire dirty.I have cleaned the the tires drove the car 250 miles and never touched them before a show. Try that with beach.Tire cleaning is a monthly thing not a daily thing anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cardinal905 Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avantey Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 I have a tough problem with my all white tires. The rear seal leaked and I have diffential fluid spun out and all over the inside face of one tire. I have tried (in order)- Fantastik, Simple Green, Castrol Super clean, Westley's. None worked although the stains are lighter. I too am hesitant on Westley's and even on the Super Clean(Purple Stuff) as they are very strong. Any ideas on getting the stain off my practically new all white tires would be great!Thanks- Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shop Rat Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 Have you tried a mix of Dawn or Polmolive dish detergent and a small amount of baking soda and gently rubbing the stains with that?Baking soda boosts the cleaning ability of pretty much any cleaner, even hair shampoo works better when you mix a small amount of baking soda with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Green Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 When I hit a curb or whatever with my WWW's and put a mark in them, I have lightly wet sanded them with fine sandpaper and followed up with a spray cleaner (409, etc) with success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Skyking Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 I use Coastal Cleaner purple stuff from AutoZone. It's around $4.50 a gal. Been using that with SOS pads for years with great results. I also use it on the white top of my Invicta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curti Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 Run blackwalls, 99% of the cars of that era came with them anyway. And if it did have white walls they were double sided. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Wolk Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 The Continental Mark II came with 3" whitewalls. They stick out like a sore thumb if they're not clean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Green Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 I am going to give your mineral spirts a try as I am cleaning my WW's this evening. I have had success in the past with SOS pads and a product called Korkay (used for homicide clean up) however it takes too long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avantey Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 Thank you all for the ideas! I will try the baking soda first. I know it is a mild abrasive and cleaner too. If that doesn't work I will try the mineral spirits next. Does that have to 'soak in' or try not to let it lay on the rubber? I think the sanding idea is interesting but a little aggressive so I will try it last.I do not have WW on the 13- they are all white so they look dirty just by looking at them sideways, kinda like a black vehicle. My understanding is that all tires were white at first as the 'milk ' from the rubber trees was white. Around 1915 they started putting carbon black in the compound to increase treadwear and tire longevity.Either way this car came to me with new "whites" so I will do my best to keep them clean! Thank you for all the ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Wolk Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Ron Green</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I am going to give your mineral spirts a try as I am cleaning my WW's this evening. I have had success in the past with SOS pads and a product called Korkay (used for homicide clean up) however it takes too long. </div></div>Don't use paint thinner. It's a milder form of mineral spirits. It takes a while to do with MS but they stay white for a very long time. By taking off the top layer of latex it gets rid of the small cracks in the whitewall.What I usually do is go treat each tire and keep rotating, allowing the MS to sit on the surface for awhile. I rinse with cold water and they stay clean. I also treat the blackwall the same way. They get a real natural matt finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Dobbin Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 Westley's Bleche-White with a soap filled steel wool pad and rinse well and keep off paint and plastic. I've been using it for years without problems.Now Diamond Back Classic Tires says not to use it on their whitewalls but use an orange degreaser. That works fine toobut I stil use Westley's Bleche-White an all Coker Tires and modern whitewalls.Have you noticed how hard it's getting to buy whitewall tires for modern cars? Black walls look awful on anything but a race car in my opinion. Back to the original question from Cardinal905, the brown spots may be tire black bleeding through the white part of the tires. Early reproductionwide whites from everywherehad a problem with the black seeping into the while layer of the tire and showing up as brown. I suggest that he look at the week/month date stamp on the back of the tires to see which decade they were made in. If over 10 years old that's your problem. The technology of reprodution white walls has improved in this area to where that shouldn't happen today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Childs Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 For cleaning whitewall tires, I have always used that kitchen cleanser called "Bar Keeper's Friend." It is mild, foams up good, and cleans very well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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