Turning whitewalls black

[Myron Williams]

HI guys,

I'm resurrecting an old 1935 Packard from the dead and it has six brand new twenty year old whitewalls that have been neglected their whole lives. I am thinking of putting the whitewalls on the inside if I can somehow paint or dye them black. Do any of you have any experience with any kind of paint or dye that would be suitable for the job?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Myron

[Dave@Moon]

I don't think it would be wise to trust 20 year old tires no matter what their appearance or how carefully they've been stored. Few if any tire professionals recommend using a tire beyond 10 years of age under almost any circumstances. Even given a grain of salt for "tire professionals" having a vested interest in selling more tires, 20 years is really pushing your luck.

See: tirerack.com on tire aging

[Guest simplyconnected]

I agree. Invest in your family's safety and get four new tires.

Garages and dealers often sell tires that are over five years old.

There is a date code on the side of every tire. Use Dave@Moon's link to find, "Determining the Age of a Tire." You will be very surprised to discover how old your tires REALLY ARE.

[Guest bkazmer]

I completely agree with the advice to replace, but if you want to just turn them black, have an amateur parallel park. The tires may have swap meet value as sidemount fillers

[R W Burgess]

Tire Black, available at any auto parts store!

For all I know, you're just displaying the car. As long as they hold air, they're perfect for the job!

Wayne

[Shop Rat]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: simplyconnected</div><div class="ubbcode-body">You will be very surprised to discover how old your tires REALLY ARE. </div></div>

Yeah, we just found out that the tires on our RV were already two years old when it was manufactured. So now we have tires that are nine years old not seven years old.

[Guest Skyking]

Be careful even buying new tires. Some sell dated tires for new.

[keiser31]

As an ex-Firestone Tire Company employee, I can tell you that the best and safest policy is to save the whitewall set for a rolling chassis or display car and purchase new ones for the driver (no, I don't have stock in the company). Someone may pay you to get them for a project that just needs to move occasionally. I had a set as you describe and sold them to a guy through "craigslist" because I did not want to have to ship them. I got money in my pocket and more space in my garage.

[aacalifeer]

I agree with keiser31. At best I would use your existing tires for "rollers". With the age of the tires they could be dangerous with very little use. Cracked sidewalls are very dangerous. I have sold "rollers" at swap meets for $5-$10 each. There are even some people that want them for display in gas station memorabilia collections!!

[Myron Williams]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all of the friendly advice. The car in question is a 1935 Super 8 Packard that I've been bringing back from the dead. The fellow I bought it from bought new tires and never got the old beast running. I've probably only put five or six miles on it since I did and probably won't drive it a hundred miles a year. I hated to spend a thousand dollars on tires; but I guess I better

Keep smiling,

Myron

[Dynaflash8]

I got 35 years out of a set of Universal double white wall tires and then sold them to a museum. We're not talking about radials here that die in six years and fall apart. Although I think you can use them, if I had to put black on my car, I'd just buy new tires. Hehe, unlike a good friend on here that we all know, I hate black tires. "But to each his own as the old man said as he kissed the cow," as my grandmother used to say.