Westleys, now Black Magic Bleche White racket

[89tc]

I've been using Wesleys Bleche White since the 1970's when it came in a metal can with a squirt top. Since Black Magic bought out Westleys I've noticed the quality of the product went way down and the price went up. So I'd left a review on the Black Magic website and they deleted it and only left the glowing great reviews (which appear to be phony). So I'd contacted Black Magic to ask them why the deceit, and never received a reply. 

  So in the end, I'm recommending that people who need to clean their white walls use something else in the future, instead of paying alot for a once great product that now doesnt work anywhere near as good as it used to. 

Edited November 13, 2021 by 89tc (see edit history)

[John_S_in_Penna]

Thanks for the report, Mr. 89tc.  Is the product

weaker, or less effective at whitening the tires?

 

How good of you to stand up for principle!

Poor performance, if that is the case, should be

exposed and corrected.  Without correction, we

car fans would be left with substandard products.

[F&J]

The old stuff worked. I don't recall when it got so weak and simply a waste of money. (but still had the same name). I assumed it was some EPA ingredient ban? IDK

[John_S_in_Penna]

2 hours ago, 89tc said:

...So I'd contacted Black Magic to ask them why the deceit, and never received a reply.... 

 

From what I have learned:  Always write to the

President or Chief Executive of a company.  Don't

write merely to a clerk in Customer Service.

 

In a large company, your letter may not actually

be read by the President himself;  but any directives

will be passed down from the President's office, 

and will carry much greater weight within the company.

[ted sweet]

you really think a letter will get to the ceo?

[Bryan G]

I had an issue a couple months ago with a service; big, national chain. Typed up a nice letter, not emailed, in an envelope with a stamp, addressed to the office of the CEO (thanks, Google.) 10 days later I had satisfaction. Did the big guy read it? Maybe not, but close enough. So few people write an actual letter these days that they do get some attention.

 

The thing that always bothered me about Bleche White is that the pump wore out before the bottle was empty. Personally, I've switched to LA's Totally Awesome, $1 at Dollar General and one of the best cleaners I've used. It works great on whitewalls.

[rocketraider]

I bought a 5 gallon jug of generic purple cleaner years ago and still have some of it. I pour it into a BlecheWite spray bottle for use.

 

Friend was up here back in summer and we washed trucks. He commented that the newer BW he had at home didn't turn brown when sprayed on dirty tires like the old stuff did or like my purple stuff did.

[John_S_in_Penna]

10 hours ago, ted sweet said:

you really think a letter will get to the C. E. O.?

 

Absolutely, Ted.  Any good President or Chief Executive 

wants his company to succeed;  wants his product to

be well received in the market;  and therefore wants

satisfied customers.  He is just a person to treat with

respect but not adulation.  He is not above the rest of us.

 

I had a problem with atrocious Verizon service.  I wrote

just such a letter.  The solution was handled by someone

from the Chief Executive's office, and the prior incompetence

vanished immediately!  The project was completed readily.

 

[1937-44]

10 hours ago, ted sweet said:

you really think a letter will get to the ceo?

 I think it depends on the company or service provider. I had major issues with a hard wired phone service and would be without a phone for weeks waiting for a repairman to come out. At the time I owned stock in the company and I not only wrote a letter to the CEO I sent a copy to every person on the board of directors listed in their annual report. Every single letter was returned unopened. Obviously they figured because they had a monopoly they couldn't be bothered. I no longer have their service.

[Guest]

 I had a really big problem with a manager of a very large company.

 Not getting anywhere with him, I sent a letter to the CEO.

 When I next spoke to the manager he was not real happy that I sent the letter.

 Eventually, I received a solution to the problem.

[Jeff Perkins / Mn]

I was informed by the representative of Diamondback Tires to use only soap and water to clean my new whitewalls purchased for my 1948 Chrysler.  After years of using Westley’s on my Model A’s (with good results) I gave the remains of a gallon jug to a friend.

Edited November 13, 2021 by Jeff Perkins / Mn (see edit history)

[SC38dls]

Just something I learned from owning my own service bureau for 47 years, I never had time to read all the mail that came to the CEO or President. Complaint or praise it didn’t matter and I believe most companies are like that. The best way to get a problem like the original post had was call and ask for the President’s secretary. If you can talk to her (I’m old school but it could be a him) I will bet 99 times out of a hundred you will get better faster results, especially in a big corporation.  She’s the one no one in the company that is a department manager wants to upset. She is the one they have to keep on the good side of or the boss gets a very personal earful from regarding that department’s problem. I guarantee you that CEO or President does not want his secretary upset as she is the one that keeps his office running smoothly and efficiently. With her being upset his life and workload becomes miserable and that is not good for all the departments in the company. Make the call be pleasant and respectful and I will bet you will be on a first name basis with the real power in a company. 
dave s

Edited November 13, 2021 by SC38dls (see edit history)

[Pete O]

I dunno, it still works pretty good.

 

[John_S_in_Penna]

45 minutes ago, Pete O said:

I dunno, it still works pretty good.

 

Pete, have you been using it a long time,

long enough to test the statements that others

are making here?  Your insights, too, are valuable.

 

I used it this summer, and now that others

mention it, I didn't think it was as effective

as I recalled it.  The tires still required scrubbing.

[Grimy]

I had trouble with the old Bleche White removing pin striping on wheels as it was rinsed off the sidewalls, so I discontinued using it more than 10 years ago.  I now use Simple Green Automotive undiluted from its spray bottle for really nasty jobs, followed by a proprietary mix from a local company which also removes brown from today's tires.

[Bills Auto Works]

Honestly I think there were 3 different formulas. The old stuff was great & strong, I used it for many things besides just white walls. It worked great for vinyl tops that were really dirty (don't let it sit on the paint too long.) I also still to this day use it while prepping new replacement parts. For example the underside of a new hood, I spray it on liberally & then use the red scotch-brite while the Bleach-White is still wet.

 

  A few years back I noticed it didn't work like I was used to it working, the whitewalls just didn't seem to get as clean. Also I notice that it didn't smell 

as strong either. So I got away from it for a while. I came back to it recently & while it still doesn't work as good as it did a decade+ ago, I believe it works better now than 5 years ago. Possibly enough people complained or sales dropped & the company was forced to put a little bit of the good stuff back in?

 

God Bless

Bill

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/nationwide-single-car-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/

Edited November 13, 2021 by Bills Auto Works (see edit history)

[trini]

Sometimes getting a complaint to the big boss is like lulling teeth. Best weapon  is your pocket book. There is wheres my power is. 

[CHuDWah]

5 hours ago, SC38dls said:

Just something I learned from owning my own service bureau for 47 years, I never had time to read all the mail that came to the CEO or President. Complaint or praise it didn’t matter and I believe most companies are like that. The best way to get a problem like the original post had was call and ask for the President’s secretary. If you can talk to her (I’m old school but it could be a him) I will bet 99 times out of a hundred you will get better faster results, especially in a big corporation.  She’s the one no one in the company that is a department manager wants to upset. She is the one they have to keep on the good side of or the boss gets a very personal earful from regarding that department’s problem. I guarantee you that CEO or President does not want his secretary upset as she is the one that keeps his office running smoothly and efficiently. With her being upset his life and workload becomes miserable and that is not good for all the departments in the company. Make the call be pleasant and respectful and I will bet you will be on a first name basis with the real power in a company. 
dave s

 

x2.  I was in middle management and the middle is exactly where I was, catching crap from both sides and often not having authority to do anything about it.  I knew to go to the boss' secretary if I needed something above my pay grade.  By the same token, I had good secretaries that took some of the brunt and they're worth their weight in palladium.  As they say about wives, if the secretary ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!

[3macboys]

This year I tried a simple paste mix of baking soda and water and a scrub brush followed by a good rinse after - brought the white walls right up and I wasn't worried about the run off.  

[Bryan G]

I've also found that Bon Ami and a brush will do fairly well; not as quick but not toxic, either. It helped me lighten up some stubborn stains on an older whitewall. Wet the tire down, sprinkle it on, brush it good, rinse, repeat as needed.

[Mark Huston]

12 hours ago, Grimy said:

I had trouble with the old Bleche White removing pin striping on wheels as it was rinsed off the sidewalls, so I discontinued using it more than 10 years ago.  I now use Simple Green Automotive undiluted from its spray bottle for really nasty jobs, followed by a proprietary mix from a local company which also removes brown from today's tires.

I would love to have access to the proprietary mix you use for cleaning today’s garbage white wall tires.  Nothing that has ever been recommended has worked for me to get the yellow/brown tint out of my white walls.  When this set of white wall tires wear out I am going back to the black wall tires.  Today’s white wall tires are junk and not worth the extra cost. 

[SC38dls]

Mark have you tried Mr Cleans magic eraser with simple green? Works on my 38 Stude. 
 

[Pete O]

22 hours ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

 

Pete, have you been using it a long time,

long enough to test the statements that others

are making here?  Your insights, too, are valuable.

 

I used it this summer, and now that others

mention it, I didn't think it was as effective

as I recalled it.  The tires still required scrubbing.

I have.   I agree that it's not as strong as it used to be.  When it was still Wesley's, it used to melt the top layer of the whitewall away so that not only the dirt, but the oxidized outer layer came off revealing a brand new surface on the whitewall.  But I used to think, is this a good thing?.  Was this product still eating into the rubber after I rinsed it off?  How many times can I use it before I seriously weaken the sidewall?   And if you breathed in any of the droplets of the spray, your eyes would water and you'd cough up a lung.  Now, it doesn't seem to melt the surface of the rubber any longer, and it does take a little scrubbing with a nylon brush, but the whitewalls do come out clean and white.  And I don't have that same adverse reaction any longer if I breath in the mist.

[Pete O]

46 minutes ago, SC38dls said:

Mark have you tried Mr Cleans magic eraser with simple green? Works on my 38 Stude. 
 

Man, I love American Sedans from this era.  Plenty of knee and legroom, easy to get into and out of, and a good view of the road.  The shape and height is kinda reminiscent of today's crossover SUVs!   What's old is new again.

[Mark Huston]

1 hour ago, SC38dls said:

Mark have you tried Mr Cleans magic eraser with simple green? Works on my 38 Stude. 
 

Yes, one of the many suggestions that I have tried.  Mr Clean Magic eraser didn’t get the yellow out of my white walls despite hours of intense scrubbing.  

[Grimy]

@Mark Hustonthis is the website for the "Re-Tire" product that works so well for me:

https://www.retire-pacpro.com/tire-info

I've used only the PC #35000, but see that they now offer another product for Brown-Tire Syndrome.  They used to sell at the Ironstone Concours where I would stock up, but were not there in 2021 (and the Concours did not happen in 2020).  The 35000 does an excellent job on both black and white portions of WSW tires, and I use it on my blackwall tires as well.  If the tires are not extremely funky, I use the Re-Tire only--i.e., no need for the Simple Green Automotive.

 

I need to order a couple more gallons, as I'm about out.  I successfully used this product to clean the tires on Tony W's 3rd-in-class with a 45-yr-old restoration 1924 Pierce-Arrow at Pebble Beach this year.  He and a couple of his friends ordered their own supply after seeing the results on those old Lesters.

 

I have utterly no connection with that company--don't even know the names of the principals--but am delighted with their product.

[zepher]

3 hours ago, SC38dls said:

Mark have you tried Mr Cleans magic eraser with simple green? Works on my 38 Stude. 
 

 

I've been using Simple Green and Magic Erasers on my white walls since Bleche White changed formulas and it has worked very well.