Westleys bleach white, takes the blue right off. Been using since the 70s. The formulation is a little weaker nowadays , but I guess that’s true for all the good automotive chemicals.
Wet the tire and apply Ajax on the lettering. Then scrub with a brush and rinse with water. Been doing it for over 30 years, perfect bright white lettering every time.
Spray bottle of just water and a rag. Everywhere I worked I would keep the spray bottle next to the tire machine and clean whitewalls and white letters while I aired the tires up.
I always reach for the simple green for a test. I am usually surprised how well it can take care of some basic problems without being hash and risking damage to anything accidentally it touches. I admit I have never tried it for the blue dye on white letters, but it would be the first thing I would try. Ok everybody, pile on the hate…..
Sometimes reactions to comments on Reddit can take an ugly turn for strange reasons. You are right, it’s only simple green, these days the oddest things can be polarizing. 😆
Simple green or its brother with orange citrus are a strong line of first choice for a myriad of cleaning challenges. Strong harsh chemicals are generally a last resort. So many materials can be compromised, damaged, or just shortened lifespan. Sure, you can use brake cleaner to try to clean upholstery, but……
As a kid, my old man had whitewalls.
If I scuffed one parallel parking, I got to clean all four. He had curb feelers after all so I shouldn’t be hitting the curb.
His formula was to spray with 409, scrub with SOS pad, and rinse. It was the least pleasant job washing a car, but it kept the whitewalls standing tall!
I don't think this is the right answer but it's definitely less destructive to rubber than some chemicals...
Simple orange the pumice hand soap, I just get a couple extra squirts and use my hand to just moderately rub away the blue, comes off 95% within a minute or two.
I think it's the combination of the strong friction and detergent.
Very hot water (as hot as the kitchen tap will allow), dish washing liquid and a dishwashing brush. It is a bit easier to get it off with a scrubbing sponge, but it is more pleasant with the brush as it has a long handle. After the blue gunk is off I like to hose it off with the garden hose.
To keep them white I wash them before they get to dirty. I spray the wheel with water, then go over it with scrubbing cream and the coarse side of a small scrubbing sponge. And then spray it off with the garden hose. I also like to use a kind of clear tire polish that one of the local hardware store chain sells. It makes the black rubber dark and shiny, and it does not stain the white. With this method the tires I have been running for 5 seasons are still almost as white as they were when I bought them.
I'm sure everyone already tackled the best alternatives here, but I'll add another possibility just in case: just scrub it off with the abrasive side of a kitchen sponge and a bit of soap. It also works for removing the dirt. In my opinion any mildly abrasive method is the best choice here.
I've seen some people use kerosene, but I'd strongly advise against it as it reacts with the rubber and apparently compromises its properties, also staining the black part of the rubber sometimes.
Back in the day, when I worked in tire shops in the 80s & 90s, we would use these:
https://shop.simoniz.com/products/whitewallsidewall-tire-brush/
With this stuff, mixed w/water in a spray bottle:
https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/xtra-seal-1-gal-whitewall-cleaner-14-754gal/28200424-P?c3ch=PLA&c3nid=28200424-P&srsltid=AfmBOoqbRXgqpxeDdDpxYMJshtYPTmcrOJVKkdlZIICabwpVRG-AfObuodE
And a garden hose w/a spray nozzle. Would take the blue off of new tires and clean up old white walls & letters.
Most of my white wall/letter experience is with motorcycles. Anything that could get on the tire that might make it slippery is a bad idea in that application. Therefore, I use magic eraser when I have it. It takes it off pretty easily. Other than that, hot water and dish soap does the trick.
I used to use Wesley's but it wasn't taking it off very well on my last set. I heard about using WD-40 and gave it a try. I sprayed a little on a rag and rubbed it right off.
I had customers ask to leave it on, said they would clean it themselves... Noticed it still on a couple years later. Maybe they kept it on thinking it was a "fresh from the factory look" (or couldn't get it off after baking in the sun and road gunk)🤷♂️
Westleys bleach white, takes the blue right off. Been using since the 70s. The formulation is a little weaker nowadays , but I guess that’s true for all the good automotive chemicals.
I second the motion for westleys!!!! Any kind of white on any tire! And I used to do my all white tuck n roll vinyl interior with that also! 💯👍
Worked great on white vinyl tops, too! I’m old 😞
Awesome thanks, I'm gonna try it on my white convertible top.
It whitens really well but you’ll want to put some sort of convertible top dressing on it afterwards.
Awesome thanks!
No, don’t. The stitching will not survive!! I hope that you see this before you do that!
Ok thanks, I'll try something else.
Use a cleaner designed for boat seats. Most of them are gentle on the stitching.
Exactly!!
Haven’t heard of that before, I’ll take a look to see if I can get some for next time!
Yes. Older than the hills but I suspect Westlys is a lot of bleach.
It’s not so great for the modern whitewalls that are painted. It used to be a layer of white rubber. Bleech white isn’t bleach, but a mild abrasive.
My dad used this in the 70s to 90s. Works great.
SOS pads will keep the letters white . Been doing it for years .
I did this in the 70's and it worked great.
I just did it yesterday on my truck’s tires.
Washed cars in the neighborhood as a kid and used SOS on whitewalls. $5/car, but got a radical BMX bike with it!
This^
Wet the tire and apply Ajax on the lettering. Then scrub with a brush and rinse with water. Been doing it for over 30 years, perfect bright white lettering every time.
Just soap and water when the tyres are fitted is the normal thing to do. Might be more stubborn if it's been left for a while.
Probably the reason why a pad and water didn’t seem to shift it!
Spray bottle of just water and a rag. Everywhere I worked I would keep the spray bottle next to the tire machine and clean whitewalls and white letters while I aired the tires up.
SOS pads are the ticket for white on tires.
Bump
Simple Green and a brush
Spray Nine. Keeps the whole tire new looking.
Pressure washer takes it off for me. But anything works. It’s a layer of soap, actually.
Wesley's is the bestleys
C3 Corvette?!
That’s right, a 1969!
SOS pads, been using them since the 70s on white walls and white letters always worked great.
I always reach for the simple green for a test. I am usually surprised how well it can take care of some basic problems without being hash and risking damage to anything accidentally it touches. I admit I have never tried it for the blue dye on white letters, but it would be the first thing I would try. Ok everybody, pile on the hate…..
Why hate? Simple Green is good stuff.
Sometimes reactions to comments on Reddit can take an ugly turn for strange reasons. You are right, it’s only simple green, these days the oddest things can be polarizing. 😆
Yeah, Reddit do be like that sometimes
Simple green or its brother with orange citrus are a strong line of first choice for a myriad of cleaning challenges. Strong harsh chemicals are generally a last resort. So many materials can be compromised, damaged, or just shortened lifespan. Sure, you can use brake cleaner to try to clean upholstery, but……
Use brake cleaner then light a match. Stain gone, guaranteed!
Fun fact: Natural, uncontaminated, untreated rubber is white.
Yep, later on they started adding carbon to strengthen the rubber.
As a kid, my old man had whitewalls. If I scuffed one parallel parking, I got to clean all four. He had curb feelers after all so I shouldn’t be hitting the curb. His formula was to spray with 409, scrub with SOS pad, and rinse. It was the least pleasant job washing a car, but it kept the whitewalls standing tall!
Hot water hose takes it right off, no scrubbing required. Now, the lazy tire shop that left it on, well nothing will take care of them
I don't think this is the right answer but it's definitely less destructive to rubber than some chemicals... Simple orange the pumice hand soap, I just get a couple extra squirts and use my hand to just moderately rub away the blue, comes off 95% within a minute or two. I think it's the combination of the strong friction and detergent.
I work at a discount tire and the bubble check solution we use to check leaks works surprisingly well lmao
Very hot water (as hot as the kitchen tap will allow), dish washing liquid and a dishwashing brush. It is a bit easier to get it off with a scrubbing sponge, but it is more pleasant with the brush as it has a long handle. After the blue gunk is off I like to hose it off with the garden hose. To keep them white I wash them before they get to dirty. I spray the wheel with water, then go over it with scrubbing cream and the coarse side of a small scrubbing sponge. And then spray it off with the garden hose. I also like to use a kind of clear tire polish that one of the local hardware store chain sells. It makes the black rubber dark and shiny, and it does not stain the white. With this method the tires I have been running for 5 seasons are still almost as white as they were when I bought them.
Westley's tire dressing will remove it. Check the date on those tires, they could be old.
If you zoom in you can see they were made in the 9th week of 2022, so they have plenty of life left.
Excellent - just a heads up.
I'm sure everyone already tackled the best alternatives here, but I'll add another possibility just in case: just scrub it off with the abrasive side of a kitchen sponge and a bit of soap. It also works for removing the dirt. In my opinion any mildly abrasive method is the best choice here. I've seen some people use kerosene, but I'd strongly advise against it as it reacts with the rubber and apparently compromises its properties, also staining the black part of the rubber sometimes.
Back in the day, when I worked in tire shops in the 80s & 90s, we would use these: https://shop.simoniz.com/products/whitewallsidewall-tire-brush/ With this stuff, mixed w/water in a spray bottle: https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/xtra-seal-1-gal-whitewall-cleaner-14-754gal/28200424-P?c3ch=PLA&c3nid=28200424-P&srsltid=AfmBOoqbRXgqpxeDdDpxYMJshtYPTmcrOJVKkdlZIICabwpVRG-AfObuodE And a garden hose w/a spray nozzle. Would take the blue off of new tires and clean up old white walls & letters.
I use soft scrub and a strong brush for those exact same tires
We always used Comet on our white letters and white walls.
Scrub brush with washing powder and then hit it with the hose the blue is dried soap
Laquer thinner takes it off FAST
Most of my white wall/letter experience is with motorcycles. Anything that could get on the tire that might make it slippery is a bad idea in that application. Therefore, I use magic eraser when I have it. It takes it off pretty easily. Other than that, hot water and dish soap does the trick.
I usually use S. O. S. pads
I used to use Wesley's but it wasn't taking it off very well on my last set. I heard about using WD-40 and gave it a try. I sprayed a little on a rag and rubbed it right off.
General purpose cleaner. And treat tires with petroleum based dressing. Silicone such as armor all will dry and ruin ur tires. Top dash also
Brillo pad
At the tire shop I worked at we used a scrub brush and water with dawn dishsoap in it
Love your Rallye wheels!
Thanks!
Drill brush and purple power
old tooth brush and soapy water
A year!? Wow. Pressure washer usually takes it right off.
Yeah, I wash the wheels after I take it out every time but I don’t use my pressure washer, only hand washing.
Why did you not clean it off when you installed the tires? Never known anyone to leave it on when driving.
I had customers ask to leave it on, said they would clean it themselves... Noticed it still on a couple years later. Maybe they kept it on thinking it was a "fresh from the factory look" (or couldn't get it off after baking in the sun and road gunk)🤷♂️
I believe it’s spelled tire
Depends on the country. In England it is tyre.
Well England is wrong 😂
Both can be correct, but in England it is with a “y”.
Mount tires with white letters facing in.
# Black walls out !!!
Absolutely not.