Whitewall cleaner/protecting (dragerman)

[sleepy2]

Hey dragerman

Just checking in to see if you had time to see what the name of the cleaner or company is for the whitewall cleaner/protectant that we were discussing at Carl's M&E last Sat? Any help will be appreciated!!!!!!!!

[SilvrT]

I'm not dragerman but since you posted this in the open forums, I figgure anyone (including me LOL) can respond.

 

For years and years ... ever since it first came out ... I've always used Fantastic for cleaning whitewalls. Many years ago I managed car rental operation so was involved in cleaning cars and trucks a lot ... and let me tell you, those things get real dirty...some peaple are major PIGS and just run the crap out of rental vehicles. Fantastic was literally my saviour when it came to cleaning anything rubber, vinyl, plastic, etc and I've cleaned whitewalls that were so dirty you couldn't hardly tell them apart from the rest of the tire .... Fantastic brought them back to near perfect.

[eagleeye]

Yup, fantastic would be a good cleaner to use for sure. The one thing that you SHOULD NOT use is whitewall cleaner.

Anything containing bleach, over time will ruin your whitewalls. They will dry the whitewalls out over time.

Regular cleaner, like fantastic, 409, simple green, etc. will work.

 

Steve

[SilvrT]

Yup, fantastic would be a good cleaner to use for sure. The one thing that you SHOULD NOT use is whitewall cleaner.

Anything containing bleach, over time will ruin your whitewalls. They will dry the whitewalls out over time.

Regular cleaner, like fantastic, 409, simple green, etc. will work.

 

Steve

 

LOL ... how ironic eh?

[Guest BluesLover]

Hey Phil - I used a couple of different cleaners for the wide white walls.

 

Westley's Bleche-White - don't think it's available here in Canada, but s short trip across the border to a Wallyworld ought to do the trick.

 

The other, less expensive, option is to use Simple Green. Can be bought at a TSC or Crappy Tire. Buy the concentrate stuff and then dilute it to do the whitewalls. I also used it (further diluted) to clean the bike.

 

I swore off the wide white walls ... would rather spend time riding her than cleaning her .

 

Cheers,

[Monsta]

+1 on Westley's Bleche-White. That's what I use on my white walls and all my tires in general.

 

When I run out I use Castol's purple stuff. Like Simple Green but cheaper and easier to find...for me anyway.

[similost]

When I was a little kid and whitewalls were the rage, my dad tought me the best ever thing to use on white walls. I don't have white walls any more, but after all I've cleaned I will never forget.. SOS pads.. best ever cleaner for them I've found.. look like brand new after cleaning..

[autopilot]

Original Go-Jo & a brush!! Takes any grease and grime off, whitens up the white, darkens up the black (takes the brownish oxidation off); rinses off easy and leaves a satiny shine on the black due to the lanolin in the Go-Jo...and oh so easy on the hands!! Seriously!

[wes0778]

Go-Jo, lanolin, Might be a silly question, but would that be a NO-NO on M/C tires, kinda like Armorall?

[autopilot]

Keeps the rubber compound from drying out. I never had a problem with it. I remember seeing something about Armoural. What is it they say it does? (or lanolin for that matter)

Edited May 28, 2009 by autopilot
extra thought

[BradT]

I have pretty much only used SOS and water. Works quite well.

 

NEver liked using chemicals on tires, after having four BFG tires on my van go bad. Beads of the tires cracked all the way around, (one side only). BFG came good for it but asked what I used and it was was tire cleaner and they commented that could have been the cause.

 

Brad

[wes0778]

Keeps the rubber compound from drying out. I never had a problem with it. I remember seeing something about Armoural. What is it they say it does? (or lanolin for that matter)

 

Armorall tends to migrate to the tread and can make the tire tread "slicker" than it was when it was new.

[autopilot]

I don't recall ever seeing or experiencing any evidence of that with GO-JO. It rinses off almost completely because it emulsifies in water. The amount of lanolin left on the sidewall is very small, just like when you wash you hands with it (that's one reason I like it; that and the fact it takes off tar real well) and any lanolin that might have gotten on the tread while washing the tires, will go away very quickly, I would imagine.

 

I may be wrong, but I don't think there would be enough left on the sidewall TO migrate; you have to understand, though, that when I wash the bike or car, I towel everything dry, including the rims & tires. If I don't, it seems there's always a little water hiding somewhere that creeps out when I get on the road, then that collects a little dirt and looks bad, after I spent all that time trying to make it look good. Sounds anal, I know! I've known guys that would have the stuff dripping & running off the tire or slinging it up on everything, not me! My kid had a lowrider pickup, that he would spend hours detailing for cruise night. He'd have that crap on the tires so heavy, he'd go a 1/2 block and have it slung all over the side of the truck. He quit pretty quick!

 

I'm not as bad as I used to be, though. Back in the day, I hung around the corner gas station and changed tires, washed cars (put on chains in the winter) for extra money. I could do my car for free, winter or summer, so I'd pull it in the wash rack and close the door and go to it. I'd pop out the body plugs and flush the rocker panels with water and always use the pressure nozzle to hose down the fender wells and frame rails, suspension & behind the bumpers. I would jack the car up so I could get all the way around the tire. When I got done, I'd blow the whole car off with compressed air (especially around the chrome, the window fuzzies and the door locks. I'd open the doors, hood & truck and wipe down the channels and anything that had either water or dust on it. When I was completely finished, I'd take the towels and fold them and put them on the floor mats. Just shy of a full on detailing job!!!! And I'd do it every week at least once...more if it rained; then I'd break out the Blue Coral and wax it at least once a month, by hand...no buffers...no swirl marks. I would even rinse the car off with cold water to set the wax, then air blow it off & towel buff it dry. That was then!

 

I digress.....but, hey it was 1965 and the car was a '55 Ford 2 door hardtop with a V8 and dual exhaust. Most of the other guys didn't even have a car of their own.

 

Sorry 'bout that! For the time it took to write that, I was somewhere else, where I didn't care about the idiot politicians or the economy or political correctness or responsibilities. I started to go back and take out all the extraneous, off-topic stuff, but I so appreciated even that brief moment, that I think I'll just leave it.

[dragerman]

Hey dragerman

Just checking in to see if you had time to see what the name of the cleaner or company is for the whitewall cleaner/protectant that we were discussing at Carl's M&E last Sat? Any help will be appreciated!!!!!!!!

Here it is... http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?p=342227#post342227 I've been trying to find the product but haven't had any luck yet. I'll be going in Toronto tomorrow and will check my old supplier.

[gunkylump]

Hey dragerman

Just checking in to see if you had time to see what the name of the cleaner or company is for the whitewall cleaner/protectant that we were discussing at Carl's M&E last Sat? Any help will be appreciated!!!!!!!!

 

Hey Dragerman:

 

I use the Mr. Clean Magic Pads to clean my whitewalls, they do a great job.

 

randy:hihi:

[The Black Pearl]

had white walls on my 1st gen for awhile now my 2nd gen has them and i swear by the magic eraser from mr clean, soooo fast and easy

[Big Ben]

WD-40 works also,

[SilvrT]

One sure-fire cure to cleaning whitewalls... you'll NEVER have to clean them again....

 

Don't put 'em on!

 

[dragerman]

Cleaning the white walls is not the problem... it's having them stay clean for longer without creating a safety issue or harming the rubber.

[biker251]

i use spray nine,spray it on, brush lightly and spray off with water.

[sleepy2]

Hey dragerman did you get a chance to see if you could find the whitewall cleaner on the weekend? Looked on Google but couldn't find anything about it. Will check a few stores around here this week.