Keeping White Walls Clean
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Road Captain
Joined: Jul 2007
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Keeping White Walls Clean
I've got a 2007 Heritage Classic and had some Metzler wide white walls put on it. I don't mind the work to keep them clean, but they seem to get dirty very quickly with the factory brake pads. If you use something like Armorall or siilar product does it help keep the brake dust/dirt off or does it make it worse? Are any of you using something that works well?
Banned
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 3,706
Likes: 7
From: Woodstock, Ont , Can
My experience with Armorall is it will leave it's own yellow coating on the surface in time. Looks like you're stuck with elbow grease. I will give you one trick . Over time they will lose some of the white, and may have already. If they are sanded with 150 grit sandpaper, it will remove the dingy crap and it will be bright white again. Spin the wheel and hold the sandpaper . Just about every other method fails to restore them, and bleach is a pain.
Ron
Ron
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Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 55
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From: Land of Confusion
Putting Armorall or a similar product on a tire makes them all shiny, but if you allow any to get into the tread area, watch out! 
NO TRACTION
Most cleaning products out there act as solvents. So over time, repeated exposure to these products will at the least accelerate the "aging" of the tire, and at worst actually damage the tire. This is especialy true with white wall tires, as owners natually want that "whiter-than-white" look.
It appears that most tire manufacturers don't recommend anything stronger than a kitchen-grade soap or cleanser, a soft brush (metal wire brushes and rubber are not a good combination) and water. Stuff like Comet cleanser and the like have enough abrasive properties to help remove a lot of buildup on tire sidewalls, but not too harsh as to do any significant damage to the tire.
I currently don't have white wall tires, but when I was a kid, my dad had me use Comet and a brush with water to clean the tires on his classic Chevys (some had white walls) and they cleaned up nice enough!
Cheers
NO TRACTIONMost cleaning products out there act as solvents. So over time, repeated exposure to these products will at the least accelerate the "aging" of the tire, and at worst actually damage the tire. This is especialy true with white wall tires, as owners natually want that "whiter-than-white" look.
It appears that most tire manufacturers don't recommend anything stronger than a kitchen-grade soap or cleanser, a soft brush (metal wire brushes and rubber are not a good combination) and water. Stuff like Comet cleanser and the like have enough abrasive properties to help remove a lot of buildup on tire sidewalls, but not too harsh as to do any significant damage to the tire.
I currently don't have white wall tires, but when I was a kid, my dad had me use Comet and a brush with water to clean the tires on his classic Chevys (some had white walls) and they cleaned up nice enough!
Cheers
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,108
Likes: 9
From: Lincolnton, NC
Somewhere ( maybe even on this forum ) a few months ago I saw a blurb about a new product from Michelin designed to keep brake dust from adhering to wheels and tires. Try Google, maybe something will turn up.
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GymRat523
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Jul 13, 2009 08:06 AM
