Whitewall Tire Cleaner and '73-'77 O.E. Goodyear Tires

[Raymond W.]

I've seen previous threads on this subject with numerous suggestions, e.g. WD-40, Brake Cleaner (ouch), Simple Green, Fantastic, Foam Cleaners, and Westley's...and there may be others? After trying most all of them with limited and temporary success (passed on the brake cleaner), I decided to consult with John Kelsey of Kelsey Tire on the subject. I just may have stumbled upon the solution to my dingy whitewall tire dilemma! John's advise was to use Xtra Seal Rubber prep (stock #14-100), available and in stock at O'Reiley's Parts Store (none in the CT area) or on ebay through Vhautoparts (who I found to have the cheapest shipping cost), to remove all of the layered "film buildup" left by all of my previous cleaning attempts. I was instructed to saturate a small area of a high pile hand towel, limiting myself to cleaning short 2" to 3" sections at a time. The pile will begin to fill up, so rotate the towel and repeat same until the job is completed. For added cleaning capability, I was told that an S.O.S. pad, moistened with water and prep will further assist my cleaning efforts. Note, cleaning between four and eight o'clock, will help carry chemicals away from any painted rim surfaces. Lastly, rinse the whitewall after each application and see if additional attention is necessary. Apparently the key to a satisfactory finished product is the prep's ability to successfully removes any/all of the film that has built up from the use of "many other" previously used whitewall cleaning agents. The same principle was practiced years ago on our old kitchen floors, whereby it was necessary to first strip off all of the old wax build up, before applying a new wax coat that would make the floor shine like new again. My continued use of Xtra Seal Rubber prep, combined with the as needed use of Westley's Whitewall Tire Bleach, should keep my whitewalls looking close to the color they were when new. I just finished the first prep application on my left front and I like the way it's looking! Good luck with any upcoming whitewall cleaning projects. P.S. I've always questioned my choice of whitewall tires for my car (influenced somewhat by all the '74 brochures depicting a car dressed in whitewalls), so I happened to ask about the availability of Goodyear O.E. tires for '73 - '77 Corvette's. I was advised that the tire I'd be looking to install on my '74 may "possibly" be available through Kelsey Tire sometime during the first quarter of 2012...only time will tell?

[Peter G.]

Re: Whitewall Tire Cleaner and '73-'77 O.E. Goodyear Tires

Raymond..thanks for this info on whitewall cleaning.

I too have been influnced by the Sales Brochure for 1973 depicting a red coupe with thin striped whitewall tires that just yesterday I removed my P225/70Rx15 Goodyear Eagle GTII RWL and replaced them with a set of old pracitcally new Uniroyal GR70x15 with thin white stripe. I have the correct NOS Firestone Radial 500s for NCRS Judging.

I know the big debate about driving on tires that have expired after..4,5,10 years, but I don't buy it. Maybe I am just too head strong and don't want to believe it. Tires back in the 70's were not that complicated as today with high speed Z rated tires and high speeds that some of these cars can do. I was in the retail tire business back then too.

I will try and get some pics of the new shoes on my '73 when done. I am thinking of using my rally wheels even though I have a good set of P02s.

The thin whitewalls are in excellent condition as is the rest of the tires, so cleaning has been pretty easy. I am not inclined to use brillo pads as I have always found the wiring to be too abraisve. Westley's Tire White has always been a excellent whitewall cleaner in the past for me.

Our cars appear to be pretty close in options and appearance except by color and year.

Later..

[William M.]

Re: Whitewall Tire Cleaner and '73-'77 O.E. Goodyear Tires

What influenced my white stripes on my '73 was the picture that the original owner sent me from the day he took delivery


I had Diamondback shave the lettering off modern BFG tires and apply a white stripe. I use these as my driver tires



I have original Firestone 500's for judging. Wouldn't recommend driving on them - here's what happened to the one that was sitting in my spare tire tub



That's great news that the Goodyears will be reproduced. Obviously, that was the only shot us 73-77 owners had, as Firestone would never allow the infamous 500 to exist ever again!

[Peter G.]

Re: Whitewall Tire Cleaner and '73-'77 O.E. Goodyear Tires

My '73 is a very early built car of September 13, 1972 and VIN # 2051. From what I have read and understand to be even if the new owner ordered RWL tires early in the production year that there was a very good chance that his/her car was deleivered with Whitewall tires. Also numbers indicate that almost 20k cars were white stripe. Thats almost 2/3rds of production! RWL tires didn't start showing up until mid 1973 due to a supply issue.

I don't know all the exact facts and I am sure someone out there knows the reasons behind all this.

Bill..can you tell us more about the procedure on your WWs? The shaving of BFG? So is there any name brand on the sidewall of the tire? etc.

[William M.]

Re: Whitewall Tire Cleaner and '73-'77 O.E. Goodyear Tires

Bill..can you tell us more about the procedure on your WWs? The shaving of BFG? So is there any name brand on the sidewall of the tire? etc.

They shave the lettering off the sidewall so it is smooth. You tell them how wide a stripe and how far from the edge. They vulcanize it on.
www.dbtires.com

[Raymond W.]

Re: Whitewall Tire Cleaner and '73-'77 O.E. Goodyear Tires

Bill, from cleaning whitewalls, to manufacturing them...all good stuff! I'm curious to know f you purchased tires from DB or did you send them your own? Also, what kind of approximate costs are we talking about for this? Thanks, Ray

[Peter G.]

Re: Whitewall Tire Cleaner and '73-'77 O.E. Goodyear Tires

Raymond..yesterday I purchased the items you recommended for cleaning whitewalls. Xtra Prep Rubber? and Westley's Bleach White.

I plan on trying these products this weekend on a NOS tire that I picked up on eBay for a spare tire for my '73.

Question for you. Procedure....use the xtra prep in the can first all around the tire and wipe it off or wash it off with water. Then use the Westley's ..scrup with brush? and then wipe or wash off?

Just wondered your procedure.

Oh bye the way got the xtra prep in the can stock # 14-100 from my local O'Reilley's, but they had to order it from their local warehouse. They said they were not going to stock the product in the stores, but would just get it from the warehouse when needed. The stock # 14-100 was very helpful as both the clerks were scratching their heads when I asked for this product.

The quart can cost approx. $10.40.

Thanks.

[Raymond W.]

Re: Whitewall Tire Cleaner and '73-'77 O.E. Goodyear Tires

Pete,

I would just use the Xtra Seal Tire prep to get the white lettering or whitewall to a satisfactory color. Depending on the level of staining, this may take more than one application which should be done in small 2" to 3" sections, continuing such until you've cleaned all the lettering and/or whitewall. As you clean each small area, wash it off with water. Once you've gone around the tire, see what it looks like and take a break, or even put it away for the night, revisiting the same process the next day. After each complete application, the staining agents work themselves closer to the top, eventually reducing the stain to a point of elimination. Once you've achieved a satisfactory level of "white" color, you can continue to maintain it through the use of S.O.S. pads and water. I will note that an earlier commented opinion within this thread preferred not to use S.O.S. pads, everyone has their own preferences I guess? My understanding is that "all" cleaning agents (Westley's included), contribute to the white rubber staining process. The need to clean should diminish and any new staining should become lighter. Stay away from any tire shine products, they leave a film, dry, accumulate and dull the white rubber color. If you feel the need to use a tire shining product, clean it off as soon as possible. Good luck.

[William M.]

Re: Whitewall Tire Cleaner and '73-'77 O.E. Goodyear Tires

Bill, from cleaning whitewalls, to manufacturing them...all good stuff! I'm curious to know f you purchased tires from DB or did you send them your own? Also, what kind of approximate costs are we talking about for this? Thanks, Ray

Yes, bought the tires from Diamond Back. Ordered them a few years ago. Don't remember exact cost, but it was reasonable.

[Peter G.]

Re: Whitewall Tire Cleaner and '73-'77 O.E. Goodyear Tires

Ok, here are the final pics of the new whitewall tires and the results after following Raymond's procedure and using the products.

I am very happy with the results of the cleaning of the whitewalls although my ww were in very good condition to begin with. At one time the ww were painted with black paint?

Here are the pics.

Thanks.

[Peter G.]

Re: Whitewall Tire Cleaner and '73-'77 O.E. Goodyear Tires

A few more pics that I missed.

[Raymond W.]

Re: Whitewall Tire Cleaner and '73-'77 O.E. Goodyear Tires

Pete, your tires look great! Although you said your whitewalls were in very good "white" shape to begin with, I would think that you probably achieved your final results with much less cleaning effort than what you've been use to? I too was very impressed with the cleaning capability of this tire prep product. After seeing the photos of your whitewalls, I will definitely be ordering them, IF and WHEN the reproduction Goodyear GR7015 becomes available. Glad to hear everything worked out. Ray

[Peter G.]

Re: Whitewall Tire Cleaner and '73-'77 O.E. Goodyear Tires

I was just at a Friday Night Cruise-In and parked next to me was a 1972 Corvette LT-1 Red with black interior. The car had radial tires with thin white stripe so I took a closer look. The tires were Goodyear Eagle GA, but in size P225/70x15! Pretty close. I don't know how old these tires are or when they were produced or even if they still are being made and sold.

If the repo company does not come out next year or soon with the Goodyear white wall "thin stripe" you may want to consider this tire?

They looked just like my tire except a bit "fatter" and of course were GY.