Bringing back "white" walls.

I have a Spaceliner with the original Sears tires, still in pretty good shape, but the whitewalls are now cream or tan walls. I've tried "Bleche White", nothing. Any suggestions?

Mike

white walls

I have had fairly good luck using "Soft Scrub" and a nylon bristle brush. Soft Scrub combines the bleach/cleaner with some kind of mild abrasive in it.

Bringing back whitewalls

mickeyc said:

I have a Spaceliner with the original Sears tires, still in pretty good shape, but the whitewalls are now cream or tan walls. I've tried "Bleche White", nothing. Any suggestions?

Mike

Click to expand...

This bike has the original Allstate tires as well. I used simple green and a nylon bristle brush.

Thank you

Thanks to you both. I have Simple Green, so will try that first.

Mike

I'd be interested to see a before and after of how well the Simple Green works. V/r Shawn

I can do that....stay tuned.

Mike

Pictures of results

Here's some pictures of the attempt to brighten up the old Allstate whitewalls.
Picture one is both tires compared to a new white wall.
Picture two is after Simple Green compared to the untouched tire. No real difference.
Picture three is after Simple Green and scouring powder (cleanser). No biggie either.
Picture four is Bleche White and scouring powder.
Picture five is Bleche White and brush (all the above were also scrubbed with a stiff brush.
Picture six is after combinations of all of the above.
Picture seven is the finished product next to a new white wall.

The pictures show the various steps whiter than they really are. You can see that in the last picture. I'm done now, as it appears the white part is getting a bit thin. Think I will mount them up anyways, as they are the original tires (dated) to the bike and are in good shape.

Mike

spray nine sand with 400-600 wet/dry grit paper or scotch brite pads (works on raised white letter tires also)

if more power needed mix 1/2 cup spray nine and 2 table spoons of bleach (if this does not make then brite white, sell them and start over)

I use mean green degreaser or greased lighting and a non scratch scour sponge and goof off carefully in tough spots with a rag.

Funny, how there is a recent thread with tips on how to get the new w/w John tires to mellow and look aged with wood stains and this thread to accomplish the reverse.

My take is clean the original tires, but embrace the fact they look old and match the bike...as paint, tires change with time and I only use original tires (with the rare rider exception, partly to avoid a broken clavicle, but mainly to not ruin vintage tires!)

I buy whole bikes sometimes just for tires that look like yours.

Chris

another thread on cleaning whitewalls

great post, you got close on the last pics, in fact it took me a bit to see the tires are on opposite sides.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...stleys-bleche-white-alternative.929576/page-2

Makes me want to buy some rub-o-matic to try it out.

The main thing about the thread is that Westley's formulation is different now.