How to clean and coat vintage tires

[TokyoProf]

I have 20-30 year old tires, which have not been cleaned in as much time. The rubber is relatively stiff (maybe dry) but in great visual condition with all of the spikes and no cracking of the rubber. These tires will be mostly for display. I want to take off the rims and place foams inside but doing so might risk ripping or cracking the tires. Might have to leave it as is.

Do ya'll clean and brush in warm dishwashing soap water and then coat with silicon shock oil? I don't think ultrasonic cleaners will be effective on caked dirt. My purpose is to rehydrate the rubber so the spikes don't fall off easily.

[morrisey0]

I clean with simple hot water and Dawn. Then spray and wipe with aerosol Silicone spray. Some people state that the aerosols will harm the rubber, so just to be safe, I spray on towel and then wipe.

[RC10th]

I scrub them with Simple Green and or use Aerospace 303

[Diamond Dave]

What is 303? Never heard of it.

[BattleTrak]

I have read some articles about preserving rubber on antique toys.. most of them basically talk about minimizing the inevitable degradation of time by using climate controlled conditions away from oils, heat, UV..etc.

On old tires, I do a basic clean with hot water, dish soap, scrub brush..and some careful use of the heat gun to relax it on the wheel and reduce the white appearance of the mold release agents.

I haven’t tried putting silicone oil on them…I’m not sure if it’s a good idea or not.

[RC10th]

What is 303? Never heard of it.

303 is a rubber protectant and rejuvinator.

[Diamond Dave]

How the heck have I not ever heard or seen this. Thanks, I would totally use this.

[Toaster]

Ok so I know this is going to sound a little crazy….but my wife walked by me a couple months ago and asked me what I was doing in the sink and of course I had a couple pairs of old tires I was attempting to scrub down with soap and water.

She told me to try something she uses to get makeup off her…makeup brushes…seriously and she told me to try baby oil.

So there I was, baby oil and a medium bristle brush and it worked like a charm….rinsed with soap and water afterwards and they seemed to show well…

Now I don’t know it this will hurt the tires in any way but thought I would mention it just in case…pictures to come soon.

[TokyoProf]

I was doing the same thing scrubbing tires in a plastic tub using a barbeque-wired brush in warm water and dishwashing soap. Even metal brushes were not successful getting old caked dirt out surprisingly. Next time i have baby oil around, I can try it out. Reminds me of when I used to scuba dive, and the instructor advised using toothpaste (or spit) on the lens to keep goggles clean and fog-free (rinsed afterward of course).

[Dadio]

I think I'd try baby oil on cheap tires first and check the results after 6 months before I'd try on rare vintage tires . Oils will soften and clean rubber but then it swells and turns to jelly ( gelatine for you US folks not jam ).

[silvertriple]

I've been said that glycerine is giving very good results on old tires after proper cleaning (hot water and dish soap) to make the tires softer again... It also works with WD40 (general purpose one): I can confirm this as I tried myself. I don't know 303, but if I can find some, I would try...