Last year I bought a set of BFG white letter tires, and now the letters have turned of a stubborn brownish color. I am sure they can be returned to the original white, but what is the best product to apply? Thank you!

Been covered here recently, nothing is the consensus.

I use to use lacquer thinner. Carefully applied from a cloth stretched over my finger. Just wipe the white. Worked really well, but it discoloring the black a little if you are sloppy. Tire shine will remedy that though.

I use to use Formula 409 or "Fantastik" kitchen countertop cleaner....IIRC same stuff as the old "Bleach-white" tire cleaner from the parts store.
As Pacnorth mentioned, just use on the letters only, then use whatever tire shine you want on the rest.

Grill brush with metal bristles and standard strength degreaser. Worked at a carwash in highschool and that's all we used, makes them shine like new.

Welcome to the club! Here are my before and after pictures...after about a year's time spent in the garage.

Yes, Raised brown letter tires. Sorry to tell you, there is nothing that will get those letters white again. It is a defect in the manufacturing of the tires. I thought by now maybe it had been rectified. Something in the compound of the rubber is staining the lettering. You could scrape, sand, chemically treat them, etc. Nothing works. The letters are that color now. I tried painting mine. Very tedious, and did not last. I will never buy another BFG tire again after this. Unfortunately, as little as I drive my cars, I'll be looking at the brown letters for a long time.

Same method, but I've been using trichlorethylene for decades...removes the "browning" that most WLT's experience

and it will keep coming back.

Yep, BFG lost a sale from me. Last fall I bought a set of Mickey Thompsons. I love the look of the TA's, but didn't want "raised brown letter tires".

Oh, I know the brown will come back! As long as they look decent for a while I will be happy.This is not my first set.

David1971 what did you use? Looks great

My apologies JMCFAN. My post is confusing and misleading. The "before" picture is when the TA's were brand new. I shot that picture shortly after I removed the blue dye from the lettering and cleaned the complete tire, both front and back...including the blackwalls. Then I applied some rubber/vinyl protectent. Yea, they looked fantastic at that moment. Then as you all know, it is all downhill from that point.

By the way, the blackwalls are now discolored also.

David

oh ok....that makes sense. I used lacquer thinner last night...worked pretty well

Go into the kitchen and grab a Brillo pad. Does a great job on the old wide white walls. Wet and scrub, comes clean easily.

Been using this with a stiff brush for over 40 years! works great. I think they were bought out by Black Magic Co.

I never had any luck with bleche - wite on brown letters. Also brillo will put small cuts in the white letters.

Glad it worked for you, worked for me for years. Now I have Goodyears that don’t have that problem.

[/quote]Glad it worked for you, worked for me for years. Now I have Goodyears that don’t have that problem.
[/quote]

What Goodyears do you have, and how old are they? When I put the M/T's on last fall, I replaced my Goodyear Eagle GT II's that were 16 years old. I loved them, only had 17,000 miles, but I felt that they had aged out, and were a ticking time bomb, even though there was no dry rot. I wanted new Goodyears, but they quit making a 15" white letter performance radial a long time ago. Do you have Polyglas?

Glad it worked for you, worked for me for years. Now I have Goodyears that don’t have that problem.
[/quote]

What Goodyears do you have, and how old are they? When I put the M/T's on last fall, I replaced my Goodyear Eagle GT II's that were 16 years old. I loved them, only had 17,000 miles, but I felt that they had aged out, and were a ticking time bomb, even though there was no dry rot. I wanted new Goodyears, but they quit making a 15" white letter performance radial a long time ago. Do you have Polyglas?
[/quote]






Mine are Goodyear Eagle GT ll’s too. Purchased around 2006 so just about as old. Probably only 15,000 on them. Always garaged. I’m not to worried about catastrophic failure, I figure I’ll get a warning of some sort. If I ever replace I will probably got to MT Sportsman’s.