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“White” letter tires

Posted By: robertop

“White” letter tires - 04/09/23 11:50 PM

I am so disappointed by my Goodrich radial GT tires, with the white letters turning gray in just few years and my car garaged basically for the same time. I found out that the only way to go back to white was to actually to sand the gray carefully, but now it’s happening again! I am ready to dump the set and go to a different company. Can you guys recommend tires with permanent white letters? Thank you.
Posted By: moparjim79

Re: “White” letter tires - 04/10/23 12:03 AM

From my experience, no such thing anymore. Even tires offered without white letters are turning brown almost immediately after cleaning them(cleaning, not "dressing") I even have a set of tires on my work truck that have silica in them, they brown up really fast. Tires ain't what they used to be
Posted By: Dcuda69

Re: “White” letter tires - 04/10/23 01:24 AM

Any white letter will get dark over time...that''s why I don't like them...turns into another thing that requires attention. With that said I do have white letter Coopers on my truck(long story as to why I didn't mount them in...still regretting that decision) the best I have found so far is a Scotchbrite pad in some car wash soap. Cleans them up great but they will darken by the next wash time.
Posted By: Neil

Re: “White” letter tires - 04/10/23 01:49 AM

Bug and tar remover is good for getting the brown film off sidewalls You can use it on raised white letters with a bristle brush as well.
Posted By: mopars4ever

Re: “White” letter tires - 04/10/23 02:40 AM

magic eraser
Posted By: GomangoCuda

Re: “White” letter tires - 04/10/23 02:40 AM

I am surprised that someone hasn't come up with a sealant for the white letters so the dirt just rinses off.
Posted By: A12

Re: “White” letter tires - 04/10/23 02:43 AM

A little contact or brake cleaner sprayed on a rag works.

Try it first on a letter or two, try lacquer thinner on a rag it might work for you also?
Posted By: Moparite

Re: “White” letter tires - 04/10/23 10:46 AM

You can install brake dust shields to keep the dust off the letters.
Posted By: 4x4 Roundup

Re: “White” letter tires - 04/10/23 02:35 PM

I use white letter tire paint periodically. I tried several products but the paint works best for me.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...p;_nkw=tire+paint+pen+white&_sacat=0
Posted By: 469runner

Re: “White” letter tires - 04/10/23 02:44 PM

It is not dirt that causes the brown letters, it is the rubber leaching into the white and staining them. No amount of cleaning or scrubbing will change that. Unfortunately, it has been an ongoing problem for many years for BFG tires. I will never buy them again.
Posted By: topside

Re: “White” letter tires - 04/10/23 03:49 PM

Seems to me it's related to heat in the tires: the lettering on my slicks would be browner nearer the "tread" than it was near the rims.
I'd wipe off the "Goodyear" lettering with lacquer thinner - hey, I'd advertise for them if they were free... laugh2

In any case, I'm not much of a white-letter guy anyway; I think cars look visually cleaner/less "busy", so to speak, without lettered tires.
But for something like a '70 F60 restored car, you're kind of stuck with the letters.
Posted By: Sniper

Re: “White” letter tires - 04/10/23 05:08 PM

Know why they do it

https://autofella.com/how-to-clean-car-tires/

Quote


The main culprit is an organic compound that goes by the name of anti-ozonant. Anti-ozonant is added to rubber and plastic materials to prevent oxidation, fading, cracking, and premature degradation.

Anti-ozonant is constantly drawn to the surface to constantly protect the material from oxidation caused by repeated and constant exposure to UV damage, high temperatures, dirt, and mud.

You can think of it this way: anti-ozonant is like applying sunscreen lotion on your skin when you’re out all day on the beach. Without sunscreen, you will burn to a crisp in less than 2 hours.

Anti-ozonant will serve to protect and prolong the life of the tire. Without it, you will need to constantly buy new tires as UV damage and heat will significantly shorten the lifespan of the rubber compounds in your tire.

But there’s a catch. When the anti-ozonant is exposed to air and moisture as it is drawn to the surface of the tire, it oxidizes and leaves a brownish residue. This is the main cause of tire blooming.

Tire blooming can also be partly blamed for lubricant-type chemicals that are applied in the manufacturing process, particularly in the inside of the tire mold. Think of it as a non-stick coating that allows the tires to release smoothly from the tire mold.

This non-stick coating will chemically bond with the tire in such a way that it holds a lot of anti-ozonant on the surface of the tire. You know what that means, right? As more of the anti-ozonant is drawn to the surface of the tire, then more of it will oxidize and cause those ugly brown stains on the tire sidewall.
Posted By: moparx

Re: “White” letter tires - 04/10/23 05:19 PM

this reminds me of the time in the early 70's when i bought all the wide white wall tires from the local tire shop.
these were tires they had for many years and couldn't sell. by then, most of the blue stuff that was supposed to protect the white wall until mounted and washed off had disappeared from moving around over the years.
although somewhat dirty, the white was, well, still white.
after a little cleaning, these things looked great.
since this was way before the interwebs, i advertised them in hemmings, and made a good buck, selling all of them pretty quickly. up boogie
beer
Posted By: 57Fury440

Re: “White” letter tires - 04/11/23 05:11 AM

The last Cooper Cobra tires I got last summer are still nice and white. I have never had a problem with the Coopers. The BF Goodrich however have turned brown. I sanded them like they recommend but they only last a while, and you have to do them again.]
Posted By: gtx6970

Re: “White” letter tires - 04/11/23 07:31 PM

A good friend of mine bought 4 BFGs from a vender at Carlise summer before last.

They gave him a 5 year written warranty the letters would not turn grey
Posted By: JFChallenger440

Re: “White” letter tires - 04/12/23 12:17 PM

Anyone used this stuff ?

http://www.northhantstyres.com/cleaners/bleche-wite-tyre-cleaner.php
Posted By: A12

Re: “White” letter tires - 04/12/23 05:19 PM

Originally Posted by JFChallenger440
Anyone used this stuff ?

http://www.northhantstyres.com/cleaners/bleche-wite-tyre-cleaner.php


It's been around for decades originally under a different name. Doesn't work all that well on current raised white letters IMO,
Posted By: John Brown

Re: “White” letter tires - 04/12/23 07:49 PM

I started using Bleechy White in the early 60's, when it had Sodium Metasilicate in it as the active ingredient. That stuff would take your breath away, but it sure got whitewalls white. Todays product is a mere shadow of what it used to be.
Posted By: Sunroofcuda

Re: “White” letter tires - 04/12/23 10:12 PM

As far as today's white letter tires turning brown & crappy rubber compounds, I put a set of OWL Firestones (NOT the vintage tires, but current SUV tires) on my wife's Grand Cherokee, & a year later the OWL's are still nice bright white letters. So not all of today's rubber compounds are created equal!
Posted By: 57Fury440

Re: “White” letter tires - 04/13/23 05:02 AM

Bleche White was a great product at one time but not anymore. I used it years ago but it's not the same since it was bought out. The only white letter tires that I have seen turn are the BFG.
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