I got my tires about a year ago and I got the blue coating off the whitewall stripe, but they still look kind of greenish, not bright white. I've tried baking soda, several different cleaners, and they still don't get totally white. Any suggestions on what I can do, or is it permanently stuck like that?

 

Wesleys Bleach White.

 

I still have some Wesleys but I think it is now Black Magic Bleche-Wite. Some folks have said it is not the same. I would also recommend getting one of those brushes with brass bristles to clean them with. Do Not put tire dressing on the whitewalls. They will make dust cling to the whitewalls. When I had my 54 Olds people used to ask me how I got my whitewalls so clean. I told them I just never let them get dirty which was pretty much the truth. I have provided links to both products below.

 

The old school way to clean whitewalls was (and is) a Brillo or SOS pad. I've used the new Bleche-White and it seems to work fine.

 

2nd for black magic white wall cleaner. I've use it with scotch brite pads and fine steel wool. Usually need to clean the white walls once or twice a year at least to keep them bright.

 

Brillo pad.

 

X2 ^^^^^^

 

wesleys, or good ol' Comet cleanser and a small wire brush/steel wool.

 

I just put white walls on my 96 98 and bought a bottle of the Black Magic Bleche White. It works well.

 

To this day I only use Brillo/SOS Pads - I may supplement by spraying w/ liquid bleach from a sprayer (or, Simple Green). It's "possible" you could be witnessing residue using liquid bleach - again, possible the key word here as the process of producing liquid bleach (sodium hypochlorite) renders some surfaces a light yellowish green residue.

Another old-school cleaner you can try is TSP (TriSodiumPhosphate). I'd give TSP a shot if all else fails. You can buy at any hardware store.

 

I tried Arm and Hammer baking soda with steel wool and it didn't work. Maybe I will try the Bleach White or SOS next. I hope it's not permanently stuck like that

 

I never used anything other than water and soap before the other day, so I don't think it's bleach related.

Is that TSP stuff something you have to wear heavy gloves for? Not familiar with that

 

Baking Soda is going to be less effective than Borax - don't confuse the two, they are not equivalent. Borax is a borate (Sodium Borate, it contains Boron) while Baking Soda is a Sodium Bicarbonate (it does not contain Boron). Both are alkaline but Borax is ~9.5pH while Baking Soda is ~8.0pH - Borax being far more alkaline than Baking Soda. Household Bleach [Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl)] is ~12.0pH - it is a strong base (very alkaline). Because the pH scale is logarithmic, the difference in a pH of 1.0 is equivalent to 100x (100 times) stronger or weaker. Therefore, a pH of 8 is 100 times stronger or weaker than a pH of 9. pH = 7.0 = neutral; pH <7.0 (acidic); pH <7.0 (basic). Albeit, House Bleach is 400x more basic than Baking Soda. Tipping the scale would be a substance such as NaOH (Sodium Hydroxide), e.g. Red Devil Lye with a pH ~14.0 (extremely caustic).

It's a tough call knowing exactly what the green color substance is you're attempting to remove - it could "possibly" be a mold (a green mold),"if" that were the case, a strong bleach (such as a household bleach) should prove effective. There are several things which influence how "embedded" this unknown is within the white wall material - that greatest being the porosity of the white wall material.

I'll say this, I have known several folks over the years who purchased motorcycle tires (I won't mention the brand name) whose tires always had a brownish appearance and no matter what they use they could not remove the brownish coloring. Turned out that manufactured had to warranty a certain large batch of tires and issue new tires to consumers because the "process" (whatever that is) was of poor quality rendering the white walls far less than desirable. Some things you can't control unfortunately.

 

TSP has been around forever. Depending on the concentration you employ determines the need for gloves. Under normal concentrations for household cleaning either a light pair of gloves or no gloves is fine. If you increase the concentration heavier gloves would provide more protection.

I'll mention something with regards to working with a product like Household Bleach [Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl)] & TSP. They are far more soluble in cold water than hot water. That is to say, they are the opposite of what you might normally think when dissolving something in a solution. IOW, Household Bleach is far more soluble in cold water than hot water (in case you might be thinking hot water is better when mixing Household Bleach in water). If you are going to try Household Bleach, I use it straight from the container when cleaning white wall tires.

 

Just remember all caustic cleaners do not play well with aluminum trim, paint, etc... Try to keep it on the tires only and rinse well.

 

^^x2^^

 

If you wear gloves you should be wearing safety glasses too.

 

If you have to wear gloves and safety glasses then you need to find something else to clean your tires with.

 

A full hazmat suit might be in order

 

Now that is funny.

 

Does that include Bleach White?

 

The word "bleach: may just be in it's name. I do not have a bottle, but check its ingredients, since chlorine (bleach), they have to list it. it will read either as sodium or calcium hypochlorite

 

The Bleche White bottle says not to get it on your wheels. I apply it sparingly and it does a good job.

 

The correct spelling of the product is important in establishing/deciphering the ingredients (the brand name is also important as different manufacturers make this product). It's also important to provide the exact name of a product in case of accident i.e. what is the medically corrective action for exposure to the eyes, lungs, skin, etc.
The correct name is Bleche-Wite.
The two (primary) active ingredients in Bleche-Wite are 2-Butoxyethanol & Sodium metasilicate. Each represents ~1%-5% (by weight) in aqueous (water; 60%-100% [by weight]) solution.
The product is alkaline; albeit, caustic. While it does not contain Sodium hypchlorite (common bleach) it is caustic. Employed in the weight percentages defined w/in the Bleche-Wite MSDS it's difficult to determine it's actual pH.
Sodium metasilicate is a buffering agent (employed to maintain pH of the solution). 2-Butoxyethanol is a glycol ether of ethylene glycol (e.g. radiator coolant).

Black Magic Bleche-Wite Tire Cleaner lists one additional ingredient - Sodium Alkyl Benzene Sulfonic Acid. It is a class of anionic surfactants (anionic meaning it has a net negative charge, as opposed to cationic [net positive charge]). It's basically used to maintain the net negative charge of sodium & sulfur in the aqueous solution of 2-Butoxyethanol.

Bottom line - it's caustic & designed to remain caustic long after application.

https://www.blackmagicshine.com/wp-c...re-Cleaner.pdf

 

For the non-scientific chemistry lesson answer, yes, it will dull/stain aluminum wheels if you let it sit or dry on them.

 

Which was stated earlier:

Which I stated:

I guess I expect too much thinking folks read through a thread.

 

Bleche White is excellent for cleaning tires, not just the white walls. It's really good for cleaning years worth of dirt, grease grime etc. I've been using it for decades. I still have an old gallon of Westleys in the basement and have some Black magic in the shop. It looks, smells and works the exact same. At least to me anyway, I didn't notice any difference. On my drivers they get cleaned once a month or so, on the other cars that only see a few hundred miles a year once in the spring is usually sufficient. Like others have said, don't let it sit and dry on your wheels and/or paint. Also, I would HIGHLY recommend safety glasses. You don't want that stuff in your eyes, and on a breezy day it's entirely possible. Gloves too.

FWIW I worked in a tire shop for years, and to get the blue off of the WW or RWL we used "Spray Nine" cleaner.

 

 

Would the Spray 9 work on my white walls? Almost seems like it might be stuck with that greenish tint, like it's stained on there or something

 

I called MIchellin and talked to their customer sevice and they had a basic writeup on using Brillo pads to remove staining on whitewalls/letters.

 

I would use Simple Green if you don't have Bleche White. In fact, I usually do a preliminary cleaning with Simple Green and then use Bleche White to get them really clean. I've never used Spray 9 before, I don't know how caustic it is.

 

Have you tried a steel wool pad like Brillo? It usually does a good job.

 

i tried 000 steel wool but it didn't help. Wont a Brillo pad scratch up the white stripe?

 

Any chance you can post a picture of your tires demonstrating the issue?

 

Use a brillo pad, it's more coarse and believe it or not the soap on them helps. I've never damaged a white wall or raised white letters.

 

I'd try the Bleech Wite first. I just cleaned a 30 year old set of Kelly Chargers that were DISGUSTING and they look like new.