Whitewall Enthusiasts,
Been there, done that and I'm in agreement with JonnyB. As the owner of the Coker reproduction tires, when cleaning them I had used Bleche-White and similar other whitewall and tire cleaners. They gave me some problems--subtle, but problems nonetheless. These "cleaners" and "bleaches" in combination with various tire dressings and cleaners would bleed some staining onto the white wall. The staining was coming from the black part of the tire, and showed up as brown staining on the white wall. Many didn't notice it but I certainly did.
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I sent Coker photos of my staining, and they recommended to STOP using these products (you'll say of course here)and use their Wide White Wall cleaner and their Tire Dressing. These products are unique (I've used many tire cleaners and dressings; these are very different) and it shows. Coker claims that the tire cleaners and dressings that one buys over the counter at your local auto parts store degrade the tires and are too harsh. Perhaps Bleche White and others are good enough for daily drivers (when you put 15K-20K miles a year on the car the tire tread won't last like a low mileage collectable car like our typical 113's)but not for collectables when we are trying to preserve our tire investment. They specifically state (when you speak with them on the telephone) to avoid silicones and avoid bleaches in tire care products. These will break down the tire compounds; it was the breakdown of the black rubber which was staining the whitewalls.
At $5.95 a bottle, this isn't bank breaking nor is it usurious; in fact this is very reasonably priced--I'd guess you could or would pay more for some fancy-named products. Meguires for example, has 8 products in their "tire care" line and all of them are more expensive. There are probably legions of you out there that disbelieve Coker's recommendations as self-serving; but one must remember they
only deal with collector car tires, and they
don't make a bunch of car care products like waxes, soaps, etc. I've used quite a few different branded foams, cleaners, dressings, etc. and the staining is the result. The Coker products are the best. And no, there is nothing really different in the manufacture of these tires versus any other; they are made in a Michelin-certified plant in Mexico out of--goodness gracious--tire rubber!
Back to my staining: what they recommended I do is first try a 3M scrubby pad with their cleaner; if that didn't work, (it didn't)go onto Plan B which was 1000 grit sandpaper (from an auto body supply house)with their cleaner and that did the trick, as you can see from the before and after photos I've attached here.
My whitewalls are pretty darn clean now and remain that way.
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Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red w/Black Leather
Restored
