How To Maintain Tamiya Tyre

[pininfarina 1009]

Hi guys,

Those we have kept their vintages in mint condition over the years... 10~20 years ... or more...

I always wanted to know how do you store your vintages? how about tyre, i remember i kept my in a transparent plastic bag then my very mint AVANTE2001,

but after 10~15 years or so

the tyre just disintegrated into black powder...

how to you guys prevent that from happening? is there some precaution before storing them?

regards,

pininy

[ideal2k 3]

Hmm, I never had that happen to me.. but I live in Norway, so the climate here is somewhat cold and dry.

Perhaps the key is to store the tyre in a cold and dry place?

[simondo 0]

A few years ago i remember chatting to an old guy who restores classic motorcycles. He told me to keep any tyres/tires stored away from electrical goods, especially fluorescent tube lighting, because the electromagnetic field given off by electrical goods speeds up the breakdown of the rubber.

Not sure if its true, but it could make sense why some peoples tyres/tires seem to be perished and cracked and others seem OK.

a friend of mine who lives about 10 miles from me has an old manta ray fitted with hotshot wheels and oval block tyres he dragged out of his garage a while back, the tyres were finished on it, cracked and breaking up. on the other hand i acquired an old set of wheels n tyres of a hotshot out of someones garage a while back and these were in good condition, both locations were within 15 miles of each other, so teh weather would have been similar. The only difference i could work out was that the manta ray had been stored on a high shelf near a fluorescent tube light, whereas the wheels and tyre i got given were stored in a old cardboard box at the under someone`s work bench.

Might be some truth in what the old guy said.

[WillyChang 1814]

UV from sun, halogen lightbulbs & fluoro tubes would be the damaging component

althought light is part of the electromagnetic spectrum, it also includes all radiowaves... which will penetrate everything apart from a lead box or faraday cage

[No Slack 454]

Some 15 years ago I worked in the bicycle industry producing rubber parts. As a Quality Enigineer I was involved in the testing of these parts. Rubber and materials alike desintegrate under UV radiation. UV is in lights like TL-tubes as Willy already noted. But the most UV come from the sun (even if it is not shining). Direct sunlight kills rubber parts. If a rubber part is stressed (like a bicycle strap on bicycle lugauge carriers) it will crack/desintegrate within two years.

So the same will apply to your RC tyres if exposed to UV. I am not sure if RC tyres are real rubber (think not) but artifcial rubber will last a little longer.

Even the real tyres under your 1:1 car suffer from the sun but the quality is so good nowadays that the tyres wear out before UV gets a chance. (In the past people covered their wheels from the sun when not driving).

[vanpeebles 26]

For protecting and nourishing rubber parts I have been experimenting with two products that I used to look after the rubber parts on my real 1:1 car. Aerospace 303 protectant(which is for UV protection and has all kinds of uses etc) and also Gummi Pflege(which is used extensively by BMW on convertible rubbers) which is a none-silicone based product for keeping door rubbers supple and smooth running.

[Splended 4]

For protecting and nourishing rubber parts I have been experimenting with two products that I used to look after the rubber parts on my real 1:1 car. Aerospace 303 protectant(which is for UV protection and has all kinds of uses etc) and also Gummi Pflege(which is used extensively by BMW on convertible rubbers) which is a none-silicone based product for keeping door rubbers supple and smooth running.

My local BMW dealer told me that the "Gummi Pflege" (light green tube, right?) is discontinued and now replaced by a silicone based product...

Now I have great success with giving the tyres a good clean with dish washing liquid, let them dry for an hour or so, and then I treat them with a fair amount of (Chesebrough?) Vaseline. After that I let them dry for another hour to see if they need more Vaseline. When finnished they are smooth as never before, and the dry and biscuit-like feeling disappears. Very noticeable when tapping my fingernail to the rubber. I have never seen that Vaseline does any damage on the rubber, so it should be safe to use.

Note #1: I have only done this with older tyres, for the Opel Ascona and Porsche 959, so I don't know if it works the same way on more modern types of rubber.

Note #2: The treatment I mentioned don't keep the tyres protected from UV-damage. It just gives the tyres a "new life" by nourishing them. It doesn't fix cracked rubber though :-)

[Splended 4]

My local BMW dealer told me that the "Gummi Pflege" (light green tube, right?) is discontinued and now replaced by a silicone based product...

Now I have great success with giving the tyres a good clean with dish washing liquid, let them dry for an hour or so, and then I treat them with a fair amount of (Chesebrough?) Vaseline. After that I let them dry for another hour to see if they need more Vaseline. When finnished they are smooth as never before, and the dry and biscuit-like feeling disappears. Very noticeable when tapping my fingernail to the rubber. I have never seen that Vaseline does any damage on the rubber, so it should be safe to use.

Note #1: I have only done this with older tyres, for the Opel Ascona and Porsche 959, so I don't know if it works the same way on more modern types of rubber.

Note #2: The treatment I mentioned don't keep the tyres protected from UV-damage. It just gives the tyres a "new life" by nourishing them. It doesn't fix cracked rubber though :-)

Oh, I forgot: It's very important to treat the inside of the tyres as well. I don't know why it is that way, but by adding more Vaseline to the inside than to the outside of the tyres, you will get the best result.

Well, that's all for now....I think:-)

[HunterZero 76]

Oh, I forgot: It's very important to treat the inside of the tyres as well. I don't know why it is that way, but by adding more Vaseline to the inside than to the outside of the tyres, you will get the best result.

Well, that's all for now....I think:-)

Don't use vaseline on tires. It's a petroleum jelly product, and it will attack rubber over time. Silicon is OK to use though.

Best thing I have found to use is a dilute glycerine solution. Dilute 1 part glycerine with 6 parts distilled water. Kind on hands, too.

- James

[Splended 4]

Don't use vaseline on tires. It's a petroleum jelly product, and it will attack rubber over time. Silicon is OK to use though.

Best thing I have found to use is a dilute glycerine solution. Dilute 1 part glycerine with 6 parts distilled water. Kind on hands, too.

- James

In what way will Vaseline attac the rubber? I have used it for almost two years now and the tyres are still good.

[vanpeebles 26]

My local BMW dealer told me that the "Gummi Pflege" (light green tube, right?) is discontinued and now replaced by a silicone based product...

The Gummi Pflege I got is the german made equivalent of the BMW one but is in a white bottle with a sponge top. It's a milky watery liquid that smells of lemon.

[HunterZero 76]

In what way will Vaseline attac the rubber? I have used it for almost two years now and the tyres are still good.

The rubber will rot, deteriorate and crumble over time. It's well documented that petroleum products are detrimental to rubber, and it's why they discourage the use of vaseline with rubber seals and... condoms

Glycerine and silicon products are a much better choice.

- James