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How Do I Stop Tyres Cracking On Vintage Cars

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Hi folks

I'm sure you guys will know how to prevent tyres cracking with age, i have an old wild willy and the tyres are starting to crack, is there a way to stop and also repair this? :)

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honestly nothing. you can soak them in rubber rejuvenator, you could spray them with silicon oils, the stuff will dry out and your back at square one, same with using armor all on the tires, you could even use WD-40, once the oils dry up it just starts to crack again. to preserve rubber it would have to be in a ozone free temperature controlled environment with UV shielded. The sun eats rubber so make sure you store things in a dark box, if its on display no direct sunlight.

I have read here on TC many times NEVER put any oil or petroleum based liquids on these model rubber-LIKE tyres.

However I made my F150 Ranger tyres go from a being a little hard to being quite noticeably softer and blacker simply by soaking them for a few WEEKS in Glycerin (from food section of local Supermarket).

One they have cracked though there is only rubber vulcanising solution (just a guess, no idea whether it works on these tyres which I always thought were Silicone Rubber based but that's only a guess too) from a bicycle puncture repair kit, that's all I can think of to bond the "rubber" back together with.

Cheers,

Alistair G.

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Hi folks

I'm sure you guys will know how to prevent tyres cracking with age, i have an old wild willy and the tyres are starting to crack, is there a way to stop and also repair this? :)

Hi vintage tyre preservers

To avoid cracking take the weight off the tyres. If they are on the model please put it up on blocks with the tyres off the ground when not in use just like storing a 1:1 car. This is better than taking the tyres off and storing them on their sides or leaving the tyres on the car and distorting under the models weight. Apart from that avoid sunlight as others have said.

Thanks

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Guest Greg67

Well...this is what I did, i soaked in the glycerin, then cleaned them off with armorall, and then...slowly and it took a LOT of time, i sealed them with silicon sealant. Basically added another layer of slicon/rubber over then to hold them together. they were just dry though, and not cracked bad or anything. worked fine. they don;t look bad either, but it took a few very thin layers of the silicone sealant, you only notice it up close that what I did has been done. however!! Two tires took about 12 hours to do. not sure if you want to get that obsessive or not, but it will preserve the tire, but alters it from original since you add something to it. toughens them up and will certainly extend them, but won't be exactly as the originals, as when you look close you can see they have something added on them. If you're looking for some running tires, that is what I recommend. if you're a purist this might not be for you though.

For original tire preservation I would do what A G suggested. i just cleaned a full set of hilux tires with a little glycerin, they are like new, but when they start to dry again, best to do another conditioning, they have to be maintained over time. No one solution will fix it...although the silicone selant technique will last a long time. hahah.

ALSO, I'm new to this hobby, so please take what I write as what works for me, best to follow what the pros here say. Good luck with the preservation!

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Hi folks

I'm sure you guys will know how to prevent tyres cracking with age, i have an old wild willy and the tyres are starting to crack, is there a way to stop and also repair this? ;)

Gents, thanks for the advice, i will probably go down the glycerin root, tyres are only slightly cracked, i store the car on blocks in the dark. cheers Ben

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I have old unused 934 tires, still NIB that are soft and have no cracks. Also a pair of original XR311 tyres, they are soft also. Actually, all my vintage tyres, are crack free(that sounded wrong somehow), after some 15-20 years. Except my Bush Devil, and when i come to think of my Monster Beetle. Those tyres are badly worn and also has cracks in the wall.

But the rubber Tamiya uses must be of very high quality. Keeping them out of direct sun helps also i guess.

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I use silicon grease after reading what 1:1 scale car restorers use on their window rubbers, door seals etc. You can use it to lube mechanical speed controllers too, which helps stop sparking, scorching and pitting etc. In the Uk Maplin sell a brand called "Servisol" for about £3/4 for 50g. I usually apply the grease to tyres with a tooth brush and then rub it well in. It's best if you're tyres are off the rims so you can apply silicon inside and out. If the rubber's already hard it's too late, but you can rejuvenate tyres that are dried out, to a nice supple feel. :lol:

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