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Tire preservation

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I know this has been covered before, but what is recommended for tire preservation? I vaguely remember Armor All and WD40 being a no-no. Was a wipe down with glycerin a suggestion? Any insight appreciated.

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I’ve been reading about heating old rubber and wiping with glycerin on motorcycle restoration forums. I was going to ask about old plasticy tires (like my Imex J-Dawgs) and seeing if anyone had tried it. You beat me to it!

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Never tried glycerin, that's interesting.  I've had decent luck with original Clod tires by letting them soak in a bath of Simple Green & water for 24 hours or so, and then giving them a good scrub with Simple Green & hot water.  They definitley come out cleaner & softer than they were.  Have done this to quite a few sets.  I actually use SG a lot on new tires, helps get the nasty mold release off.

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I have restored vintage tyres by soaking them in glycerin for approx a week, I didn’t heat them first which I will try next time.
 

I soak them, and rotate them daily.
 

I reuse the glycerin many times over but find that the more times I reuse it the longer it takes to get a result.

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I use a paintbrush and paint the tyres with glycerin, then leave them in a ziplock bag until I use them. I will even paint them once fitted in a shelfer and spin them from time to time

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Can I use vegetable glycerin???  A gallon is about $30 on Amazon...

Terry

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1 hour ago, Frog Jumper said:

Can I use vegetable glycerin???  A gallon is about $30 on Amazon...

Terry

Yes, most glycerin is made from vegetable oils , some is made from animal fats 

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I’ll put in another vote for glycerin. You need to leave it soaking, but I’ve had good results.

I follow the same approach as Snappy1.

I’m currently doing a set of Wild One rear tyres, which must be made differently to the older rubber tyres. They are taking longer to dry, the glycerin seems happy to sit on them.

I usually just leave the tyres soaking or drying while getting on with the rest of a restoration.

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I took the original tyres off my Toyota 4x4 when it was stripped and rebuilt 6 years ago. The tyres are still in a sealed bag having been liberally coated with glycerine at the time. I should see whether they are still in tact really lol!

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So glycerin it is. The tires are currently rock hard and cracking on the outer layer, but oddly overly gummy and sticky on the inside. 

Is a wipe down with glycerin also recommended as a preventative for old tires that are still ok, but I want to keep looking ok?  

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