Safe tire rubber cleaner that won't remove sealant

[jsoto]

Hey All -



I'm about to dress my new tires but can't seem to find a dedicated *tire/rubber* cleaner at my local auto supply shops. I was hoping they would have Mothers Tire/Rubber cleaner or the like.



I do have APC/EFHI/Citri Gel on hand and would consider this as a last alternative. However, I'm afraid the runoff from the tires will hit the wheels and remove the SG that I spent 2 days prepping on the wheels. I initially used Billett Polish and then AIo/SG on the wheels prior to having my new summer tires mounted. The sidewalls on the tires are a bit chalky , have some crayon markings on them and there are spots of tire mounting lube on all the tires.



Any good advice would be greatly appreciated. I may just try washing the wheels like dishes. Take a small bucket and mix it with EFHI & Water. Then take a Skotch Brite pad, dip in mix and then scrub clean on a small spot. Rinse and then redo the preocess till the whole wheel is done...

 

[Accumulator]

jsoto- Your "do 'em like dishes" approach sounds pretty good. Watch that pad around the edges of your rims, though!



You're right, there will always be some run-off...cleaning tires without stripping LSP off the wheels isn't gonna be easy. *I* would pull them off the vehicle (so much easier to work on that it's worth the hassle *to me*), do whatever's necessary, and redo the SG if needed. Sooner or later your wheel cleaning efforts are probably gonna compromise it anyhow.



Having just swapped snows off three vehicles (clean/treat winter wheels & snows, redo summer wheels and snows, 12 wheels/tires in all...with more to go) I sympathize with all the work involved. I just take it in stride as part of the whole "spring cleaning" routine.