Rubber Tyres

[Bortig the Viking]

Can anyone tell me how to clean up rubber tyres, they appear to have a weird film on them and I'm not sure how to clean them.

[Dave Ward]

Mark,
with rubber/vinyl tyres, I always wash them - I use an ultrasonic cleaner, warm water & washing up liquid, then rinse in fresh water & allow to air dry (or a wash basin will do!). Cleaning up seams can be done with sanding sticks - or wire wool. I always prime & paint the tyres - washing them helps the paint to stick, as can using wire wool to roughen the surface slightly. Bear in mind that painted tyres are delicate & handling/stretching can cause the paint to flake off!
Dave

[AlanG]

Basically what DW said. Warm soapy water then rinse with clean water and allow to air dry.

[Bortig the Viking]

Ok, thanks for that, had given all the parts a warm bath before I started but will give them another go, won't be painting them as the rubber looks good as it is.

[scottie3158]

I use as the others have said warm soapy water then I rough them up with scotchbrite other scouring pads are available this takes the plastic shine of them.

[Ian M]

If you have problems sanding any mould lines, pop them in the freezer. Makes the rubber hard and easy to sand.

[Tim Marlow]

That’s “tip of the week” Ian, never heard that one before, but it’s so logical.....great stuff.

[Ian M]

Personally I hate those hard shinny 'rubber' tyres. I find that in the right (or is it wrong) conditions they can actually breakdown or even melt to the base they are on.
Only Rubber tyres I have ever liked are the ones Tamiya provide in there M/C and the large scale cars. Trumpeter ones aren't to shabby either.

[Bortig the Viking]

These ones are Revell although Heller is stamped on the back of the rear seat, they seem quite good up to Tamiya in my opinion, just the right amount of squidge.

[Guest]

Personally I hate those hard shinny 'rubber' tyres. I find that in the right (or is it wrong) conditions they can actually breakdown or even melt to the base they are on.

I have a very strange case with those: I built a Dragon 9P148 (“BRDM-2 with AT-5 Spandrel”) and a Revell BRDM-2, which is a rebox of the Dragon model, not long after. The two have been standing on the same shelf side by side — literally a centimetre apart — for maybe twenty years, and all four tyres on the 9P148 have split but those on the BRDM-2 are all still fine.

[Bortig the Viking]

Weird

[Mini Me]

Not at all, the kit manufacturers probably source their tires, decals, etc from several different venders so if you're out of one you move on to the next. You end up with different tires in the same kit. Rick H.