OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Tech Talk Presenting & Preserving Old Mower Wheel Rubber?

Hi all, I am not sure of the technical term, so I will just call it "blackening".

I would like to know if there is any way to safely "renew" or "revive" the rubber on old mower tyres? I asked some family members who suggested various things like tyre black, shoe polish, and lanoline. But I find they are not always the wisest bunch to be asking. lol!

So I thought I would ask the expert opinion of this forum. Does anyone know how to safely blacken the tyres on old mower wheels?

That tyre shine stuff that hand car washes apply with a paint brush after washing your car. That might work, whatever it is. People thought I had bought new tyres on my car when I
got it done last time.

Hello vint-mow and Mowerfreak

This is an important question ...

I would like to move this topic to Tech Talk in the Restoration forum.
I can't do this until we get a better understanding.

I feel there is a difference between tyre products designed for cosmetics,
and products designed to preserve rubber. Sometimes, they might coincide.

I'm hoping members will come forward with responses that
deal with both sides of the issue.

How do we best preserve and present vintage lawnmower wheels?

---------------------
Jack

Thanks, yes there are two sides to this question, one is how to best preserve the rubber and the other is how to make it look new and shiny again. Of course it is easy to buy some product off the shelf and shine them, but is it any good for the rubber in the long term? There are other issues too, for example if the product leaves a sticky surface then dirt, dust, and leaves are more likely to stick to the wheels.

I am sure other members who have done restorations will know the answer.

I managed to find a bolt on the ground by sheer luck where the hex head pushed into the wheel centre nice and tight and there was about 1 1/2" threadless section that I put into my drill chuck and was able to spin the wheel while holding some sandpaper against the side and grind a nice smooth surface, which renewed the appearance somewhat, despite some bad pitting from decades of use.
A lathe would be ideal for this.

Mowerfreak, I'm still trying to clean the rubber mess on my lathe from doing your wheels.The rubber from grinding them dissolved with the oil and is a black sticky mess everywhere

From what seen using one tire shine here by my brother they look good but in the long term damages the rubber. In the case of my brother the product soften the rubber so much that tire looked like they were melting on the inside when i try to tire patch one. He had to replace all four tires. From then on he just soap and water and scrub the tire clean.

As with all products different manufactures use different chemicals so may a very good product out there that does not harm the rubber but at the cost tires of my truck I not going to experiment on them.

So you got a rubberized lathe now with non slip surface. What a mess.

It seems that anything that grinds or otherwise removes metal makes a big mess enough to cleanup but that liquid non hardening liquid rubber sounds extra messy.

Sorry to hear that. How will you remove it?
I can probably do the tyres myself now that I found a way to mount it on my hand held drill. Is the muck in hard to get at places? Hope you can get rid of it.

It will clean up ok, just need the time to get in and clean around everything but bit busy of late and all the tools there are covered in this black sticky stuff, no big deal, I will get to it, but I do think of you every time I put my hands on it

So don't use a lathe by the sounds of it!

I suspect 100% pure Lanoline may be the safest bet. You can apply this stuff to the rubber snorkels to make them look new and shiny again and it doesn't seem to hurt the material in any way. I find you need to wipe a fair bit off though, otherwise it tends to stay sticky, which only attracts dust.

G'day vint_mow and all restorers
I think this is sensible advice.

I say that because, it appears to me, that museum restorers mostly
go for the less intrusive products. But regular application is
crucial for preserving the material long term.

Cheers
------------
Jack

I am not sure about mice though. They could find the lanoline coated rubber tasty. This hasn't happened to my snorkels so far, but I tend to keep on top of the mice population before they get out of hand. I catch them as fast as they appear, which isn't often. A few come in winter or after rain. But they can be sneaky little beggers.