I have a set of white walls which were wrapped in plastic and stored in my garage. I was doing a clean up and noticed that the one on top and the third one down has gone yellowish....

Does anyone know why this is and how i can get them back to white...???

Most upset.

mine were like that - I had some success with white shoe polish

Simon is it a defect from the manufacturer or should I have taken better care of them??

I cant understand how if these things are meant to be on wheels out in the sunshine and rain and elements, how being on a shelf wrapped up in the garage would have ruined them....

I don't know Marcello - mine were new old stock, but yellowish and the outer edges were cracking

I put it down to mine being 40-odd years old

How old are yours? were they good when you put them on the shelf?

I was looking at a set of NOS 10" white-wall flappers a few weeks ago. A mate has had them in his shed for 20+ years and they have the the same issues.

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Brett Nicholson
Greendale (near Ballan) VIC.
1971 Morris Mini Moke
1966 Austin Mini
1965 Morris Mini Traveller
1973 LR Series 3 88
2007 LR Freelander 2

These ones were like 6 months old.

: (

poo... can you ring the supplier/manufacturer? they may have had a bad batch and they're waiting for people like you to call.... can only hope

I've had the same issue on another car with Kuhmo SC890 whitewalls that were only a few years old - I manage to get rid of the yellowing by scrubbing very gently with a soft brush and warm water with a small amount of Jif cleaner - but be very careful because Jif is abrasive and if you use too much Jif and/or not enough clean water or too stiff a brush you could rub away the white completely. You could try with a mild hand soap first and see if that does anything. A big no-no is using that spray on tyre shine because that will discolour the whitewalls very quickly and also attract dirt and dust which will also turn them golden brown.

As a side note, when I bought the car one of the tyres had damage to the sidewall so I bought another brand new Kuhmo SC890 tyre (wanted to keep all the treads matching) - a few months later and the new tyre has also discoloured - I think it's just a matter of keeping them clean and giving them a very gentle scrub every now and then.

There's always the option of repainting too using this stuff:
http://www.badpennycustoms.com.au/zen/i ... cts_id=248

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Dave - 64 Nurburg White Morris 850 & 67 Morris Mini Deluxe (Bro's Car)
Previous Rides - 62 Morris 850 (Sold '03 - Now 'Lulu-62') & 76 Clubman S (Sold '99 - SFW-863)
+ Too many other classics

that stuff sounds pretty cool

this is from the instructions for it

The rubber will stain the white paint over time and turn it yellow as it (the paint) obsorbs the rubber products. It happens faster when wrapped in plastic and the gases etc... are trapped. It can happen at different rates depending on the thickness of the paint, the tyre batch and formula (natural rubber vs synthetic) etc...
You might have bought them six months ago, but they may have been made sometime earlier (usually in an occassional batch).

Thanks guys... I will get out the trusty Jiff over the weekend and hope for the best.

I have shot off an email to the manufacturer too so i will see what they say.

Why cant things just be easy.....

Wonder if it is anything like white paint? If white paint doesn't get enough UV light from the sun it yellows so when internal doors yellow they say to put them out on the sun for a few days

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David L


My greatest fear in life is that when I die my wife will sell my Mini and tools for the price I told her I paid for them!

hmm... tahts an interesting idea. I might do that on the weekend. Either they will all turn yellow or turn white.

Some "Industry" not-so-secrets:

I was taught to use bi-carbonate soda as a paste - Jif has too much soap/surfactant in it and is bad for your hands. Alternately use some cheap toothpaste.
Always apply with a damp towelling cloth - no scrubbing pads.

Decent manufactured white-wall tyres will cope with mild abrasive as above, easily. Painted lettering, etc., will not.

Black tyres, rubber = use black shoe polish (or a little pure gum turpentine with some pigment/charcoal mixed to a paste) and buff off like a pair of shoes. This won’t work on neoprene plastic type "rubbers". The shoe polish preparation won’t attract dust like the modern sprays, and gives a lustre rather than an oily shine. Oh it’s also cheaper.

A wipe over with a little pure gum turpentine should also revive/soften most old non-plastic natural rubbers, linoleum (not vinyl), floor mats etc.

Just be careful with it after use, coz its inflamiable.

Simple huh!

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YDO005 1965 stock standard MORRIS MINI DELUXE

Shoe polish > Tire shine?

Worth a shot I reckon!

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You're so square
Baby I don't care