Having missed out on a pair of NOS tyres for my garage queen build, I was offered a very tidy pair by the ever-so helpful and generous Tim aka minifreak who parted with his that were planned for a build of his own. They had only done a few miles, but for garage-queen standards a bit of cleaning was required.
I googled for help (knowing I wouldn't be the first to wonder) and found some posts on MBR recommending a US-brand cleaner (can't recall what) and baby oil for restoration and preservation of amber sidewalls. Whilst neither product was available nor appealing, I set about doing some of my own work, and here are the results...
I first gave the tyres a bath (literally!) with some car shampoo
This removed the loose dirt and general muck (not that they were caked, but the shampooing was useful!).
The aforementioned unknown branded product I discovered to be some form of generic household mild surface cleaner, so without risking anything too harsh, I selected my kitchen-cleaner and weapon of choice, Dettol AntiBac Surface Cleanser spray. I figured this would at least get rid of any bacteria that may be present on the tyres (who knows what that might do?!) and having some degreasing properties would remove any crud the shampoo hadn't. I was also confident that due to the relatively mild nature of this product that it would be safe on even the oldest of rubber. Liberally sprayed onto the surface and into the treads, this solution was worked over the surfaces with a nail brush, removing the most ingrained crud from the treads and sidewalls.
The pièce de résistance in the whole restoration/back-to-new/preservation process was a product I never rated when I was into my car-detailing practices but had plenty spare in the garage so thought worth a try - and provided amazing results - Autoglym Instant Tyre Dressing. This was applied again by spraying liberally onto the tyres and worked in using the nail brush. Excess solution that ran over the sides was wiped off with kitchen paper and then left to dry.
The tools!:
Before'n'after (the 'after' is still slightly wet in the pic):
Today, when dry - yes, DRY even though they look soaked!:
The results are better than I expected - a slightly waxy but shiny residue remains. I might try buffing this back with a microfibre, but as they are, I think they're great.
Anyone who has similar but different tips on methods, products and application, please comment as I'm not suggesting that my way is best, but I would recommend it. Hence this post!
Word of warning:
Not recommended to be applied to a rim's braking surfaces due to the slippery nature of this solution! I recommend mounting tyres to an old rim to clean them then re-mount onto your 'good' rims.
I googled for help (knowing I wouldn't be the first to wonder) and found some posts on MBR recommending a US-brand cleaner (can't recall what) and baby oil for restoration and preservation of amber sidewalls. Whilst neither product was available nor appealing, I set about doing some of my own work, and here are the results...
I first gave the tyres a bath (literally!) with some car shampoo
This removed the loose dirt and general muck (not that they were caked, but the shampooing was useful!). 
The aforementioned unknown branded product I discovered to be some form of generic household mild surface cleaner, so without risking anything too harsh, I selected my kitchen-cleaner and weapon of choice, Dettol AntiBac Surface Cleanser spray. I figured this would at least get rid of any bacteria that may be present on the tyres (who knows what that might do?!) and having some degreasing properties would remove any crud the shampoo hadn't. I was also confident that due to the relatively mild nature of this product that it would be safe on even the oldest of rubber. Liberally sprayed onto the surface and into the treads, this solution was worked over the surfaces with a nail brush, removing the most ingrained crud from the treads and sidewalls.
The pièce de résistance in the whole restoration/back-to-new/preservation process was a product I never rated when I was into my car-detailing practices but had plenty spare in the garage so thought worth a try - and provided amazing results - Autoglym Instant Tyre Dressing. This was applied again by spraying liberally onto the tyres and worked in using the nail brush. Excess solution that ran over the sides was wiped off with kitchen paper and then left to dry.
The tools!:
Before'n'after (the 'after' is still slightly wet in the pic):
Today, when dry - yes, DRY even though they look soaked!:
The results are better than I expected - a slightly waxy but shiny residue remains. I might try buffing this back with a microfibre, but as they are, I think they're great.
Anyone who has similar but different tips on methods, products and application, please comment as I'm not suggesting that my way is best, but I would recommend it. Hence this post!
Word of warning:
Not recommended to be applied to a rim's braking surfaces due to the slippery nature of this solution! I recommend mounting tyres to an old rim to clean them then re-mount onto your 'good' rims.
