I have the Pirelli scorpion tires with raised white letters. I have tried tire white spray, steel wool pads, and soap and water with a stiff brush, and cannot get the white letters white. They have a yellowish brown tint to them that just does not seem to want to turn white.

Any suggestions on how to whitten up the letters on the tires? The yellowish tint makes the entire truck look dirty.

 

The Mequires tire cleaner and a stiff brush worked fine on my tires.

 

Try any of the following -

Westley's Bleach White

Ajax or Bon Ami powder

an SOS pad,

a bucket of reasonably warm water

a stiff bristle brush,


And scrub, you may have to put some elbow grease into it to get them white as new, but it can be done...

 

Be VERY careful using any abrasive or severely caustic products (such as many listed above). While they can 'whiten' the lettering, you are also posed with the potential problem of scouring and/or pitting your wheels.

My suggestion for high-grime tires is to go with a product like Simple Green. Spray it on, allow a little dwell time, then, with a stiff nylon-bristled brush, work it off. Repeat if necessary.

When complete (by the way, do this FIRST after wetting down your vehicle), you'll need to rewax the wheels as the SG will remove wax.

 

I have two suggestions: Simple green or get the tires mounted with the black walls. Simple green works great on the wheel wells and engine compartment too.

 

Sounds a little crazy but my friend, a professional detailer, told me to use a smooth rock. I had the same problem as you and this works wonders. Using a cleaner will help but is not necessary.

 

I read detailing forums daily and have NEVER heard of this one... LOL!

One more suggestion on the WHITE WALLS ONLY -- Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (same principal as the 'rock' I suppose -- simple abrasion)...

 

What can I say? It does sound nuts but it works!

 

Be very careful if you use Simple Green on any parts of your truck. Simple Green is a wonderful product but it enhances corrosion of aluminum. The USAF actually bans Simple Green from being near any of their aircraft because of this problem.

- Chris

 

I had the same issue,so I went to a local tire place up the road.There advice was to use some "Liquid Pre-Buff Cleaner".They use it on there tires to bring up the lettering.It only needs a small amount on a rag and it cleans it right up.I used it and it works.It is primarily used for preparing rubber for repairs,so that tells you that you don't want to be using it every day.