Page 1 of 1

Tire glue removal question

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2017 10:31 pm
by Jim511
Hey guys,

First off, sorry I am new to this forum! So I was unsure where to post this question! Just recently resurrecting a few projects to run, and a few to build as shelf queens

I have a set of IMEX tires that are in good shape that I'm hoping to fix so that I can put them on a shelf queen MRC Thunderking. My main problem is the leftover, hardened CA glue from the previous wheels they were on. I want to put them onto a set of Proline Super Single deadlocks, but with the beads hardened up with the older glue, I was wondering if anyone had any tips or tricks on removing said glue from the beads, without really damaging the tire or rubber.

I've thought about trying Acetone, as a lot of people use that trick to remove tires from wheels, but being that I am trying to preserve the tires themselves, will using an old rag and acetone destroy the tire? I have never used Acetone to remove tires before, I've always done the tried and true boil the tires off of wheels.

Thank you for your time, hopefully once I get a few of my running projects up and going I can start doing build posts of some of my older trucks and shelf queen projects!

Re: Tire glue removal question

Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 8:07 am
by jwscab
You can probably avoid damaging the tires (I doubt acetone will hurt them, but better safe than sorry) by using acetone on a q-tip and work small sections of the bead at a time. Dip, rub it in, dip again and keep doing that until the glue crack out or melts away. You will have to use the q-tip to carry away the melting glue so I would put some acetone in a small jar or something. Also, use straight acetone, not nail polish remover

Re: Tire glue removal question

Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 11:22 am
by Coelacanth
What I've done is simply pour a little acetone in an empty jar or margarine container, then suspend your wheels above the container, and tie up a plastic bag around the whole thing to seal in the fumes. Leave it in the bag overnight. The fumes will dissolve the CA glue and doesn't even need to touch the wheels & tires.

Re: Tire glue removal question

Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 4:41 pm
by Jim511
Awesome! Thanks for the help, I will give it a try. I was just a little scared to try it at first due to not wanting to ruin the tires, as well as just the fact that I have never used acetone with rc cars before

Re: Tire glue removal question

Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 5:43 pm
by jwscab
i would still use caution as some older tires are a plastic blend. try the qtip first and if there isn't a lot of black coming off the tire, then you can try the fume trick.

Re: Tire glue removal question

Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2017 10:27 am
by Coelacanth
If memory serves, I think Jeff (gomachv) had an issue with acetone and the sponge tires used on pan cars...

Re: Tire glue removal question

Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2017 9:37 pm
by harvey
If it helps any I used acetone (fumes, not dipped) to clean some Imex tires from a blackfoot. (no, the abs rims did not survive!) They did seem to swell as the fumes got to the rubber to the point where they didn't fit the rims all that well, but over time as the acetone off gassed they shrank back to normal and are happily reattached to new wheels. Just don't plan on gluing or mounting them right away and you should be fine. Also, I find melting glue a messy project given the toxic nature of the acetone, so consider whether some of the glue could be sanded off with a dremel sanding drum prior to the acetone to minimize the exposure to yourself and the tires.