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Old 01-May-2005, 00:02
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Tyres and WD40??

OK decided to clean my wheels with WD40, and over did it a bit with some dripping on the tyres. Will it just evaporate off, or should I take it for a run and gently "burn it off" so to speak.

Is it likely to be absorbed and cause a problem later?

cheers
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Old 01-May-2005, 00:10
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would be surprised if anyone tells you any different, but I think it is quite a big problem.
you must make every effort to get rid of any contamination on the tyre
wash them thoroughly use brake cleaner even but I would not ride it while it is on there. also are you sure that none has got onto the disk ?
again be very careful.
if you must use wd40 to clean in such areas then apply it to a cloth then apply the cloth to the wheel
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Old 01-May-2005, 15:19
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I second that, always spray onto a cloth then clean the wheel. A good scrub of the tyre and a careful running in ride should do the trick though.
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Old 01-May-2005, 18:17
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WD Blues

Quote:
Originally posted by ath748
I second that, always spray onto a cloth then clean the wheel. A good scrub of the tyre and a careful running in ride should do the trick though.

Thanks for the tips Gents.

Did the following

Bike on the Paddock Stand

Used Muc Off as I had no brake cleaner, but scrubbed it in using a firm bristled nail brush. Used loads of water to rinse and watched to see if it was expelled from certain parts before others. It wasnt. Also noticed the solution go multicoloured in areas as I scrubbed which I took to be the WD40 coming out. Could not see any stains on the tyre so went off to Sainsburys car park for a testing session. (Was 730am)

All was ok so I hit the road, a little gingerly still.

Met a few old friends by acident at Box Hill, all on R6's, and spent the morning chasing them, so I can confidently say it worked.

However, to anyone reading this and doing the same, be careful, what you do to your bike is your risk, but this worked for me.

thanks again
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Old 01-May-2005, 20:12
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WD-40 is composed of 80% Stoddard Solvent (that is similar to paraffin) and 20% light lubricating oil. It's the light oil part that you have to be careful of (slippery.) Just wash it off with detergent.

The other slippery substance that you really want to avoid getting on your tyres is silicone oil contained in Armor All and other rubber dressings. Particularly on stored vintage bikes.

There are two main degrading agents that attack tyres and rubber parts. They are UV light waves and ozone. Both of these attack the long hydrocarbon chains of the rubber and by breaking these chemical bonds, shorten the molecules with resulting loss of elasticity and other problems.

Tyre manufacturers add two primary sacrificial protectants to the rubber. To protect against UV, they add carbon black. This is why tyres don't come in designer colors to match your paint. The carbon black will turn white/gray as it absorbs the UV and dissipates the energy as heat. Thus the basis of rubber parts turning gray as they age.

To protect against ozone, tyre manufacturers add a wax-based sacrificial protectant. The ozone attacks the wax and depletes it. As the tyre rolls, additional wax is forced to the surface of the tyre. This is referred to as "blooming". This blooming refreshes the surface wax protectant. A tyre that has not been flexed will have the wax depleted by the ozone and thus begin to degrade and suffer "dry rot".

The silicone oil in Armor All and similar products actually dissolve the wax and be the cause of premature tyre side wall cracking/failure. It is rumored that some tyre manufacturers will not honor warranties on failures caused by silicone-based products. A tyre dressing should contain a UV protectant to bolster the efforts of the carbon black and preferably not contain any silicone. Read the label.
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Old 03-May-2005, 12:19
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Personally it wouldnt worry me in the slightest! I've got scottoiler lube all over the tyre anyhow cos i turned it up for winter and forgot that the oil gets thinner in the summer! WD40 isnt really very slippery though. Like shazaam says i would be very careful about any silicone type sprays.
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Old 03-May-2005, 14:15
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Quote:
Originally posted by keefer
would be surprised if anyone tells you any different, but I think it is quite a big problem.

Well, just like Rockhopper, I'll tell you different. I use WD40 to clean my wheels as well, I usually do the 'spray it on a rag first' routine, but there have been times when I've applied it direct.

I don't use chain lube anymore either on the premise that the X rings hold the grease in and all that's required is a regular application of WD40 to keep surface rust to a minimum, so I spray my chain up each time I go out.

When cleaning the wheels or lubing the chain, I've often got some overspray onto the tyre. You have to try pretty hard to get it onto the contact area of the tyre though, because that area is usually well masked simply by being underneath the tyre. The overspray only usually gets onto the sidewall of the tyre and I figure if I'm trying to corner on that I'm probably already off the bike.

I have got a tiny amount onto the contact area before, but it's not like I've slathered the whole side of the tyre in WD40 around it's whole circumference, probably just a patch about an inch or two long (usually on the left hand side) and about half an inch wide. I've just wiped it off with a dry rag.

What's the worst that could happen? If you've really got the thing on it's ear the tyre may give a little twitch if the WD40 was still on the tyre, but it would be so quick that you wouldn't even notice it. The WD40 isn't absorbed by the tyre so it will evaporate with the heat in the tyre and get rubbed off pretty quickly by the road surface anyhow.
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Old 03-May-2005, 14:28
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Quote:
Originally posted by 749er
over did it a bit with some dripping on the tyres.




Quote:
Originally posted by Jools


What's the worst that could happen?
he could fall off.

and if WD40 is not slippery then spot a bit on the brake disc and see how quick you stop
brakes get a darn site hotter than tyres and it don't come of them easy either.
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Old 03-May-2005, 14:54
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I wasn't talking about WD40 on brakes though was I? And it wasn't me that said WD wasn't slippery either.

Brake pads get penetrated by WD40, or anything like it. A spot of WD40 on a brake disc gets smeared all over the disc very quickly by the mere fact that the pads have to wipe the disc surface. So if I ever got any WD40 anywhere near them it would be replacement pad time after scrupulous cleaning of the disc. Completely different story to the tyre issue!

I say again, how much WD40 are you likely to get on the contact patch of a tyre in the first place? Any overspray when cleaning wheels is likely to just get on the sidewalls of the tyre, so just wipe it off...you won't be riding on that bit.

I've have managed to get WD onto the contact area, on more than one ocassion, but it's really difficult to get more than a 10 pence sized spot on there unless you purposely spray the tread. WD40 does not get absorbed into the tyre so it will wash or wipe off.

On the road, a spot of WD does not get wiped around the whole circumference of a tyre like it would on a brake disc, it will just stay put and dot the road surface every time it goes round, each time it does that the dust and rubbish on the road will act to blot it up and the tyre will get a little worn and peel away to fresh rubber. If a tiny amount of WD like that on a tyre (which you've already blotted off with a rag anyway) caused a lurid slide, I would be amazed, it certainly hasn't happened to me.
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Old 04-May-2005, 22:18
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thats why my brakes are shite then
note to self.............stop cleaning brakes with wd40

most of the wd i get on my tyres gets washed off by all the diesel i ride through
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