Removing the tyres off wheels that have been superglued on

Big G · #1 29-08-2009

Public warning annoucement
- Use in a well ventilated area! It's got quite a kick!
- Fill over the sink as this will strip paint off
- DON'T smoke around it! highly flamable
- avoid contact with eyes, etc, etc.

So with my B44 I got a box full of knackered old tyres that had been superglued on 360 degrees around the wheel. great...

most of them were bald as they come, but the wheels were in pretty good nick. I'd previously managed to superglue my SC10 wheels to my jeans so I googled removing superglue and found it's weakness is Acertone. Naturally as with most chemicals it's not on the shelf in asda (other supermarkets are available), but what is also said was acertone is the common ingredient in nail varnish remover. so off to the supermarket I went and straight to the missus's favourite isle. 77p a bottle for 250ml. 5 bottles later. Oh, btw. They also do a Acertone free version for fake nails the missus tells me. don't buy that one. I'm assuming it won't work + it's like 4 times the price.

I didn't expect the tyres to magically fall off once they came in contact with the NVR as I'd tried that with a drop between cells before. so I filled up a pot I found in the kitchen and popped them in. The fronts I was trialling had been sliced down the middle and the foams removed from them by the previous owner. stacked on top of eachother with a weight on the top they were ready to be submerged in NVR.

It's actually clear when you put them in. I guess all the glue and dirt made it go this colour.

I tried pulling the tyres off a few days later and they sort of started to come off so I aided it with a screw driver and ripped the tyre. I gave up then and popped them back in the NVR. It's important to seal the tub as the NVR evaporates really fast.

So 2 weeks passed and I'd completely forgotten about the wheels until tonight. so I fished them out of the tub and pulled the tyre much to my surprise it just pulled clean off the wheel. jackpot! Same with the other. 2 weeks of stewing in NVR worked.

The tub I used holds 2 front wheels nicely, but rears we all know are wider so I had to upgrade the tub.

If you want to save the foams cut the tyre and remove them. this also lets the NVR get at both sides of the superglue which I can only guess helps it work better.

In they go. And they float. So I pinched some stones off the drive to keep them submerged.

And there we go. 2 weeks I'm sure I'll be able to just pull the tyres off the wheels

DCM · #2 29-08-2009

here's a little tip, they don't need to be imersed, just use a tub that is air tight sealed, put 10mm in the bottom, drop wheels and tyres in, 24 hours later, tyres should come off the rims. Chuck rims in with the laundry, and super clean wheels too!.

Rich D · #3 29-08-2009

Nice write up dude - if you just buy some acetone from Ebay - place the tyres and Acetone in an old biscuit container overnight, they pull straight off the rims the next morning.

As said above - you dont need to submerge the rims and you can use the same Acetone many times. No need to cut the tyres - you can even re use them if you wish.

Most of the guys on here have been using Acetone for years.

Big G · #4 29-08-2009

I found after 2 days of then in there the tyres wouldn't come off. maybe my NVR isn't very strong. pure acertone will probably work a lot better.

wow never thought about ebay. it's quite cheap off there. I'll give it a shot with that stuff. cheers

DCM · #5 29-08-2009

it works better, with the vapour attacking the glue rather than the liquid.

tymill · #6 30-08-2009

I usually just boil the rims to remove tyres - works perfectly and you've got de-tyred rims in 30 minutes.

I've found the best container to boil them in is an old 9" aluminium pie tin - they're nice and wide so you can easily fit 6 or 8 rims in at once. (and you're unlikely to annoy anyone by using nice cooking pots)

Basically, cut away as much of the tyre as you can and salvage the foams (unless you've used schumacher blue foams which inevitably disintegrate into a fine powder!

).

Next put about 2cms of water in the pie tin and boil the rims for 15 minutes.

Turn the rims over and boil for another 15 minutes.

The tire remains will pop right off and any superglue residue will become a brittle yellow crust that you can easily flake off with a hobby knife.

Done!

NB - some types of plastics do not handle the heat well - I've experienced cracking around the inner rims with yellow Tamiya rims and Ballistic Buggy rims.

I've boiled Associated, Losi, Proline, and JC Racing Fastraxx rims with no problems at all.

I agree that acetone is a good way to go - but for instant gratification boiling works for me.

Cheers,
Ty

Marvin · #7 30-08-2009

I've used the cooking method of tyre removal. Put the oven on to 200C, put the wheels/tyres in there for ~5-10 minutes then turn the oven off. Leave the wheels/tyres in. After another 10 minutes remove the wheels/tyres, and the tyres should pull right off the rims.

Chequered Flag Racing · #8 30-08-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marvin

I've used the cooking method of tyre removal. Put the oven on to 200C, put the wheels/tyres in there for ~5-10 minutes then turn the oven off. Leave the wheels/tyres in. After another 10 minutes remove the wheels/tyres, and the tyres should pull right off the rims.

Works for me also. But use about 125c.

Just make sure the misses is out as the smell isn't as nice as a joint of beef cooking

Paulmay79 · #9 04-09-2009

I did mine yesterday. It took 3 hours to get rid of the tyre remains acetone is deffo the way to do it.

Big G · #10 04-09-2009

I tried boiling some and it worked well on 2 wheels and didn't work at all on the other 2

popped them into the NVR to finish them off.

Rich D · #11 04-09-2009

Just try some pure Acetone - you'll never bother with the oven or NVR again. I use an old washing up brush to scrub the remnants of the glue from the rims - they come out like new every time.

Oscar · #12 10-09-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich D

. No need to cut the tyres - you can even re use them if you wish.

Just be aware a few types of tyre don't like Acetone, Schumacher greens for example go all hard and plasticky (if plasticky is actually a word ??

)

Big G · #13 10-09-2009

usually they're at the point where the tyres will never be used again. but thanks for the tip.

Rich D · #14 10-09-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oscar

Just be aware a few types of tyre don't like Acetone, Schumacher greens for example go all hard and plasticky (if plasticky is actually a word ??

)

Ok cheers - ive never used Schuey greens. Im mainly removing Shuey yellow compound

Dazzler · #15 10-09-2009

I found cutting them down the middle, removing the inserts and boiling them, followed by a quick spin in the washing machine spot on.. Cutting them down the middle not only salvaged the inserts, but also gave me something to grab hold of when they were still hot (maybe a little impatient)

Chris-S · #16 10-09-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dazzler

I found cutting them down the middle, removing the inserts and boiling them, followed by a quick spin in the washing machine spot on.. Cutting them down the middle not only salvaged the inserts, but also gave me something to grab hold of when they were still hot (maybe a little impatient)

Same here, 15mins in boiling water and they are ready to come off. Quick go t round with the dremel to remove any glue remenants.