White Wall Cleaner

[Don Coatney]

I have used Wesleys Bleach White for years and I am happy with the results.

[47heaven]

Well, I'm glad it works for so many of the rest of you, but unfortunately it ruined my tires and I have since stopped using it. BTW...what did they use to clean whitewalls back in the 40's and 50's before that "wonder cleaner" Bleach White came into the picture?

[Norm's Coupe]

Well, I'm glad it works for so many of the rest of you, but unfortunately it ruined my tires and I have since stopped using it. BTW...what did they use to clean whitewalls back in the 40's and 50's before that "wonder cleaner" Bleach White came into the picture?

I don't know what they used in the 40's. But.......everyone I knew in the 50's used the SOS pads. They were here long before that. They were invented by a pots and pan salesman back in 1917. His wife actually gave them the name. She coined the phrase for them as "Save Our Saucepans", hence the name SOS.

[PatS....]

I don't know what they used in the 40's. But.......everyone I knew in the 50's used the SOS pads. They were here long before that. They were invented by a pots and pan salesman back in 1917. His wife actually gave them the name. She coined the phrase for them as "Save Our Saucepans"' date=' hence the name SOS.[/quote']

My Dad was part owner of an Esso station from '48 to '58 and they also used SOS pads on whitewalls then.

That was when you could drop your car off at a service station for a wash job.

Today they call it a detailing and it's a fortune.

Then it was $4.00 (of course, gas was under 30 cents a gallon)

[47heaven]

My Dad was part owner of an Esso station from '48 to '58 and they also used SOS pads on whitewalls then.

That was when you could drop your car off at a service station for a wash job.

Today they call it a detailing and it's a fortune.

Then it was $4.00 (of course, gas was under 30 cents a gallon)

Yeah, but minimum wage was about 75 cents an hour then, right? Still wasn't too cheap for a wash job in the 50's if you think about it.

[BobT-47P15]

Back in the late 50s, I worked for a while at a filling station owned by the

father of a friend. They serviced cars, worked on them, and did wash

jobs. However, I can't recall the cost of that wash job......probably about

what's been stated---4 or 5 bucks. Could have been a bit more.

Vacuumed the inside, washed the windows inside as well as outside.

Cleaned the dash, washed off the rubber floor mats--a pretty thorough

job. Used some sort of cleaner and a wire brush on whitewalls.....then

dried off the car with a chamois cloth. The folks that had us wash their

car - as I recall - had a few more bucks than the average working guy.

[Norm's Coupe]

I bought the tires in 2006 for $120/ea. So, I would assume that they are good tires. I forgot to also mention that after I spray a yellow goo appears. Is there something white out there that you can put on the whitewalls to fill in the cracks?

Yes, there may be something you can possibly put on your tires if you want to. Don't know how it would work on them, how long it would last, or if it would damage the rubber somehow. But since you ask, read and look for the following.

There are actually two possibilities.

1) There is a product used in commercial buildings for renewing appearance of the grout in ceramic tile walls, such as in bathrooms. After cleaning the grout as well as possible, you simply wipe this material (liquid) over the grout, let it dry, then wipe again with a dry towel. It leaves a coating of white over the old grout and also fills in small imperfections. Not shinny, but a dull white.

2) There's also a spray coating (aerosol cans) used for restoring stained or discolored ceiling tiles, also white. It's like a paint though.

Both of these can be found at most industrial/commercial cleaning house suppliers (Janitorial Supply Companies) under various brand names.

That yellow goo you are getting is probably just oil from the rubber or dirt dissolving into your cleaner.