Applying a patina finish to all white tires

[46servi]

Does anyone have any exspiria

[46servi]

Does anyone have experience applying a patina finish to all white tires that are being used on early bikes ? Has anyone had an issue with white tires changing color on there own ? Thanks.

[exeric]

All white tires will develop a patina all by themselves, but that takes awhile. I know what you mean, as they are too white and over power the looks of a motorcycle, but I don't think it would be wise to introduce any color to the white rubber. I've had 4 sets of all-white tires and they can be a royal pain, in addition to being expensive. My advice is to leave them alone, let them age, and find a quality rubber conditioner as the white skin is known to crack, and might peel as it did on my 1919 Henderson.

[T. Cotten]

You might experiment on the tread first, 46Servi!

I'd try glacial loess mixed with glycerin.

....Cotten

[46servi]

Thanks for the response. Does anyone have actual experience in preparing a set of tires to be mounted on an original bike?

[exeric]

My process is to put a furniture blanket on the ground, and wear construction type knee pads. You need a nice hot, sunny day to soften the tires. Use baby powder, or talc on the inner tube and partially inflate before tucking (and I said tucking) the tube into the tire. Use a quality tire soap on the rim, and tire. You may want to trim the inner flaps of the tire where the valve stem goes through (controversial). Here is the worst part; put the tire on by hand and don't use any tools. Using tire tools is asking for a pinched, and punctured tube. Clincher tires are brutal to install so be prepared to work at it. If someone has a better method I would be eternally grateful to hear it'Eternally' is overstating it, I won't be worrying about clincher tires, or diddly after the bucket is kicked. However, I need to put new tires on my 1919 Hen so I would appreciate (Tommo) anyone that has some advice I overlooked.

[46servi]

I’m sorry. Evidently I did not present my question accurately. What I was intending to ask was has anyone actually had real experience putting a patina finish on a brand new set of all white tires ?Taking a brand new set of white tires and applying a patina finish so they would blend in on an all original bike. I know how to mount these tires as I have done it so many times. A good place to try a sample attempt might be on the inside of the tire. Thanks.

[T. Cotten]

Who would admit it, 46Servi?

Patination of non-metals is usually something rubbed on and then rubbed off.

It must be very subtle, "workable" for touch-ups and the like, and it must not harm the rubber.

The first "pigment" that came to mind was Peoria Silt, a wind-deposited buff-colored soil that I could collect for you if I could get out of the valley and up on the prairie. But then a lighter, whiter alternative occurred to me, the 'white ocher' found in the center of limonite concretions in the glacial drift. it rubs onto your finger like make-up, and I might still have a specimen..

....Cotten
PS: Sorry for the late edit, but I found some of my "ocher" specimens set aside in the shop's Creature Feature, where they were originally recovered from undisturbed glacial drift.

On the upper left you see a deep-colored chalky stone which became associated with pre-Columbian cultures in the Midwest as 'yellow ocher'. The lightest stone on the upper right would be my choice to grind and sift before mixing with glycerin. The dust on the carboard above it shows how delicate it is.

The large stone is a bit coarse, and the the bottom right has two different densities, and I suspect it is bone.

OCHERS.jpg
Parts of it would still work anyway...

[exeric]

I know how to mount these tires as I have done it so many times.

Well, got any special advice that may help? I've got to put new clinchers on my 1919 Hen and would love to hear a good tip.

[T. Cotten]

This chunk o' ocher (or is it 'ochre?) is yours if you feel artistic, 46Servi!

....Cotten
PS: Its so soft, you could just brush it on dry right off the stone.

[T. Cotten]

Wow another alternative just occurred to me, Folks!

"Lava" brand hand soap.

....Cotten

[Rubone]

Ultraviolet light will darken them.

[T. Cotten]

Ultraviolet light will darken them.

Long wave or short wave UV, Rubone?

I have both as if I needed them, but is "darkening" really what we want?

Or just make the surface look like it isn't fresh out of the mold.

....Cotten

[Rubone]

It will turn them a yellowish /beige color. They can also be colored slightly with liquid concrete pigments in a diluted form, or wood stains. Rubber is easily colored and quite porous..
Stain them, scrub it off with Ajax/Comet/etc., leaving a roughened somewhat unevenly tinted surface behind.