I’ve got a couple sets of wheels and these have been sitting around for winter. Well, I took them off the rack and was going to fill them up but was having issues. Decided to take the tires off and try to empty the old sealant but I saw this!
It looks bad. Real bad.
I know I’ll need to re-tape the wheels but do I need to try and get all this dried sealant off the tire? Any tips? I’m letting them dry off overnight with the hope it’ll make it easier. I sure don’t want to buy new tires. Any tips/tricks would be super appreciated. TIA.
by NotTheFakeJeff
9 Comments
Most people would say no, but personally I use my power drill with a brush to get the majority of it off but not as clean as a new tire. I just remove the majority on the bead/rim interface.
Yikes good luck- I’ve used goo gone, a tire lever, and some elbow grease to scrape some pretty gunked tires but nothing this bad
All that dried sealant will be preventing future flats. Don’t remove it. Just get off any that is on the bead. Also, the dried sealing is current plugging any flats you’ve had in the past.
Only those with OCD feel the need to clean the inside of their tubeless tires. 🙂
i’m usually able to just rub/peel it off with my hands.
you should definitely remove it. what sealant is this?
I think that they make a specific remover but nylon brush with soap and water will likely also do it.
How old is that tire? It looks like a ton of layers of sealant. Do you live in a hot climate and top off your tires all the time?
If I were in this situation, I’d attempt to remove the majority of the extra sealant, while leaving the rest that is likely plugging earlier punctures. You have nothing to lose except time really.
Good lord, did you use a whole gallon of sealant?
bench scraper (plastic) and then a good once over with the rough side of a sponge and some isopropyl (as others have said a nylon brush works but doesn’t get the alcohol in there as easily) if you really want it clean