tire cracks filler

[WinterDeere]

I am willing to bet the new tires don't stay crack free more than 2 years.

I sold my 1963 IH Cub Cadet just a few years ago, still wearing original tires, and zero cracks. They had plenty of tread wear, but otherwise looked mostly like the day the machine was built, 50+ years earlier.

Keep tires out of the sun, and they last a long time... like original owner's lifetime, long.

Leave them out in the sun, and yes... less than 5 years. We've all seen that on our trailers and recreational equipment.

Come to think of it, the tires on my racing boat trailer are coming up on 20 years soon. They still look like the day I bought them, but the thing stays in a garage about 360 days per year.

 

[mllud]

My first tractor. Had sidewalls sewed together with what looked like 200lb fishing line and bad rims. Massey Harris 44
I used. It for a couple years and sold still holding air.
I had four young boys to feed. No tires for me.
I bought some rubber in a can to fix a skid steer tire that would fill cracks. Can't remember the product.
Cracks are ugly but usually in the surface. The other ten plus ply's hold for a good while.
For appearance fill them, for longevity don't bother. Treat them with a tire product.

But there's nothing like the look and smell of new tires.

 

[RayIN]

Could someone tell me if there is a product on the market that I could use to fill the cracks in a tire that has developed at the base of the tire tread. I would like to fill the cracks with a gluing agent to bond it back together. Thanks in advance

Black Silicone sealant, if you have numerous cracks to fill, buy a caulking gun tube; otherwise it comes in small tubes-sold at WM and most any other hardware store. Even auto windshield sealer works great too.
It's runny enough to push into cracks at first.

 

[jyoutz]

I don't know about large cracks but I use "tire black" to paint my older tries that have cracking and it seals them pretty good. I get tire black from a tire recapping shop.

It's a very thick black liquid about the constancy of motor oil. I don't know why recap tire shops use it but I've used on old tires since the 1960's. It gives them a soft sheen and fills imperfections.

There is one tire shop on-line (Miller Tire?) that sells it for $20 ? a quart and you can buy 5 gallon pails on Amazon. A quart lasts a long time. FYI

I didn’t know that they still recap tires. Is this just for off-road equipment?

 

[mikester]

Black spray paint. Works great at auctions.

 

[sixdogs]

I didn’t know that they still recap tires. Is this just for off-road equipment?

No. Big trucks use plenty of recaps. I understand big rig tires are built with the intent of recapping. I buy my tire black at an Amish recap business and a couple of tire places that sell tractor tires. It is hard to find in smaller amounts. Five gallon pail from Amazon or EBAY is out there but I didn't immediately find it. The 5 gal. pails are not that expensive.

Old timers know how good tire black is and how good it makes tires look. It was the hot rodders dream of years back and some tractor guys. The modern shiny silicone tire sprays look artificial.


Here's Miller Tire in Ohio with a qt of tire black for $26 plus shipping. They also sell a gallon for $49 plus. I momentarily can't find the 5 gallon pail but I recall that was around $50 a year back. I pick mine up so no shipping cost because this stuff is heavy.

1 Quart Black Tire Paint

1 Quart Black Tire Paint for sale online. E844QR

www.millertire.com

Also, here's an old hotrod commentary from 2008 that mentions tire black. Some of the links prob don't work but you can take a look. I do recall some guys thinning it long ago because it is thick and a little goes a long way.

https://www.hotrodders.com/threads/tire-black.142862/

I have sealed tire cracks for decades and made crappy old tractor tires look sort-of like new. The small and medium cracks cracks are partially filled and hidden. Bigger cracks less filled but harder to see since the whole tire looks much better. Bottom line is that I have replaced very few tires because of cracks. Maybe none.

 

[RayIN]

Before there was such a product as tire black, I worked in a service station while in high school. I was the tire changer and pump jockey. The owner made his own tire black with a quart of black paint mixed with 1G of gasoline.

 

[WinterDeere]

Didn’t that make a mess of hubcaps and rims? Also, don’t most tire compounds dissolve in gasoline?

 

[sixdogs]

Didn’t that make a mess of hubcaps and rims? Also, don’t most tire compounds dissolve in gasoline?

Not unless you get it too thin. I do recall thinning it and using a paint brush to "drag" it on and not "paint" it on. It made my old and worn out 1960 bias ply tires that were pure junk look respectable. It's a bit of an art form getting it on and not leaving brush strokes but it's rewarding when the job is done. Everyone commented on my tires back then and from a fast glance it looked like I had new tires. Fat chance of that.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

I have put used tractor hydraulic fluid on trailer tires that were weathering from being out in the sun, they looked like new tires when I was finished.