Need suggestions for removing foam tires

[nhdungeonracer]

As the title says, I'm looking to remove the foam from the wheels on my Womp and FCR cars, and will be replacing them with PG tires.

Is there some easy way(s) to do that?

[HomeRacingWorld]

I peel them the best I can by hand, chuck them up in my drill and use coarse sand paper to clean them the rest of the way. You want to score the surface of the wheel anyway to allow the glue to bite for the new tires.

[mikeinclover]

That way works or you could get the majority off then use the wire wheel on a Dremel tool. Just mount the wheels on an axle. Makes quick work of it. Also works on silicone tires that have been glued to the rim .
Mike

[chrisguyw]

Most, if not all foam/sponge tires are mounted with contact cement............and most of the sponge folks soak the tires/wheels in lacquer thinner to remove the worn tires/old glue....the common method for many a year.

Cheers
Chris Walker

[HomeRacingWorld]

Yes. However, if you don't have that thinner on the shelf, these methods work well.

[nhdungeonracer]

Thanks guys!
I thought there would be an easier and less messier way than peeling. I'll try the laquer thinner to remove the foam, then use sandpaper to "roughen" the wheel for gluing the PG tires.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

I did a post some time ago about stripping the foam off on my mini lathe. Its part of this one...
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2552&p=25451&hilit=lathe%2C+tire#p25451
The same technique would work fine for using with an ordinary drill. The advantage of the lathe isn't so much that the job is done cleanly in seconds, its the perfect truing of the wheels while roughing up the surface for tire glue. By the way, Sally Hanson's Hard As Nails (grocery store item), is a great tire glue for mounting tires on wheels.

[RazorJon]

I have had luck just peeling them off
The hard stuck ones will come off easy if you soak in alcahol
Then I got to thinking what if you got it wet and froze it

I try and save the foammys for track decorations

[Florida_Slotter]

Two words . . . . . Lacquer Thinner.

Put them in overnight and the foam falls off in a single piece. Little to no clean up necessary.

Just DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS WITH PLASTIC WHEELS.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Yeah, that would be some nasty sludge in 20 minutes!

[SpeedyNH]

Dickie- there's something that you don't know how to Do ???
I can't believe it. I gotta write this down.
speed man

[nhdungeonracer]

[SpeedyNH]

I shouldn't say this; just put a bunch of tires in the puddle and soak it up!

I remember many years ago when I poured a little fast thinner in a Styrofoam cup- it pretty much went right through to the floor. doh!
fortunately I saved a bunch of baby food jars, although the good stuff will still swell the lid gaskets over time.

[strangebrew]

Keep band-aids handy when using most of the above methods :D

[Lenny Broke]

Hi guys
Here in Australia I use a product called Shellite which is a light fluid, I'm not sure if there is an equivilant product where you are but I think naptha is similar.
I pour enough product into a small glass jar with screw top lid to submerge the wheels and let it soak for an hour or so. you should be able to then just slip off the old tyre and clean up any glue residue with an old cloth.
If you store it with the lid on the jar you can use it again a number of time more.

When fitting the new tire with contact adhesive, I usually dip the glue coated rim in some shellite. This softens the skin of the glue for a short time, enough to allow the tyre to slip onto the rim more easily, it evaporates in a few seconds and leaves no residue.

Cheers, Alan