Old Tubular Glue on Rims

[caleb]

I recently volunteered to stick some new Conti Competitions on my Sister-In-Law's race wheels (Zipp 404s).

I pulled the old tires off tonight, and whoever glued them on used lots of glue. Enough to tear the base tape off a Conti Sprinter. Lots of glue was left on the rim, and the surface was uneven.

After doing a bit of research, I tried a kitchen knife on it. No good.

I then went and got some Goof Off. Tried three times with it: once with a rag, once with a green kitchen scrubber, and again with the rag. Very little progress. It probably made the surface more smooth, but it didn't really take the glue off.

So, I'm left with a couple of questions:

1) How much of the old glue do I need to get off?

2) What method should I use for getting it off?

3) Now that the rim has had solvent on it, do I need to do anything special before gluing the new tires on?

Thanks in advance for the help.

[Too Tall]

Did you contaminate the glue surface with the rag and whatever else you wiped with? That is the only problem I can see.

All you really need to do is shape/knock down the high spots and anything that looks really heinous. Put the wheel out in the sun than use a shaped scraper and just shape the glue bed. I use a wheel truing stand and spin it to find the spots that are high.

If the current glue surface is not full of contamination it's a good glue surface :) Just add one thin wet coat just before you mount your prep'd tyre and you are good to go.

PS - if in doubt about how much old glue is too much snap a few pics and post them here.

[twowheels]

i've got an old old track wheel that has a bunch of lumpy red glue on it. removing old glue with goof off is one of the nastiest jobs around. it takes a lot of time, a lot of diligent rubbing, and you are guaranteed to breath a lot of nasty solvennts like tce. i think i'll wait til next season.....

j knows. you are probably ok. but, do you know if the old glue is fast tack? is it kind of powdery and splotchy? post pics if in doubt.

[caleb]

Did you contaminate the glue surface with the rag and whatever else you wiped with? That is the only problem I can see.

That's part of my question: do I need to try and clean the rim with water or something after using solvent on it to make sure the solvent doesn't attack the new glue? Or, does the solvent evaporate?

[caleb]

do you know if the old glue is fast tack? is it kind of powdery and splotchy?

No, it's Conti glue. I got lots of dirt off the edges of the rim already; the old Sprinter was completely worn through. I'm willing to trust the old glue since it was applied by the PROest wrench in town.

[Too Tall]

That's part of my question: do I need to try and clean the rim with water or something after using solvent on it to make sure the solvent doesn't attack the new glue? Or, does the solvent evaporate?

Goof Off is a "clean" solvent and will not leave behind anything that might cause a problem.

*TwoWheels, that red clement glue is persistent stuff. Good luck, I'd vote to leave most of it and use an aggressive glue like Panaracer to soften it up rather than fight. FWIIW I have same prob. on a set of track wheels I inherited and found that Vittoria glue works well with that evil red glue !!!!

[twowheels]

j maybe i'll give up and glue over the red crap. frankly, i did that once before and the tire stuck just fine.

[Too Tall]

j maybe i'll give up and glue over the red crap. frankly, i did that once before and the tire stuck just fine.

EXACTLY. I found this out for myself after giving up on the red cr@p.

[keevohn]

Re: the red crap...

I had an old track wheel with the same stuff. MEK, a ventilator, heavy duty gloves, and several hours of scraping later the rim was clean. Not a fun job and MEK is super-toxic, but it worked.

[El Chaba]

If the red stuff is not TOO thick...and is not getting "chalky" in spots, you can "re-activate" the glue simply by putting another layer of glue on top of it (as others have said). I would further suggest that you use a modern "amber" glue such as Vittoria or Continental as these are low residue products. If you are using glue out of a can, you might consider thinning it a bit with paint thinner.

[caleb]

Thanks for all the feedback.

I just finished putting the first coat on the tires - wow, they really soaked it up.

Tomorrow I'm planning on putting another coat on the tires, letting it dry, and stretching them back on a clean (unused) rim.

Then, I'll do a thin coat on the wheels and let it dry overnight.

Finally, I'll do another thin coat on the wheels and immediately mount the dry tires.

Sound about right? Anyone want to make the case for wet-on-wet mounting?

[El Chaba]

Anyone want to make the case for wet-on-wet mounting?

...It is much easier to straighten the tire up that way......

[Too Tall]

Yep.

Let the tyre basetape dry completely...that lets you put your thumbs against the dry glue if necessary during install. Double yep, the rim gets a quick wet coat just before install to facilitate getting the tyre on straight.

Don't worry about glue smudges...let them dry and pick off later.

[caleb]

...It is much easier to straighten the tire up that way......

But... how do you manage to mount the tire without getting glue all over yourself when every surface you could potentially push against already has glue all over it?

[El Chaba]

But... how do you manage to mount the tire without getting glue all over yourself when every surface you could potentially push against already has glue all over it?

That is a good indication that you have too much (wet) glue......(if it is squeezing out)

[Too Tall]

But... how do you manage to mount the tire without getting glue all over yourself when every surface you could potentially push against already has glue all over it?

Caleb, the basetape is dry. Let the glue dry...than last second a wet coat on the rim and mount the tyre.

Check out the park tools website for a decent instruction and let's talk after that. Operators are standing by.

[caleb]

Caleb, the basetape is dry. Let the glue dry...than last second a wet coat on the rim and mount the tyre.

Check out the park tools website for a decent instruction and let's talk after that. Operators are standing by.

Got it - thanks.

I thought El Chaba was suggesting that I have wet, fresh glue on both the rim and the base tape.

I was questioning the logistics of mounting when both (base tape and rim) are wet.

[cdimattio]

Check out the park tools website for a decent instruction

There are good instructions available at the University of Kansas website. Lots of interesting papers on tubular adhesion to read as well.

http://www.engr.ku.edu/~kuktl/

[Too Tall]

There are good instructions available at the University of Kansas website. Lots of interesting papers on tubular adhesion to read as well.

http://www.engr.ku.edu/~kuktl/

That info. is top secret!!!!! Some of it is a good read but you can get carried away. Ultimately you need to learn your materials and make a few mistakes.

[Chance Legstrong]

There are good instructions available at the University of Kansas website. Lots of interesting papers on tubular adhesion to read as well.

http://www.engr.ku.edu/~kuktl/

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!