Removing tires from your wheels

[cman_1500w]

Did a search and couldn't find it. I remember reading about this somewhere, either here or somewhere else.

Isn't there a way to remove tires by heating them in the oven with the door open or something like that?

I've got Clawz with the wide offset on x-f axles and am tired of getting hung up on the axles so I gotta switch to something w/ less offset

[TwistedCreations]

the only thing about heating them up or boiling them,that softens the tires alot. when you try to pull it apart,you take a chance on ripping the sidewalls( been there,done that)

[Ace]

Boiling works, but it takes forever and it's still alot of work. I had to boil each tire for about 30 minutes.

I've also used some superglue remover (acetone) worked okay, but it too softens the tires.

[cman_1500w]

Man that sounds like scary stuff to me! 8O So when you heat it or boil it and then pull the tires, does any of the rubber stay on the rim? or does it come off whole?

Also, just thought of this. Is there such thing as a ca glue 'remover'. Like stuff they sell in a bottle?

[cman_1500w]

oh other than acetone i mean(Ace)....

like something a hobby shop would sell.

[Ace]

This remover came from my lhs... Smells like acetone though.

Boiling makes the CA brittle and weak so you can wrestle the tire off the rim. It sure didn't fall off for me...

[DirkDigler]

Right. Wrestling them off the wheel is about the best bet. If it just won't budge, I have used a hobby knife and just cut the rubber. Yes, you will lose a very, very small slice of the bead but not enough to hurt anything. When you go to glue the tires back onto wheels, you won't even notice. Doing things the right way is always good but sometimes......there is no alternative.

[TwistedCreations]

alternative is beadlocks

im in the process of the digler way..using a flat head screwdriver and knife to try and pry and cut the crap off another set of rims..that glue sucks

[cman_1500w]

Ace, I think I know what your talking about. This debonding agent my lhs sells but they say it's mostly for the wood used in airplanes and such. They said they're not sure if it'll work here though

Seems like everyone is saying heat will do the trick.

hmmmm, what about a propane torch? Like hold it FAR away, maybe 8inches apart. Bit risky and could melt the tires but faster maybe?

[Ace]

You could try it, but the nice thing about boiling is you can't heat the tire past the boiling point of water.

I read somewhere CA breaks down at a pretty low temp, like 160 to 200 deg.
So boiling is a good way to get it to that temp.

Try the torch and let us know!

[SR5Dave]

I've always used epoxy to glue on my wheels, whats nice about it is that its brittle when dried, so they break off fairly easily. Still plenty of holding power to keep a bead though.

[cman_1500w]

That's true too Ace, the water will boil before the tires do. Seems like a long and possibly painful process. I can see myselft burning the crap out of myself with the boiling water

I'll try this first as this seems like the best and cheapest way to remove the tires and keep the wheels intact. If that don't work, I'll try the debonding agent from the lhs. And if worse comes to worse, I'm breaking out the propane torch And if that doesn't work, then my dremel can just bore the freaking wheel off!

Sr5Dave, what type of epoxy do you use? I know they vary like in lbs/sq in and all. I guess something that's able to bond rubber and plastics also

[Ace]

I was going to try rubber cement to see if it might be easier to remove. Has anyone tried it?

[TwistedCreations]

yeah you better have some towels handy when you grab that tire out of the boiling water. it gets hot!!!

[SR5Dave]

Cman, I'm not sure of the brand, holding strength, or anything really. Its the kind that every hobby shop sells in the two clear bottles, one with a red top, other with a black top. Every LHS I've been to has em, probably directed more towards the airplane audience.

[jtothec]

i used rubber cement on the bfts and it works well for crawling. high speed aplications do not apply.

[cman_1500w]

Tried the boiling technique and I have to say this.
IT WORKS!!!!!!

Found it best to let the tire sit for 5-10min per side. only one side of the wheel was in the water at a time b/c it floats. I'd pull it out and press down on the tire going around the whole wheel and the dried CA would just pop right off. Took a few tries a few times but eventually they all came off. Took me about 45min to remove the rims from 4 tires. Not bad at all. here's a few pics:


hey ma, what's cooking?




almost no rubber left on the wheel, it came off really cleanly




the CA still stays on the tire, here's a shot of what it looked like





I really liked this method. The wheels will get soft and flexible while boiling it so be careful. I have pretty tough hands so the heat didn't bother me too much, at first. but by the last one my fingertips got pretty tender. so gloves would help.

[rckjeep]

Originally Posted by Ace

I was going to try rubber cement to see if it might be easier to remove. Has anyone tried it?

Ya we tried that when I first got into RC it doesn't work nearly as well as CA. Just doesn't hold. But you can remove them.