Silicone-based tyre shine on tyres

[TipTeQ]

Hello fellow bikers!

I've recently had a problem with a bike wash that has left my tyres covered in silicone-based tyre shine and I'm looking to you for guidance / reassurance.

TL;DR
Bike wash left my tyres generously coated in silicone-based tyre shine (which sat on my tyres from morning until night). The tyres had just recently been used for track (so you know how rough the tyres get)... It has made it impossible to try and clean off. The owner of the car wash has kept me waiting since 18 October, and recently came back saying "it can be rinsed off with water". I sent him a link to a chemistry article stating that silicone is inert to water, and he hasn't responded since ��

I have read the TL;DR and want more details:
Yessir! As mentioned above, I accepted the offer for a bike wash at one of the StopWash outlets in Rosebank (I work in the building). When I hopped on the bike at about 7pm to head home, I noticed the bike slipping in slight cornering. I pulled over and noticed my tyres shining from being coated in tyre shine. When inspecting the next morning I noticed they had received a generous coating of tyre shine. There are dark patches on the tyres too (I assume where the tyre shine gathered on the bottom of the wheels while the bike was sitting there).

I've tried using a rough brush to scrub the stuff off, but no luck at all... Can't even get rid of the dark patches

I've been in contact with the CEO of StopWash, Mark Kruger, since that day, and the guy has kept me waiting for weeks telling me that he's consulting with tyre manufacturers, the tyre shine manufacturers, Discovery Insure, etc ... And then came back to me last Friday stating some useless stats along with "it can be easily removed by rinsing with water". Guys, silicone is was is used for waterproofing stuff, and that's why it's used in the tyre shine, so that it doesn't just come off from the tyres going through water �� when I responded with the link to a chemistry article stating that silicone is inert to water and I'd like to see documentation detailing the findings, I've just been ignored since.


If this was my own balls-up I'd have no problem trying to use chemicals, or sand paper, or whatever other solutions exist... But this was NOT my balls-up, and I've just been left hanging by the company, and I don't see why I should now suffer expenses / labour for someone else's mistakes.

I've been advised to go to to the small claims court to recover money for the damages caused.

My question to you is: do you think I'm over reacting with this? I use those tyres for track, and there is absolutely no way I would trust those tyres at those speeds and angles now... So why must I be forced to spend crazy money on new tyres just to protect my life when someone else screwed up?


I'm sorry for the long post... I look forward to any responses and wish you all a good weekend and safe riding!

[-Az-]

Welcome to the forum.

It's seems pretty clear that they don't intend to do anything about it.
Rather spend the energy on your tyres with bowl of mild solvent and a nail brush because your next step is paying a lawyer to see if you can win a claim in court.

[TipTeQ]

Welcome to the forum.

It's seems pretty clear that they don't intend to do anything about it.
Rather spend the energy on your tyres with bowl of mild solvent and a nail brush because your next step is paying a lawyer to see if you can win a claim in court.

Thank you for the welcome

Fortunately I'm dating someone from a family of lawyers - also, apparently you don't even need one for the consumer commission... You submit your complaint, and the consumer commission investigates it and it's up to the company to disprove the allegations.

It's the first time I'm doing something like this, I've got the documentation ready... I'll post back here eventually with my learnings

[Ntjamme]

Welcome to the forum.

Regarding this being their balls up, did you instruct them NOT to use silicon on all the blacks? If not, then its common practice for them to use silicon on all blacks, including seats!

Warm soap with some sunlight will do the trick,even through the chicken strips.

Sent from my using Tapatalk

[TipTeQ]

Welcome to the forum.

Regarding this being their balls up, did you instruct them NOT to use silicon on all the blacks? If not, then its common practice for them to use silicon on all blacks, including seats!

Warm soap with some sunlight will do the trick,even through the chicken strips.

Sent from my using Tapatalk

Thank you

Nope, I didn't instruct them to not put tyre shine on the incorrect parts of the bike... I've had the bike washed numerous times before, and every other car wash, through correct training, knew to not use it on the riding surface of the tyre.

Also (it's now been +4 weeks, so I can't fully remember), but I'm sure the sunlight mixture was something I tried initially, and I still couldn't remove the damn stuff, especially the dark areas

[david h]

We have an outlet of The Clean Shop in town. Always helpful advice and a wide range of products.
It may be worth your while to contact an outlet near your and see if they have a solution to your problem:
https://www.cleanshop.co.za/cleanshop-outlets/
Their products are biodegradable and eco-friendly.

[Skully-SXV]

Kleen Green (not diluted) and a stiff brush and scrub that rubbish off the tyres.
4 weeks + arguing with the place that did it and it will take an hour to clean the tyres.

And wash the bike by yourself in future and avoid anything like this happening ever again.

[Solstice]

Acetone..... like nail polish remover. I use it on my new tyres.

[-Az-]

Acetone..... like nail polish remover. I use it on my new tyres.

Magic stuff, also great at dissolving super glue