does acetone hurt the tire / wheel /insert
 

Alot of the newer truck sct are going to zero offset rims, if I soak my old rims and tires into acetone to remove them will it hurt them?

I use Acetone all the time for this. The tires are never a problem as long as you make sure you get all the glue off. I have had mixed success with foams. The JC foams don't like the acetone and can break when you remove them from the tire. Proline foams usually make through OK if you are careful removing them from the tire while wet. Most of the Open cell foams I have removed have been great. Then end up huge once you remove them but as they dry the shrink back to normal size. The only wheels I have had trouble with are Tamiya rally wheels that melted in the acetone. All my JC, Associate, and Proline wheels have be fine.

As SCT moves to a new standard of Zero Offset wheels I hope to migrate everything and then not have to use Acetone anymore. It works for me but it is messy and never prefect.

In my experience acetone badly affects the "clay" or indoor type compounds more than other compounds.

You don't need to soak the tires/rims in acetone to be able to pull them off. I normally take a q-tip dip it in acetone, then rub it directly on the bead area. Wait 5-10 minutes, and it usually breaks the glue down enough to be able to pull the tire off of the rim. It may take a second treatment, and it probably won't work on SCT tires that you have glued the inside ribs to the face of the rim.

Another way to give the components the best chance for survival is to put a small amount of acetone in the bottom of the bucket and use something to elevate the wheels away from it. The fumes alone will break down the glue. After you get the tires off, you can use acetone on a rag to remove excess glue from the rim.

Clay compounds will break down/shrink/harden with acetone exposure. The ones I know of are Pather "C", ProLine "MC", Losi Pink, Jconcepts Gold.

I've never had a problem with the tires being damaged. All of the AE and aftermarket rims have been fine too. We melted some stock losi strike wheels down to a pile of goo once though. The blue pro line foams appeared to shrink a bit after acetone and tthe white JC stock foams disintegrted.

for softer compounds it works fantastic. sometimes you'll see closed cell foams shrink up a bit and open cell foams are usually ready for replacement. +1 on clay compound, they are affected greatly.

Reviving a thread for folks who may in the future be doing the same search as I am. J-Concepts gold compound definitely does shrink and harden if you soak them in acetone to separate the wheel and tire. I have a basically new set I just ruined :(

My question would be why are all you guys messing with acetone? 8-10 minutes in the oven at 350 makes tire removal a non event.

Umm except for the burnt fingers and the fact that ovens will kill any of the closed cell foams. For the most part as long as its not clay compound acetone is the most trouble free method. If there clay compound use the oven or boiling water and just replace inserts.

you mustn't live with anybody else. baking tires off fumes the whole place up.

acetone does work slower, but it works better, too. When I used to bake my tires off, I'd always end up with dried up chunks of CA that would get stuck to the wheels and keep me from doing a good glue job the next time. Acetone breaks all the glue down if you let it sit long enough, leaving you with a pristine wheel. Plus, acetone is set it and forget it.

I pinch the tire upwards and take an awl to make a small hole. Then I take a pair of scissors and cut the tire down the middle. I take the foam off the rim and then soak the tire and rim in acetone. If you let it sit long enough the tire will fall off the rim and the rim will look as good as new with no glue or tire residue. You won't wast as much acetone with this method and it is painless....

Personally, I have had issues with heat warping wheels which is why I use acetone. This is the first time I have had any issues using acetone. I didn't realize certain tire compounds were harmed by this method. Sometimes I change tires on certain wheels when the tires aren't wore out, in this case it bit me in the rear.

The gold compound tires still fit, they are just tighter (more low profile) and definitely harder. I guess they will work for diff break-in tires or something. I just wanted to share my experience hoping it may help someone else down the road. All other tires I have done this with have not had any issues (yet).

You should have a couple of different methods in your arsenal. Acetone is best in certain situations but not as effective for others. Baking or boiling can also work but again sometimes it's not the right choice. Cutting them off with a razor knife is again sometimes the best choice(insert change) but requires a steady hand and a strong thumb. Learn them all and make the decision based on what your trying to accomplish.

Acetone makes clay compound tires shrink. My 1/10 buggy tires look like touring car tires after a bath.

This is my process
 

I have switched car brands in the last few years and then went from pin drive to hex drive wheels. I have developed a method that works great for me.

I use an exacto (Hobby) knife to closely cut away the tire from the bead of the rim. If you pull the tire back and take your time cutting with the knife you can virtually remove the tire and have minimal damage to the tire bead. I have some sets that I have cut off up to 3 times and still mounted with no issues.

I then soak the rims in the acetone to remove the glue and rubber left from the process.

Works great for me.

Good Luck!