We pulled this article out of the "off the deep end" file. One of our editors had a tire, an air grinder, and a lot of extra time on his hands when he shot this. If you have the same stuff and some downtime in your garage, you might want to try it yourself. We can't tell you why he did it, and we are not sure if all that work was worth it. We are not recommending this for your daily driver because we are not sure if it is totally legal, but this might get you a point or two at a show.
The Final Word
There you go, a few simple but labor-intensive steps to smooth out your tires. The editor stated it took about three hours per tire, and you better wear a mask or you will be blowing black rubber boogers for a few days.
1. Here are the tools used...
1. Here are the tools used to smooth out the rubber: an air grinder with a Scotch-Brite disc, 400-grit sandpaper, and a green Scotch-Brite pad.
2. So here was the tire before...
2. So here was the tire before the editor got his hands on it. All the little words were removed for a cleaner look.
3. The little letters and...
3. The little letters and the mold lines were removed with the grinder first. Very light pressure was used to grind them off.
4. The letters and such will...
4. The letters and such will still show but only when you look very close.
5. Once all the little stuff...
5. Once all the little stuff was removed, the tire was spun and the grinder was used to smooth out any gouges. Gouges might show up if you get a little too aggressive with the grinder.
6. A piece of 400-grit sandpaper...
6. A piece of 400-grit sandpaper was used to remove the marks from the grinder. After that, a little green Scotch-Brite was used to get out any scratches left by the sandpaper.