Tire Mounting Lube / paste.

[muckdp]

I've searched, and it seems most folks use some home made, or kitchen solutions. That's not what I want. I want to buy a product designed for the job.
As a guy with a tire changer in my shop, all my friends bring their tires over, and I've noticed that sometimes the beads are "glued" on tighter than others, and in all those cases, I can see the remnants of what I'm assuming was a paste. 99% of my use case is "extreme" offroad use, and even with beadlocks, the inner bead is not usually locked, and spinning tires or losing beads on non-beadlocked wheels is relatively common. So here's what I'm looking for, and I'm hoping you can give me specific suggestions, and your experience with those suggestions.
Requirements:
* Lubricate the bead for fitting the tire on the wheel (usually 15-17" rims w/35-42" tires, not low pro).
* Lubrication should dry into a form that helps hold the tire in place on the wheel. or at least not encourage slipping.
* For bonus points, it would be great if it could go into the open top little bottle attached to the side of my tire changer, and not require keeping a separately sealed tub nearby. Though, this is the least important.

From my research it seems like euro paste might be a good solution? But I'm not even sure I'm searching for the right things, and I'm pretty far out of my element, so I welcome any direct experience folks have with commercial tire lube/paste products.
Thanks!

Picture of tire changer, and open top bottle included for illustration.

 

[JSGAuto]

Murphy's is popular and works well. Rinses off with the car wash.

I've tried others, no-mar...ect, they all work, but are more expensive.

https://www.amazon.com/Tire-Tube-Mounting-Compound-46634-8/dp/B07ZPFP18G/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

I've been using RU-Glyde, mostly because it was what the local auto parts store had. Works fine. They also had bottles/brushed that could be attached to a machine.

 

[joe_padavano]

X2 for Ru-Glyde. I get mine at NAPA.

 

[muckdp]

Murphy's is popular and works well. Rinses off with the car wash.

I've tried others, no-mar...ect, they all work, but are more expensive.

https://www.amazon.com/Tire-Tube-Mounting-Compound-46634-8/dp/B07ZPFP18G/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Any idea about bead stickiness compared to others? That's the primary question I have. For the volume I use, I'm not concerned about price difference, they're all cheap enough from what I can tell.

 

[308guru]

Call any Discount Tire shop and ask them what they use.

 

[dscheidt]

Any idea about bead stickiness compared to others? That's the primary question I have. For the volume I use, I'm not concerned about price difference, they're all cheap enough from what I can tell.

You are probably seeing the remains of a bead sealing compound, not the mounting lubricant. It's a thick rubber based glop that fills pits from corrosion on the bead surface. We used to use Tech's product, because we bought most of our tire repair and balancing consumables from them, but a good parts house will have a similar product. I put it on any wheel that wasn't perfect.

 

[muckdp]

You are probably seeing the remains of a bead sealing compound, not the mounting lubricant. It's a thick rubber based glop that fills pits from corrosion on the bead surface. We used to use Tech's product, because we bought most of our tire repair and balancing consumables from them, but a good parts house will have a similar product. I put it on any wheel that wasn't perfect.

That's a good point. It never occurred to me the remains I was seeing was a separate product specifically for bead sealing. I ***-U-ME'd that it was an all in one lube/sealer. thanks.

 

[u2slow]

This is what I use. Also from Napa

https://www.napacanada.com/en/p/BPR4930

 

[Locker537]

Murphy's is the right stuff for race car tires. I struggled to get some stiff sidewall tires to seat using other products. Murphy's works.

 

[bwringer]

I've mounted so many motorcycle tires in my garage that I am on my second gallon of Ru-Glyde. (A gallon is a lifetime supply for normal people...)

The Murphy's liquid is quite nice, too.

I am not a fan of the thicker pastes (No-Mar, Murphy's, etc.), although they have their fans; they seem to hang around way too long. Ru-Glyde dries and gets a little sticky, and then it's pretty much out of your way. It doesn't corrode the wheels like dish soap.

I absolutely agree with getting the right stuff. Whenever this comes up, I've never in my life seen such a high percentage of people with such overpowering urges to perform this safety-critical task with homemade elixirs or moronic substitutes from under the kitchen sink, or from the back of the garage shelf.

It's weird as hell; people who obsess over tire date codes and tread patterns suddenly cast all care to the wind when it's time for rubber to meet rim, and slather on something insanely corrosive like dish soap or Windex, or use something oily.

Things that are tire mounting lube:

• Tire Mounting Lube

Things that are NOT tire mounting lube, but assorted internet morons just love:

• Dish Soap
• Windex
• WD-40
• Silicone Spray
• Chain Lube
• Bear Grease
• Bacon Grease
• Grease Grease
• Goose Grease
• Ear Wax
• Dog Shampoo
• Cat Shampoo
• Horse Shampoo
• People Shampoo

Truth be told, there are a few substitutes that could work in a pinch. Just don't make it a habit, because substitutes usually lack the anti-corrosive additives.

• Very diluted, VERY mild soap-based shampoo (you want little or no detergent)
• Simple mild liquid soaps like Murphy's or Dr. Bronners, very diluted

 

[seber]

I would not be afraid of silicone, but I doubt it would work as well as the right stuff. For the record, that would be stearates and stearic acid. Most commecial preparations will include some form of antifreeze such as glycol.

 

[joecon]

When I was a kid we used ivory soap, but the best thing is to use tire mounting lube. The paste and jell helps if you have a tire that won't seat on the bead. you pack it between the tire and bead and then inflate the tire and sometimes it helps.

 

[txvwnut]

Murphy‘s.

 

[dscheidt]

That's a good point. It never occurred to me the remains I was seeing was a separate product specifically for bead sealing. I ***-U-ME'd that it was an all in one lube/sealer. thanks.

No, they do different things. The sealer is sticky, and tires end up stuck to the wheel after a while, but it's really a gasket. it fills corrosion pits and porosity at the bead (some aluminum rims are (or were, I'm twenty years out of the tire business) prone to developing porosity at the bead), and provides a compliant surface for the tire bead to mate with. The lube is slippery (duh) and helps the tire bead go over lip of the wheel, and once you start inflating the tire, helps the bead slide over the inside hump. Some the thicker ones are supposed to help keep air in the tire as the beads seat.

 

[rlitman]

...
Things that are tire mounting lube:

• Tire Mounting Lube

Things that are NOT tire mounting lube, but assorted internet morons just love:

• ...

Truth be told, there are a few substitutes that could work in a pinch. Just don't make it a habit, because substitutes usually lack the anti-corrosive additives.

• Very diluted, VERY mild soap-based shampoo (you want little or no detergent)
• Simple mild liquid soaps like Murphy's or Dr. Bronners, very diluted

I feel I need to add a serious correction here.

Murphy's Tire and Tube Mounting Compound is the same original potassium soap since 1910. It may appear to be a paste thicker than petroleum jelly, but it dissolves nicely in hot water and I dilute the stuff to make insecticidal soap. It's also a good tire mounting lube.

Murphy Original Oil Soap liquid has been a brand of Colgate Palmolive since 1991. Current SDS shows it is a sodium soap with citronella oil and fragrances added. None of that is appropriate for tires.

My tire mounting lube of choice (even though I do own a tub of Murphy's), is Hercules Duck Butter. It's actually sold as a water soluble lubricant for plumbers that need to lubricate rubber seals.

 

[bwringer]

Murphy's Tire and Tube Mounting Compound is the same original potassium soap since 1910. It may appear to be a paste thicker than petroleum jelly, but it dissolves nicely in hot water and I dilute the stuff to make insecticidal soap. It's also a good tire mounting lube.

Murphy Original Oil Soap liquid has been a brand of Colgate Palmolive since 1991. Current SDS shows it is a sodium soap with citronella oil and fragrances added. None of that is appropriate for tires.

My tire mounting lube of choice (even though I do own a tub of Murphy's), is Hercules Duck Butter. It's actually sold as a water soluble lubricant for plumbers that need to lubricate rubber seals.

Good to know!

FWIW, Ru-Glyde is also a potassium soap.

 

[BrandonV]

Call any Discount Tire shop and ask them what they use.

IIRC they use Rema Tip Top 75.

 

[muckdp]

IIRC they use Rema Tip Top 75.

This is what I ended up buying. I called myers, tire supply network, and rema tip top and the common theme among all of them was that you want something with "tack" or "tacky" in the description. adhesion was another common description. I think Euro paste would have been an acceptable alternative also for a paste style, but I was able to buy a 7.7lb tub of rema tip top for less than euro paste, and it's made in USA, which is always a nice bonus.

I also looked at using slip tac, which dries faster, but is also known for being tacky, and would have filled my mounted container, but decided to try a paste instead. It may be a while til I have some useful data to report, but when/if I do, I will report back here.

 

[SILVERPLATE]

Back when I was kid in the late sixties working at a gas station we used kerosen.

 

[ronkz650]

Use any tire lube, they all work fine. I like Murphys, Ruglyde, Nomar. They all are made to soak into the rubber and evaporate over time. Like said before, the problems most have with slipping tires, beads leaking ect is a lot of time due to using the wrong lube. "Dish soap" is wrong as it gets.

 

[Mgdoug3]

I have Ruglyde to help remove and install tires on tractors and farm equipment. I recently bought Seal 723 after borrowing some to help air up a new 24.5-32 tubeless. I was out in the field with a good 1" gap but I only had 1/4 air hose and a big bead blast. The 723 stuff worked great and tire aired up.

 

[yellowbox]

Years ago worked in a shop that used brake fluid

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

Haven’t had to mount any car/truck tires but have done some trailer and smaller tires. When doing a project I use what I have. And here is my magic lotion.

 

[AJHD]

Things that are NOT tire mounting lube, but assorted internet morons just love:

• Dish Soap

Not just Internet morons, real world morons too. In the past, I've used diluted dish soap (probably Dawn) as a lubricant when I worked in a shop or two that did tires. I'm not saying it's correct, but I used whatever we had on hand at the time for whatever reason. Things happen.

Anyway... I'm confused what makes it "insanely corrosive"? Dish soap is used daily around the world on all forms of materials including metal and rubber, not to mention your hands/skin.

The water should not be enough to cause rust and it should evaporate/dry rather quickly. Which only leaves the dried residue of the dish soap itself.

Only thing I can think of is dish soap is a degreaser. Care to elaborate?

*By the way, this isn't an argument. It's something I never genuinely thought about and now I'm curious.*

 

[wyb2]

Not just Internet morons, real world morons too. In the past, I've used diluted dish soap (probably Dawn) as a lubricant when I worked in a shop or two that did tires. I'm not saying it's correct, but I used whatever we had on hand at the time for whatever reason. Things happen.

Anyway... I'm confused what makes it "insanely corrosive"? Dish soap is used daily around the world on all forms of materials including metal and rubber, not to mention your hands/skin.

The water should not be enough to cause rust and it should evaporate/dry rather quickly. Which only leaves the dried residue of the dish soap itself.

Only thing I can think of is dish soap is a degreaser. Care to elaborate?

*By the way, this isn't an argument. It's something I never genuinely thought about and now I'm curious.*

Also curious here.

I would assume it’s not the soap, but the trapped water that can’t evaporate once the tire/rim is sealed. But this would seem to be true for any water based product. Also, if my compressor is any indication, any tire filled from a smaller pump has some water hanging out inside.

 

[bwringer]

It's the difference between soap and detergent.

Dish "soap" contains some rather powerful detergent, and it is very corrosive, especially on aluminum wheels.

Although aluminum wheels are powder coated or painted, they pick up scratches over time and tire changes, and after a year or two dish detergent often causes some pretty serious corrosion in the bead areas.

I see this a lot in vintage bikes; often you can pick up the distinct smell of the Dawn dish detergent from a crumbling wheel years after someone used it for mounting the last tire.

 

[AJHD]

I would assume it’s not the soap, but the trapped water that can’t evaporate once the tire/rim is sealed. But this would seem to be true for any water based product. Also, if my compressor is any indication, any tire filled from a smaller pump has some water hanging out inside.

I never thought of that either and if I remember correctly most of these tire lubes are water based.

It's the difference between soap and detergent.

Dish "soap" contains some rather powerful detergent, and it is very corrosive, especially on aluminum wheels.

Although aluminum wheels are powder coated or painted, they pick up scratches over time and tire changes, and after a year or two dish detergent often causes some pretty serious corrosion in the bead areas.

I see this a lot in vintage bikes; often you can pick up the distinct smell of the Dawn dish detergent from a crumbling wheel years after someone used it for mounting the last tire.

Fair enough. Sounds logical.

 

[rlitman]

... In the past, I've used diluted dish soap (probably Dawn) as a lubricant when I worked in a shop or two that did tires. I'm not saying it's correct, but I used whatever we had on hand at the time for whatever reason. Things happen.

Anyway... I'm confused what makes it "insanely corrosive"?...

It's the difference between soap and detergent.

Dish "soap" contains some rather powerful detergent, and it is very corrosive, especially on aluminum wheels...

Whoa there. First off, real soap is almost certainly more corrosive than pure non-ionic surfactant (aka detergent). Though the potassium soap used by real Murphys is less corrosive than the sodium soap found in the "original" Murphy soap.

Detergent itself is not necessarily corrosive (some are, but that's a different story), however detergents often work best in basic solutions, so many dish soaps have washing soda (sodium carbonate), or other chemicals to raise their pH, and THAT makes them corrosive. If you're just using Dawn, corrosion shouldn't be a problem, but I can't say the same about other "dish soaps".

 

[seber]

Another problem with detergents, and any other soap meant for cleaning with water is they are hygroscopic. It doesn't matter if it hasn't rained for weeks, that bead will be wet from humidity in the air. And that will corrode the steel wheel.

 

[ronkz650]

Dish soap sits between the tire and wheel and never absorbs into the rubber. It just sits there like a cancer, eating the aluminum or steel wheel forever. Eventually the metal is all pitted and/or rust and the tire no longer holds air. So many guys on the motorcycle forums still use soap/water, and maybe it's OK for some, but the ones that complain of slow leaks are almost always the soap/water lube guys.
I used it for years in the old days with steel wheels and tubes. Even then, the steel wheels would rust inside from the soap/water. Use it on tubeless the rust and corrosion will eat your wheels and cause slow leaks.
Overly dramatic, but please spend the $25-$50 for real tire lube. You will benefit, trust me.

 

[tez929rr]

I've mounted so many motorcycle tires in my garage that I am on my second gallon of Ru-Glyde. (A gallon is a lifetime supply for normal people...)

The Murphy's liquid is quite nice, too.

I am not a fan of the thicker pastes (No-Mar, Murphy's, etc.), although they have their fans; they seem to hang around way too long. Ru-Glyde dries and gets a little sticky, and then it's pretty much out of your way. It doesn't corrode the wheels like dish soap.

I absolutely agree with getting the right stuff. Whenever this comes up, I've never in my life seen such a high percentage of people with such overpowering urges to perform this safety-critical task with homemade elixirs or moronic substitutes from under the kitchen sink, or from the back of the garage shelf.

It's weird as hell; people who obsess over tire date codes and tread patterns suddenly cast all care to the wind when it's time for rubber to meet rim, and slather on something insanely corrosive like dish soap or Windex, or use something oily.

Things that are tire mounting lube:

• Tire Mounting Lube

Things that are NOT tire mounting lube, but assorted internet morons just love:

• Dish Soap
• Windex
• WD-40
• Silicone Spray
• Chain Lube
• Bear Grease
• Bacon Grease
• Grease Grease
• Goose Grease
• Ear Wax
• Dog Shampoo
• Cat Shampoo
• Horse Shampoo
• People Shampoo

Truth be told, there are a few substitutes that could work in a pinch. Just don't make it a habit, because substitutes usually lack the anti-corrosive additives.

• Very diluted, VERY mild soap-based shampoo (you want little or no detergent)
• Simple mild liquid soaps like Murphy's or Dr. Bronners, very diluted

I’ve also gone through a couple of gallons of Ru-Glyde on motorcycle tires. I bought a pneumatic changer this year (replaced my old Coates 220) and I tried some paste stuff I bought from Amazon. So far I’m still using Ru-Glyde most of the time. Local bike shop used to sell a Yamaha spray lube that starts slippery and dries tacky. I haven’t seen it for a while.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Requirements:
* Lubricate the bead for fitting the tire on the wheel (usually 15-17" rims w/35-42" tires, not low pro).
* Lubrication should dry into a form that helps hold the tire in place on the wheel. or at least not encourage slipping.
* For bonus points, it would be great if it could go into the open top little bottle attached to the side of my tire changer, and not require keeping a separately sealed tub nearby. Though, this is the least important.

Murphy's is popular and works well. Rinses off with the car wash.

I've tried others, no-mar...ect, they all work, but are more expensive.
Murphy's Tire and Tube Mounting Compound

Murphy's ! Old school, but still the best !

It can be dissolved with water. Unless you wash it off, it is going to fail #2 !

 

[theoldwizard1]

99% of my use case is "extreme" offroad use, and even with beadlocks, the inner bead is not usually locked, and spinning tires or losing beads on non-beadlocked wheels is relatively common.

Old school, drag racers on a budget. Drill small holes around the rim. Screw through the holes into the tire bead using something like #12 sheet metal screws.

Yes, air will leak out over time !

 

[bwringer]

Whoa there. First off, real soap is almost certainly more corrosive than pure non-ionic surfactant (aka detergent). Though the potassium soap used by real Murphys is less corrosive than the sodium soap found in the "original" Murphy soap.

Detergent itself is not necessarily corrosive (some are, but that's a different story), however detergents often work best in basic solutions, so many dish soaps have washing soda (sodium carbonate), or other chemicals to raise their pH, and THAT makes them corrosive. If you're just using Dawn, corrosion shouldn't be a problem, but I can't say the same about other "dish soaps".

All good points!

In my experience, mostly vintage motorcycles, I have indeed seen serious corrosion resulting from the use of dish soap, combined with years of neglect. Dawn in particular may be less corrosive than others, but I've smelled it more than once when replacing tires on badly corroded wheels. Perhaps it's more the neglect, or over-use.

Then again, if you're going through three to five sets of motorcycle tires every year like I do, then you could probably use just about anything sudsy and slickery without much ill effect as long as you clean it off once in a while.

In any case, I think we can agree that rather than poring through MSDS sheets and consulting chemical engineers about the stuff stored under your kitchen sink, it's far easier to just go out and cough up $15 - $20 for a jug of actual purpose-made tire mounting lube. Ru-Glyde is a potassium soap with some sort of anti-corrosion magicks added, and Murphy's tire elixir is much the same. It works great and doesn't cause other issues.

Paste vs. liquid is a matter of preference. I prefer liquid, some like the pastes. I change motorcycle tires the old-fashioned low-tech way with levers, and after doing this for years I'm generally faster or nearly as fast as all the farting around with No-Mar or similar machines.

 

[Hohn]

P80-- designed specifically for assembling rubber parts to non rubber parts where you want lubricant that is temporary.

https://ipcol.com/wp-content/uploads/P80FLYER.pdf

Looks to me like their "grip it" variant goes on as a lube when dries tacky to aid in retention. I think that's what you want.

(Cummins uses P80 to assemble hoses in the engine plants. Especially things like coolant hoses that are harder to assemble).

Short of using the right product like that, you could try the cheap hairspray trick.

 

[Hohn]

I've searched, and it seems most folks use some home made, or kitchen solutions. That's not what I want. I want to buy a product designed for the job.
As a guy with a tire changer in my shop, all my friends bring their tires over, and I've noticed that sometimes the beads are "glued" on tighter than others, and in all those cases, I can see the remnants of what I'm assuming was a paste. 99% of my use case is "extreme" offroad use, and even with beadlocks, the inner bead is not usually locked, and spinning tires or losing beads on non-beadlocked wheels is relatively common. So here's what I'm looking for, and I'm hoping you can give me specific suggestions, and your experience with those suggestions.
Requirements:
* Lubricate the bead for fitting the tire on the wheel (usually 15-17" rims w/35-42" tires, not low pro).
* Lubrication should dry into a form that helps hold the tire in place on the wheel. or at least not encourage slipping.
* For bonus points, it would be great if it could go into the open top little bottle attached to the side of my tire changer, and not require keeping a separately sealed tub nearby. Though, this is the least important.

From my research it seems like euro paste might be a good solution? But I'm not even sure I'm searching for the right things, and I'm pretty far out of my element, so I welcome any direct experience folks have with commercial tire lube/paste products.
Thanks!

Picture of tire changer, and open top bottle included for illustration.

Method BeadGrips should be on your radar soon. Pretty amazing what they can hold at low pressures without the hassles of a true beadlock.
Alas, they don't offer the size I want in a Beadgrip. No love for pizza cutter lovers.

 

[Mgdoug3]

Old school, drag racers on a budget. Drill small holes around the rim. Screw through the holes into the tire bead using something like #12 sheet metal screws.

Yes, air will leak out over time !

My pulling tractor has over 300 screws in my rims to keep the tires from slipping. It takes a while to install but it's better than the alternative of not doing them.

 

[danielbuck]

I've mounted so many motorcycle tires in my garage that I am on my second gallon of Ru-Glyde. (A gallon is a lifetime supply for normal people...)

The Murphy's liquid is quite nice, too.

I am not a fan of the thicker pastes (No-Mar, Murphy's, etc.), although they have their fans; they seem to hang around way too long. Ru-Glyde dries and gets a little sticky, and then it's pretty much out of your way. It doesn't corrode the wheels like dish soap.

I absolutely agree with getting the right stuff. Whenever this comes up, I've never in my life seen such a high percentage of people with such overpowering urges to perform this safety-critical task with homemade elixirs or moronic substitutes from under the kitchen sink, or from the back of the garage shelf.

It's weird as hell; people who obsess over tire date codes and tread patterns suddenly cast all care to the wind when it's time for rubber to meet rim, and slather on something insanely corrosive like dish soap or Windex, or use something oily.

Things that are tire mounting lube:

• Tire Mounting Lube

Things that are NOT tire mounting lube, but assorted internet morons just love:

• Dish Soap
• Windex
• WD-40
• Silicone Spray
• Chain Lube
• Bear Grease
• Bacon Grease
• Grease Grease
• Goose Grease
• Ear Wax
• Dog Shampoo
• Cat Shampoo
• Horse Shampoo
• People Shampoo

Truth be told, there are a few substitutes that could work in a pinch. Just don't make it a habit, because substitutes usually lack the anti-corrosive additives.

• Very diluted, VERY mild soap-based shampoo (you want little or no detergent)
• Simple mild liquid soaps like Murphy's or Dr. Bronners, very diluted

hm... I have always used dawn dish soap to mount tires on my beadlocks (on my 4th set of tires over the past 15 years on the same old Champion beadlocks), I've never had problems with it. what's the reason it's not a good idea?

I have had zero leaks, the tires perform well with 7-10psi offroad, and my last 2 sets of tires didn't need balancing weights (Nitto Trail grapplers) run glass smooth at 80mph on the freeway.

I don't know if it causes the tire to slip less (since i have beadlocks, they wouldn't slip anyway). I also use it for rubber coolant hoses and such as well, also without problems.

 

[csp]

I use RUGlyde for mounting.

I also use two wraps of gorilla tape around the inner bead of beadlocked wheels. It helps tremendously with retention at low pressures. I've gone down as low as 2psi when snow wheeling and not lost an inner bead. My next stop will be double beadlocks similar to Hummer wheels.