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I need advice on cleaning the wheel. The old tire is crumbly white, I presume rubber. I read that rubber tires are glued and the wheel needs to be cleaned. Is there a particular solvent for that?

I've used heptane for that a few years back as recommended on a woodworking forum. You can buy it at art supply stores as rubber cement thinner. Goo Gone, 3M Adhesive remover or lighter fluid should work too once you've scraped and wire brushed the old rubber off, but heptane seems to be the best from what I've researched in days gone by. Use proper PPE.

Edit: a heat gun used carefully helps to release the old rubber prior to scraping and then cleaning. A sharp beater chisel for removing the rubber then a wire brush then solvent.

Search YouTube for changing bandsaw tires. I changed mine a few years ago during an overhaul of my Jet. A bit cumbersome, but definitely doable. If you have trouble getting the old tire off, I’m sure there’s a solvent that will help.


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The old tire self destructed, so removing the tire is not the issue. According to the youtube advice, there is likely residue of glue, which is what I was referring to. I want to avoid removing the wheel, as demonstrated in one of the youtube videos, so it's really hard to see if any residue is left, but I feel some crud.

I use Naptha when I'm trying to clean gunk and want to be careful of painted surfaces. Or finished surfaces in the case of as guitar