Black vs. Grey vs. Tan tires?

abufletcher · 15 April 2005, 05:26 AM

What's the scoop on the different colors of the tires? Were they actually different materials or just different colors of the same rubber? And what shade of grey was the grey?

EricGoedkoop · 15 April 2005, 06:36 AM

Natural rubber is white. Carbon was added in varying amounts, producing the grey color. Personally, I suspect there was a range of greys depending on tire manufacturer and time period, but some other folks might take issue with that (I also hold that there is no single "correct" PC10 or set of lozenge colors, but that's another topic).

abufletcher · 15 April 2005, 07:52 AM

Why was the carbon added?

EricGoedkoop · 15 April 2005, 08:05 AM

Carbon black makes the tires last longer, by preventing or reducing damage to the rubber from UV radiation. I'm not sure if this was well-understood at the time or if they knew it helped but not why. If the latter was true, it might explain why there was variation. If I'm not mistaken, the carbon black also fades over time as it absorbs UV, making older tires look lighter in color than new ones.

Try a search of the archives here for more detailed info - I'm just going from memory.

Kinda like high school science class all over again, huh?

abufletcher · 15 April 2005, 08:31 AM

I hadn't realized this had already been so thoroughly discussed! Lots of interesting threads that basically all say the same thing: WWI era aircraft tires were almost never black. Wow that is news to me!!! I always knew that SOME aircraft had whitish/grey or tan tires but I always assumed these were the exceptions. The idea of a DrI with whitish-grey (or pinkish) tires just blows my mind!

This is going to take some getting used to!

15 April 2005, 09:15 AM

Also, if the tyres were yellowish, you've got the filmstock to consider. Dark on Ortho, paler on Panchromatic - another handy clue if youre trying to figure out the airframe colour(s). I just spotted this yesterday while scratching my head over very-dark-'clear doped linen'-Eindecker pic.s

EricGoedkoop · 15 April 2005, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abufletcher

The idea of a DrI with whitish-grey (or pinkish) tires just blows my mind!

This is going to take some getting used to!

I wouldn't worry too much - to my mind the only place you'd see a white, light grey or eraser-pink would be on the assembly line. On the one hand, if the tires were dark when new most service aircraft didn't last long enough for appreciable fading. If on the other hand they were light when new, a few weeks of dirt, mud, castor oil, smoke, exhaust and general grime would've mucked them up right proper.

Dan_San_Abbott · 15 April 2005, 01:09 PM

EricGoedkoop:
Tires came in a semi-clear yellowish color, (color of an Art Gum eraser) and very pale greyish white. I remember my Father unwrapping his "white" his tires on his Oakland when we moved from Long Beach to San Francisco in late 1926 or early 1927. The tires would get dirty which turned them into light brownish grey. I think the tires on his Jenny were black, whatever!
Blue skies,
Dan-San

EricGoedkoop · 15 April 2005, 01:40 PM

Thanks, Dan-San.

I wouldn't have pictured any as yellow as an Art Gum, but that's just my preconceptions.

Speaking of the Jenny, I don't recall seeing anything but black or very dark grey on post-War and Golden Age machines. Would it be too much of a generalization to say that the white and grey (and pink) types had pretty well given way to the darker tires we're familiar with by war's end?

WarrenD · 15 April 2005, 06:51 PM

Eric,
To my knowledge, adding carbon black became the norm in the 1920's. While you certainly still had tires that were not black, as in Dan-San's case, I think you see more and more of the "black" tires during this time. (Keep in mind as well, especially for modeling, that they are still not "black" but a very dark grey.

Warren