Puncturesafe

[Pandrop]

Re: Magic tyre goo , my wife picked up a puncture when she clipped a kerb in her new car, went to the boot only to find a pressurised tube of goo in the empty spare wheel well- (we later found out that a spare wheel is now an optional extra) - so in went the goo- out came the goo straight out of the hole - called the RAC chappy- sound of air being drawn through teeth, "thats an unusual tyre size luv, we will have to pick you and the kids up, take you home plus the car, come back tomorrow pick the car up and take it to kwik fit who have ordered the tyre for tomorrow afternoon then bring the car back to you".
A two day saga and a lot of ball-ache because Ford couldnt stick a space saver in the boot, or even tell us that there wasnt one in there in the first place. So when im asked about tyre goo I get a bit twitchy

[Data]

Some puncture-goo type products eat into aluminium -which is an issue if you have tubeless tyres on an aluminium wheel as the seal between tyre and wheel is compromised by the erosion of the metal.

The 'mushroom' type plugs are the ones that I have used and if fitted correctly last the life of the tyre.

But are illegal in the Uk and much of europe because they are known to be dangerous. You can buy them, but it's illegal to use them over here. Speak to folks who have had them fail, there are plenty!

Reference the instant 'goo' you speak of in the Ford car. That's a pain but it's a completely different sort of goo to Puncturesafe. Puncturesafe lives in your tyres permanently, sealing any hole straight away. It works for most punctures if folks follow the instructions. That tyre goo in the Ford also usually works ok but folks don't follow the instructions so end up with an empty tyre! And once you have used that instant tyre goo you cannot then have it repaired using a conventional method. The tyre is junk. In contrast, Puncturesafe does let you have any puncture that it has sealed repaired in a conventional manner should you wish to do so. But why would you. Puncturesafe is far superior to traditional methods and permanent. It'll never leak again from the same place ever. Have it conventionally repaired and it immediately has a speed restriction on that tyre and always the risk of the repair letting go at some future time. Regarding corrosion, I've used it for 25years in bikes and cars and in the army we used in in combat vehicles, and I've never seen any corrosion. I worked in the trade for many years too. Puncturesafe is the most prolific puncture sealant pretty much in the world along with it's name sake Ultraseal. All Royal Mail vehicles used to have it in until they started to economise, and pretty much all the big fleet operators have it in their tyres. None of those things apply to Puncturesafe. Just saying, again!

[Data]

With the puncturesafe, how would you know if it had worked or you just hadn't had a puncture?

I think if it works, the gunge seeps up into the whole and solidifies, so since its normally a lurid pink or green, you can spot it by examining the tyre. Of course, in theory, you don't have to know that it works - that's the point! The trouble may come if you see the nail or screw or whatever that has caused the puncture being still in the tyre. I was never sure whether you are best leaving it there or not. Once I found a huge screw in my (gunged) tyre and foolishly removed it, with the result that I got a flat tyre in 3 seconds, and was then firmly up shite creek without a paddle......

Yes Puncturesafe tells you you've had a puncture by showing a blue marker on the tyre. If you notice a screw or nail in the tyre it's vital to remove it to prevent further damage to tyre bands. If you had followed the correct procedure to remover the screw, no doubt the hole would have sealed unless the hole was bigger than 6mm. I've never had even one puncture not seal with Puncturesafe. And I've had plenty of punctures when covering up to 40,000 mile a year for several years on various bikes. Riding in India it was common to collect several punctures each month! Thank goodness for Ultraseal as it was then that I was using.

[Data]

Yes, both the mushrooms and wormy stringy things are all temporary. I've known both types come out during riding. It can be a rather sudden let down!!

Well, there are outside and inside plugs/mushrooms. The ones applied from the outside (as done by the AA in my case) are intended as a temporary repair, with at least theoretical limits on speed when fitted (these are the sort I found are pushed back out if you have puncturesafe or whatever in the tyre and it doesn't work). However, I've heard of people leaving them in for extended periods with no probs. There are also the plugs that fitted from the inside, which are intended to be a permanent repair.

The mushroom plugs that I have used have always been pushed outwards from inside the tyre and have lasted the life of the tyre. That said I suppose it depends on the severity of the puncture, im both my cases it was a small nail hole which was then drilled out by the repairer then copious amounts of glue and a wide-based mushroom pulled through with pliers i.e a proper job. As you rightly say anything applied externally would be a temporary fix.

Yes those are conventional vulcanised "proper" tyre mushroom plugs. They are legal but instantly impose a speed restriction on the tyre of 85mph. Heat can cause those mushrooms to fail that's why they have a speed restriction on them (yet they still fail). But as you say they can last the life of the tyre. Some folks on here are talking about the mushroom plugs inserted from the outside of the tyre. Those are not a legal permanent repair and are known to be dangerous. There is also a speed restriction on them of I think 50mph.

[MrGrumpy]

If you notice a screw or nail in the tyre it's vital to remove it to prevent further damage to tyre bands. If you had followed the correct procedure to remover the screw, no doubt the hole would have sealed unless the hole was bigger than 6mm. I've never had even one puncture not seal with Puncturesafe. And I've had plenty of punctures when covering up to 40,000 mile a year for several years on various bikes. Riding in India it was common to collect several punctures each month! Thank goodness for Ultraseal as it was then that I was using.

I've had failures....and in the case of the aforementioned screw, the gunge was only slowing deflation. It was a huge thing - I clearly did the wrong thing in removing it, but the subsequent deflation was so rapid, I doubt that the gunge would have anytime to work if I had used the correct procedure.

[Pandrop]

Some puncture-goo type products eat into aluminium -which is an issue if you have tubeless tyres on an aluminium wheel as the seal between tyre and wheel is compromised by the erosion of the metal.

The 'mushroom' type plugs are the ones that I have used and if fitted correctly last the life of the tyre.

But are illegal in the Uk and much of europe because they are known to be dangerous. You can buy them, but it's illegal to use them over here. Speak to folks who have had them fail, there are plenty!

Reference the instant 'goo' you speak of in the Ford car. That's a pain but it's a completely different sort of goo to Puncturesafe. Puncturesafe lives in your tyres permanently, sealing any hole straight away. It works for most punctures if folks follow the instructions. That tyre goo in the Ford also usually works ok but folks don't follow the instructions so end up with an empty tyre! And once you have used that instant tyre goo you cannot then have it repaired using a conventional method. The tyre is junk. In contrast, Puncturesafe does let you have any puncture that it has sealed repaired in a conventional manner should you wish to do so. But why would you. Puncturesafe is far superior to traditional methods and permanent. It'll never leak again from the same place ever. Have it conventionally repaired and it immediately has a speed restriction on that tyre and always the risk of the repair letting go at some future time. Regarding corrosion, I've used it for 25years in bikes and cars and in the army we used in in combat vehicles, and I've never seen any corrosion. I worked in the trade for many years too. Puncturesafe is the most prolific puncture sealant pretty much in the world along with it's name sake Ultraseal. All Royal Mail vehicles used to have it in until they started to economise, and pretty much all the big fleet operators have it in their tyres. None of those things apply to Puncturesafe. Just saying, again!

As I said ( some) goos eat into aluminium .
The goo in the Ford wasnt applied incorrectly, the hole was an awkward tear type hole and nothing would have blocked it .
You dont sell Puncturesafe by any chance?

[Data]

No, I'm not connected to Puncturesafe at all although I can understand why your might think I am. I'm just someone who has used it for 25years (and it's ex-partner product Ultraseal) and knows the benefits of using it. Never had a failure with it. I'm also an ex mc instructor, auto technician and engine design and development engineer. As an engineer safety aids are top of my agenda, as it should be for everyone of course.

I was first introduced to Ultraseal now Puncturesafe by my cousin who was a police motorcyclist at the time. All the police bikes had it in the tyres and probably still do. Corrosion with Puncturesafe is not an issue that I've ever seen in my time in the trade. Puncturesafe has a complete corrosion inhibiting system that stops rust in steel wheels and corrosion in alloy wheels. This information is listed on the factory site too. Anyone who says they have corrosion caused by it had it before putting it in the bike, as corrosion happens pretty much eventually to all wheels as the bikes age. I've seen corrosion in many new bike wheels that don't have any puncture protection goo in them. And no one in the trade that I've spoken too recognises this as a problem. I do agree that some older Ethylene Glycol based sealants and other more inferior products might have caused corrosion. But even then it's debatable and I never actually saw corrosion taking place that I could attribute to any sealant. Puncturesafe doesn't use EG and is pretty much the mostly widely used puncture preventative and repair product in europe and is used by the military, airlines, fleet operators etc etc etc. The IAM recommends it, it's a fantastic safety aid. If corrosion was a problem we'd know about it. I've changed out many tyres with Puncturesafe in over the years and never found corrosion in any of those instances, or in any of my bike wheels. And I keep my bikes quite a time normally.

I did once have a hole so big in my Burgman 400 rear tyre that it would not have sealed if I had removed the nail. The motorcycle rated stuff will seal holes up to 6mm in width but this hole was made by a 5" long square tapered nail 10mm across at it's widest. It went into the tyre at a 45 degree angle ripping the bands and making a massive hole. I only noticed it when I stopped to pick up fuel. The tyre had a sizeable blue stain that had completely sealed the hole around the nail. That's the only way I managed to see the problem, the blue stain. The nail was well driven in and was black in colour making it very difficult to see. Seeing the size of it and the angle I decided to leave it in the tyre and ride the remaining 60 odd miles to home at reduced speed. The nail being sealed meant that I didn't lose any pressure from the tyre. By the time I got home the tyre was exuding more blue stain from other areas around the nail. That told me the tyre bands were damaged and leaking which means it's not repairable. I posted some years ago on this site about this incident with photos to give folks some idea about how good this stuff is. It works, but you must follow the instructions. And there's the problem, most folks just don't read them and don't do what they are supposed to do! They incorrectly believe you just pull the nail out and watch the sealant stop the leak. Well, it doesn't work like that if you want a successful seal everytime, as the instructions will tell you. I guess I'm particularly interested in this product too because I was nearly killed some 40 years ago by a slow rear puncture on my Honda. Riding at motorway speeds you can lose quite a bit of pressure when riding in a straight line without noticing it, to a nail in the wheel, and you don't find out until you come to take a fast sweeping bend. That's when I found out and it wasn't pretty. I was uninjured but it could have been very different. Many folks don't realise this slow puncture danger. It's not just "blow outs" that can kill you. Puncturesafe will pretty much eliminate these risks as much as is possible to do so. Anyhoo, people can make of it what they like. My current ride has had 3 rear wheel puncture sealed by it without issue. Two caused by nails and one I don't know what caused it. I just notice a blue stain on the tyre when refuelling. But sealed for good they all are. I will be replacing the tyre in a couple of months so I'll take photos to show you if possible where the tyres were punctured. Never done that before so it may or may not be possible to see the repairs that Puncturesafe has made. Puncturesafe is non toxic and just washes out of the tyre carcass with water so we'll see.

[Capt. R Swipe]

Data, thank you very much for your input here.

[Pandrop]

Cheers Data

[Data]

Yeah, but sorry to go on about it so much. It's just a really good product and there is a lot of misinformation about it which understandably prevents folks from benefiting from it. I even put it on my cornflakes, but it tastes horrible!