Melted-on rim strip

[ParkRNDL]

Working on this '59 Corvette. Trying to clean up the rear wheel, and the rear rim strip has decomposed into a sticky red mess.

It comes off eventually if I pick and scrape at it enough, but does anybody have a silver bullet for removing this stuff? Hoping not to spend a whole evening trying to get it off...

 

[us56456712]

Pick, scrape and small wire brush. Then try solvent and course steel wool. Then rinse with solvent so the nipples can turn. A very little penetrating oil on the nipples when you are done. Tough to remove but no magic bullet if you want to be able to easily turn nipples When you are done. Finally cloth rim tape.

 

[whitecoyote]

My first thought was to use a wire brush.
Also you could just use a new rim band right over the old one possibly.

 

[ParkRNDL]

I picked away at it till it was just remnants, then hit what was left with a wire brush. It isn't perfect, but it was good enough to put a rim strip over it and move on.