Method for recapping solid tires with precured, premolded tread

A method of retreading a rim-mounted solid tire with a precured, premolded tread strip, comprising:

• gripping the solid tire by the rim, with an appropriate adapter;
• mounting the solid tire, via the adapter, on a buffing machine and buffing the outer peripheral surface of the tire down concentrically, removing the old tread and continuing to buff the tire down below the base of the old tread;
• extracting from the tire carcass metal and other fragments exposed during the buffing process;
• repairing cuts and other injuries to the tire carcass, if any, including filling holes with uncured rubber, eliminating substantially all air from the holes;
• applying a cement coating to the buffed surface of the tire;
• applying a layer of bonding gum, including uncured rubber, to the surface of the tire over the cement coating;
• applying a base layer of premolded, precured rubber over the bonding gum, to build up the tire diameter;
• adhering a second bonding gum layer to the surface of the base layer;
• applying a precured, premolded tread strip over the bonding gum layer;
• splicing the tread strip utilizing bonding gum between the ends;
• securing the splice together with a temporary securing means;
• stitching the tread to the casing;
• securing wicking to the built-up tire, extending from sidewall to sidewall over the tread;
• applying an envelope over the built-up tire and wicking, extending over the tread and most of each sidewall;
• loading the enveloped, built-up tire into a curing module having a generally cylindrical peripheral wall and relatively movable opposed wall portions for pressing against the enveloped sidewalls of the tire;
• forming a sealed annular space about the envelope and within the module by urging at least one of the relatively movable opposed wall portions toward the other to engage the tire sidewalls, thereby forming a sealing annulus at each sidewall of the tire, with the envelope and wicking sandwiched between the sidewall and the adjacent wall portion of the curing module;
• introducing a heated pressurized gas into the sealed annular space and maintaining it for a predetermined curing time, thereby securing the tread, bonding gum, base layer and tire carcass together by pressing them together and curing the uncured rubber while forcing out air present between the layers via the wicking;
• removing the retreaded solid tire from the curing apparatus;
• and
• removing the envelope, wicking and temporary securing means from the retreaded tire.