Pilgrim wrote:
Is the purpose of the goop they slather around the bead of a tubeless
tire to lubricate during installation, to help seal the tire rim
interface, or both? I have a freebee dolly on which one of the tire has
a very very slow leak at the interface. What is this goop? The local
auto parts store was of no help.

Thanks

Chuck P.
Which goop?
There are a couple.
One is strictly a lube, it's basically water with some surfactant and
water soluble oil.
Then you have actual tire bead sealant. It is basically a thin rubber
cement with carbon black as a thickening agent.

The first is used to slip the tire over the rim easier and reduce the
possibility of bead damage.
The second is used on pitted aluminum or steel rims to seal the pits and
retain air.

If you only have a small tire then you could simply use a small amount
of rubber cement around the bead. It will do the same thing as the tire
sealant.

Advance, Parts Plus, NAPA all carry it.

--
Steve W.