You may well be correct Stuart, but this Bennetts the insurer article from 2018 states
not all manufacturers have stopped using a release compound
The final part of manufacturing a tyre is the curing process ? a carcass containing all the component materials is typically placed into a very hot mould and cured under high pressure for about thirty minutes. To assist in the removal of a cured tyre from its mould, a small amount of release agent can be applied before the process begins. A thin residue of this remains on the surface of the tyre, leading to the warnings issued about scrubbing in new rubber.
Some manufacturers have got around this process now, and Continental for instance has developed a unique way of modifying premium tyre moulds, negating the need for any mould release agents; the finish is slightly rough and provides instant grip when the tyre?s used for the first time ? it?s called ?Traction Skin?.
A new tyre will always feel significantly different to your old, worn one, so we still recommend riding with care at first, building up speed and lean angle over time.
When I clean my newly fitted tyres - I prefer to take just the wheels to my tyre changer - there is definitely a thin soft residue on the surface which you can feel which comes off with the brake cleaner. My last set of tyres fitted in March to my Gen 3 were Bridgestone S22 and they exhibited the same residue which I cleaned off before riding. Previous to that I had M7s fitted which I didn't clean and exhibited very similar behaviour to the start of this thread.