An uncured silica-containing rubber composition having a moisture exposed surface wherein the rubber surface contains a combination of silica and a specialized tackifying resin. The moisture exposed silica degrades necessary building tack for the rubber composition. The specialized tackifying resin counteracts and significantly reduces said reduction of building tack caused by the silica/moisture interaction. Accordingly, a method of preparation of silica-containing uncured rubber is provided by processing the rubber under high shear, internal heat generation to cause the rubber composition to reach an elevated temperature followed by treating the surface of the heated rubber composition with moisture to cool the processed rubber composition where the surface of the rubber composition contains said silica together with a specialized tackifying resin. The invention further relates to building an assembly of uncured rubber components of which at east one of such components is a silica-containing moisture exposed rubber composition which contains said specialized tackifying resin. Such assembly is sulfur cured in a suitable mold at an elevated temperature to form a tire with said component, particularly where said component is an atmospherically exposed tire sidewall. Said specialized tackifying resin is a reaction product of t-butyl phenol and formaldehyde or vinyl modified product of t-butyl phenol and formaldehyde to the exclusion of sorbitan monostearate.