Tire Detailing Poll?
- Thread starter Rando
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I am real interested in the silicone-free black tire gel. It is supposed to last for months. I have yet to try it yet. http://www.autogeek.net/forblactirge.html
A heavy duty detergent cleaner like Castrol or Simple Green. A good stiff scrub brush and some elbow grease. I've used this method all my life. Tires should clean and dull black. I would never use a tire dressing product -- just absolutely hate the glossy look -- to getto for me
I use mud and brake dust.
Patman
Staff member
Believe it or not, I just use Armor All. I buy a big jug of it and it lasts me two years or more. I spray the stuff onto a sponge and then wipe it into the tires. Some people say it causes the tires to dry rot, but I never have a set of tires for more than a couple of years anyways.
As far as long last tire dressing, Meguiar's Endurance is the best I've used by far. You can get regular or high gloss. This stuff literally lasts weeks instead of days. I usually wash my car every week or two and often skip the tire cleaning/dressing part as they still look good.
Matt
Matt
The yearly fording of the floodwaters does it for my truck. Washes all that brake pad dust off
I have wide white wall tires on my Honda Aero motorcycle. Compliments the retro-look of the bike well, but the brake dust shows right up. And tire dressings are a no-no on bikes 'cuase we don't want the stuff slurping off the sidewall onto our traction area.quote:
Originally posted by SPITMAN:
A heavy duty detergent cleaner like Castrol or Simple Green. A good stiff scrub brush and some elbow grease. I've used this method all my life. Tires should clean and dull black. I would never use a tire dressing product -- just absolutely hate the glossy look -- to getto for me
Do yourself a favor. Invest $30 at Walmart for a Black and Decker "Scumbuster." This thing takes out all the elbow grease from cleaning those tires.
I've also been using Westley's Tire Bleche to help clean those white walls, and it does an equally good job on the black rubber adjacent to the white walls.
HTH,
- Arved
I hate shiny tires , I just sponge then down when i wash the truck.
I also use Westley's Tire Bleach. Nothing else.
I've been using 303 protectant on my tires for a couple of years now. It gives a good matte finish and has UV protectants in it. It also doesn't contain petroleum distillates like other products.
Propflux01
$100 Site Donor 2025
Nothing else but 303.
Stoner's Tire Shine. Used to be mail order only but I saw it at Advance Auto last week.. If you buy a case shipping is free and less expensive then Advnace as well. The Endurance is a pain to put on IMO and seems to leave a residue that can be rubbed off when washing the tire.
I just clean them with water or "Mean Green" if they're really dirty. Then I apply Wet 'N Black, I think TurtleWax makes it.
I typically use the spray-on foams, whatever is cheapest. I used to use apply armor-all by hand and finish up with a silicone tire shine...but that became too costly and time consuming. Besides, I only dress my tires maybe 4 times a year.
Another vote for Westley's Bleach White. Eats the gunk off and leaves it looking dark black.
Shiny tires are ridiculous. I've seen some that look like they have a high-gloss laquer on them.
Shiny tires are ridiculous. I've seen some that look like they have a high-gloss laquer on them.
Another vote for Meguiars. It leaves the tires looking new, not glossy.
It seems to me that the best way to keep your tires looking good is to clean them off and re-dress them every wash.
I've used Eagle One Tire Cleaner, and their A2Z Wheel & Tire cleaner, but am more partial to Mother's Tire and Rubber cleaner. I use less of it and can tell if I'm using enough of it because it suds up slightly. A2Z strips off 100% of the old dressing, which you actually don't want to do because it could look blotchy when you're done.
Be sure to scrub them with a medium or fine brush that'll get into the cracks. Not scrubbing has been pretty useless in my experience.
When you're done washing and drying the rest of the car pat dry the tires and wheels before dressing, or you'll get water streaks. I'v just recently discovered cheap bulk shop towels (NON terry) work pretty well because they don't lint much, and when they get dirty you just toss them.
Some dressings are shinier than others, so read the description and do some experimenting. Some dressings can be buffed down to a lower shine or applied more thinly for less gloss. To each his own though. Sometimes different coloured cars look better one way or the other. Personally I find dark cars look better with shiny tires, but lighter ones look better with a satin or almost matte look. Even when I use tire foams which claim to clean the tires, I scrub them and use tire cleaner beforehand. I just don't see how anything can be cleaned by spraying something on and just leaving it.
I've used Eagle One Tire Cleaner, and their A2Z Wheel & Tire cleaner, but am more partial to Mother's Tire and Rubber cleaner. I use less of it and can tell if I'm using enough of it because it suds up slightly. A2Z strips off 100% of the old dressing, which you actually don't want to do because it could look blotchy when you're done.
Be sure to scrub them with a medium or fine brush that'll get into the cracks. Not scrubbing has been pretty useless in my experience.
When you're done washing and drying the rest of the car pat dry the tires and wheels before dressing, or you'll get water streaks. I'v just recently discovered cheap bulk shop towels (NON terry) work pretty well because they don't lint much, and when they get dirty you just toss them.
Some dressings are shinier than others, so read the description and do some experimenting. Some dressings can be buffed down to a lower shine or applied more thinly for less gloss. To each his own though. Sometimes different coloured cars look better one way or the other. Personally I find dark cars look better with shiny tires, but lighter ones look better with a satin or almost matte look. Even when I use tire foams which claim to clean the tires, I scrub them and use tire cleaner beforehand. I just don't see how anything can be cleaned by spraying something on and just leaving it.
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