Pledge on Tires? NO!

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Years ago('90s) I have tried using Pledge or many other store brand(Dollar Store, Walmart brands etc.) furniture/wood polishes on tires or other rubber, vinyl, naugahyde & leather. However when I put these products on my tires or body side molding or dash surfaces, over time these products made the surfaces start to crack and, it didn't take long. Applying more would only hide the problem and would continue to deteriorate the surfaces. Nothing/no other proper product would bring the surface back to life.

Recently, I have been viewing many youtube videos on this and the reviewers are loving the furniture polishes on the tire(especially) and other surfaces. Even the youtube subscribers are commenting with positive reviews/comments, with only a few subscriber comments mirroring my experience. I find that the furniture polish actually destroys the rubber, vinyl, leather surfaces by causing excessive cracking.

Then I tried the furniture polish on my vehicles paint. And at first, they did a nice job of, if you will, quick detailing the paint. Then in a short period of time, the polish caused excessive etching, spotting into the painted surfaces. And the more I use the furniture polish on the paint, the worst the painted surfaces became, just like the tires.

Not to start arguments but, what has been your experience with using furniture polish on your vehicle's tire or painted surfaces?
 
Pledge isn't even a decent furniture polish, why would you put it on anything in a car?


Water, Naphtha, and Silicones with a hydrocarbon propellant.
 
It's been nearing 25-30 yrs since I HAVEN'T used Pledge however, there are many who love it even on their motorcycles. I first tried Pledge(any brand) due to it being cheap(~$1/can) and I thought it would cover two(2) areas of my DD detailing.

1) as a tire dressing/body side molding dressing
2) as a quick detailer for those in between waxes. And this was before "quick detailer/wax/dry products" became available in my area.

And there are others who HAVE NOT had the issues that I have experienced and have been doing this for many, many, many years with great success. Where as I started seeing the negative effects in the matter of months.
 
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Back in the late '70s/early '80s, my SIL used Pledge on her '76 TransAm(Burnt Orange) and I have to say that the paint always look brilliant.
 
I'm pretty sure that even many "tire shine" and "protectant" products have ingredients that are actually NOT good for the tire long-term.
 
Only unorthodox thing I've tried Pledge type products on is my Motorcycle helmet and shield. Much cheaper than Plexus cleaner and I've not seen any ill effects after a couple years. Of course, the shield gets scratched and needs to be replaced anyway before chemically it would crumble or anything. Others report using it on body plastics but I've not tired that. Actually I use the Dollar Tree Orange furniture polish.
 
A friend mine uses Pledge on his paint. Instead of waxing he uses Pledge. He swears by the stuff. I agree ^^^^it's for furniture.
 
Originally Posted by dogememe
I'm pretty sure that even many "tire shine" and "protectant" products have ingredients that are actually NOT good for the tire long-term.


Maybe but, when I use'em I don't have any tire rubber cracking.

Originally Posted by Onetor
A friend mine uses Pledge on his paint. Instead of waxing he uses Pledge. He swears by the stuff. I agree ^^^^it's for furniture.


Yes, this is what the internet folks say too. However, I've used it on 3 different vehicle and their tires, all to the same negative effect.
 
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Pledge is a mix of mineral oil, glycerin, dimethicone, sorbitan oleate and water. Tire dressing isn't far off chemically but the formulation is different. The new waterborne tire dressings are mostly silicone. The stuff I used years ago when I detailed cars at the dealership did look gloopy and milky like Pledge.

SC Johnson's ingredients page on Pledge: https://www.whatsinsidescjohnson.com/us/en/brands/pledge/Pledge--Lemon-Enhancing-Polish

Here's Meguiar's SDS for their D171 water-based tire dressing: https://www.meguiars.com/sites/default/files/pdf/D171 SDS.pdf
 
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
I wonder if Chemical Guys New Car High Shine dressing would be good for tires?




If you like shiny tires.
 
Originally Posted by Onetor
A friend mine uses Pledge on his paint. Instead of waxing he uses Pledge. He swears by the stuff. I agree ^^^^it's for furniture.


I could never understand why people do this. It isn't like there aren't any good options of products to choose from that are meant for automotive paint...
 
The only tire shines I've liked are the more expensive ones. Don't waste your time with the cheap ones that are around the $5 price point. After a few months the tires will start to brown. The last one I tried was from Walmart, Barrett Jackson Tire shine which worked great and lasted a while (around $10). Get the good stuff or use nothing. The cheap ones will do more harm than good. This was two years ago and no longer sold at WM. Last year I didn't use any. So I can kind of take it or leave it with me.
 
I don't like the tire dressings that leave the tires shiny. It just looks like someone smeared a bunch of oil on the sidewalls. I like the ones that leave a matte finish...they leave the tires looking more like rubber should look...
 
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