Tire Dressing...

RAYMAN1007 · Mar 25, 2007

i like the meguires hot shine tire shine in the spray can for my tires. i like the spray because it gets into the cracks and texture on my tires. if i had a nice smooth sidewall i would use the bottle stuff and use a applicator. just depends on the tire.

if you use the spraycan and some gets on your paint if its windy, just get a clean towel and wipe it off so theres no streaks or spots. no different than if it slings on your paint from driving after you put it on

for my dash i use this turtle wax platinum stuff in a green bottle. best stuff i ave used so far, its really nice and not really greasy at all, perfect shine

for wax, so far the best stuff i used so far was the meguirs tech shine or whatever, the newest stuff in the purple bottle with neon green cap, really nice wax. but after thats gone, im going to try the rejex stuff. im always trying new stuff

and clay bar kits, i TOTALLY recomend them, mothers or meguires, either one is good

the_titan · Mar 25, 2007

Not very fond of the Meguiar's, as much as I love their other stuff. It washes off my tires in under a week, even with minimal driving and no rain...I don't know where it goes!

I have had the best luck with the Dupont Teflon tire products...last weeks.

AZKJ · Mar 25, 2007

Meguiar's Hot Shine spray applied with an old wash rag... not sprayed directly onto the tire.

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desertkj · Mar 25, 2007

Ok, I'm still gonna disagree with everyone on the Armor All. We've used the low shine stuff in the interiors of our vehicles for as long as I can remember. I live in Arizona too where the majority of the year is direct sunshine and the interiors of vehicles typically reach 130+ during the summer. I've never had any issues at all. For me, the only reason I can think of that you guys would have cracking is extreme cold.

AZKJ · Mar 25, 2007

desertkj said:
For me, the only reason I can think of that you guys would have cracking is extreme cold.

The more I think about it, you may be right. I used Armor-All Original in the 70's and 80's for everthing... tires, plastic trim and interiors. There wasn't much else available back then.

The only car I had a problem with using the stuff was my '77 Datsun FairLady Z (280Z in the U.S.) but then, they were famous for the center dash cracking by the three in-dash gauges, so I can't rally blame it on Armor-All. I never had a problem with my other cars, but I stopped using it when other products started showing up on store shelves. It did make the inside of windshields hazy on hot days.

Body and paint shops dislike ALL detail products, with or without silicon. It makes their job of painting harder as they have to take more time to clean the area.

Showing my age here... does anyone remember Tire Black? It came in a little can and you actually diluted it with paint thinner and painted it on with a brush. How about using brake fluid to put the black back in the tires???

All polished up and Armor-All everywhere. Here's a pic of my first two seater... a Datsun FairLady Z (it was 9 years old when the picture was taken w/144k miles on the meter). A great car bought new for $8,900 (and that was considered expensive in 1977).

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Sorry, didn't mean to hijack this thread.

Corwyyn · Mar 25, 2007

AZKJ said:
Sorry, didn't mean to hijack this thread.

Hey, you started the thread so no problem, you can take it wherever you want...

joeg · Mar 26, 2007

don't use any shine stuff. Adds say "give your tires that NEW shine. Bought many new tires and none of them were shiny !!

I just clean them with softscrub and they look good ......

Lizzys07Liberty · Mar 27, 2007

joeg said:
don't use any shine stuff. Adds say "give your tires that NEW shine. Bought many new tires and none of them were shiny !!

I just clean them with softscrub and they look good ......

x2.

I really don't like the "shine" of a tire. However, I do like a clean looking tire, with the white lettering, well, white.

I've always used one of the cheapest, yet most effective, products out there.

1. A plastic scrub brush

2. Bon Ami.

3. A little elbow grease.

Stuff works great. Actually cleans the dirt off the tires, rather than just glazing it over. Wet the tire and brush down, sprinkle some Bon-Ami on the brush, clean the tire.

Have always had neighbors come up to me and ask how my tire still look brand new (they all use the glossy/glaze stuff).

A bottle of Bon Ami is about a $1.25, and last for about a year.

On a side note, Bon Ami's big claim to fame is that it doesn't scratch, so if I get a little on the rim, I don't worry. But similar products, like Comet, stay away from. There is no comparison between the two.

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Dave · Sep 12, 2007

I just tried something different on my tires. I was cleaning the trim with "Mothers Back To Black" and read the label and it said you could use it on rubber so I used it on the tires. Just wipe it on and buffed it lightly with a towel. Fast and easy and a beautiful black tire and not artificially shiney.

Dave

(yea, I know I ressurected this old thread)

hyde · Sep 13, 2007

Damn car wash place put armor all on my dash, it was so shiny, I had to look away. It is idiodic. I couldn't remove it.. it went away after a while but I still don't like it.

SnowgodCCR · Sep 13, 2007

I use Meguiars Endurance. Depending on my mood, I use either the Natural finish or the High Gloss. Always the high gloss on cars, but with my jeep it's a tossup. Back to Black works great too.
Meguiars Heavy Duty Vinyl Cleaner #39 is by far the best stuff to remove bloom (browning) from tires, except maybe this Bleche Wite stuff.

67Customs · Oct 5, 2007

2003KJ said:
Armor All on the tires, dash, plastic trim is a BIG NO NO!!! It WILL cause what ever you put it on to dry out and crack over time.

I'm not calling you out or anything, but I just want to set the record straight.

This is a bit of false information. The new Armor All "Original" Formula will not crack dashes or rubber. (I put Original in " "'s because it is not really the Original formula.) It is now the same water-based dressing that most all trim dressings are made of. The present Armor All only differs from many other PDMS (polydimethalsiloxane) dressings by percentage of the resin mixed into the water that is it's carrier to the surface. Be it Eagle One, Zanio, Mequiar's, Mother's, 303, etc..., all the "white-water based" dressings are PDMS. This resin DOES NOT DAMAGE vinyl or tires. To have that happen, one would have to use the products which contain dimethal silicone fluids.

Yes, in the 70s Armor All did help crack dashes for the most part. You also have to give some credit to dashes not being made of the best materials during that time period. Many of those cracked without any help.lol Plus, add to it that Armor All was one of the few products around at the time and viola, Armor All gets a lsting bad reputation. Sure, The Armor All formula at the time did aid and accelerate the cracks on the crappy dashes because of it's silicone content, but it wasn't the sole cause. However, it was reformulated and it is no different than any of the other water based dressing on the market today. Even though Armor All was reformulated, the rumor was not. But to say that Armor All now cracks dashes would be to say that all water based dressings on the market today crack dashes because it is made of the same ingredients. Armor All is completely safe to use. Do I use it? Yes, but it is not my prefered choice always. I never use it on interiors just because it is so "oily" looking, not because I think it will crack the dash. I mainly use it on tires and trim for low paying customers or on my wife's car who never pays me. If you need a cheap dressing, Armor All is fine to use, it is just one of the more "oily" looking dressing out there. Items like 303 and Meguiar's Natural Shine are more of a natural finish. However, they cost a bit more. Armor All also makes a Natural Shine interior dressing that I have not tried yet.

For my tires, I use the cheapest can spraying dressing I can find. I use can sprayers because they coat tires evenly and are easy to apply. Spray and let it sit. To keep the dressing off of the wheel, I have wheel covers for various size wheels. They also last about as long as any other tire dressing. None of them last that long anyway so I opt for the easiest to apply. The two main ones I use are No Touch and Stoners More Shine (which really doesn't shine more than a lot of dressings. It dries to a nice black, new tire shine).

modular · Jan 15, 2008

I like Turtle Wax Tire Wax for the ZX3...stays on in a rainstorm and has a low sheen. Hard to find now, but it is on eBay and Amazon(I think). Nothing on the Jeep, just nice and clean.

jeepkj02 · Jan 16, 2008

Who ever came up with the idea for tire dressing. It's going to get dirty the first time you drive it, it's completely pointless.

tjkj2002 · Jan 16, 2008

jeepkj02 said:
Who ever came up with the idea for tire dressing. It's going to get dirty the first time you drive it, it's completely pointless.

Very true and it attracts alot of dust,AND YES IT WILL DAMAGE YOUR TIRES AFTER AWHILE,it will soften them making them rott faster.O2 makes rubber rott(break down) so just having them aired up rotts them,adding any substance with H2O in it will accelerate the process.

And it looks terrible(blarg) !

AZKJ · Jan 17, 2008

67Customs... well said and boy you're showing your age with that little bit of 70's history, but it's all true. I ended up changing out the dash on my '77 280Z. Took me six hours, but it was pretty simple. The new dash was $300.00, the dealer wanted $650.00 to do it. I tackled the project on my own.

You want to talk serious tire dressing, do you remember Tire Black or whatever it was that was a black liquid that came in a small can and you painted it on with a brush, or better yet... using brake fluid to bring back some shine??? Now who's showing their age!!! Not me, I just read it somewhere.

For the two guys above, that's cool you don't use/like tire dressing, but I'm not a fan of brownish looking tires on a clean shiny ride. I take both the TJ and the KJ off road, but you would never know it because they get detailed the day after coming off the trail.

tjkj2002 · Jan 17, 2008

For the two guys above, that's cool you don't use/like tire dressing, but I'm not a fan of brownish looking tires on a clean shiny ride. I take both the TJ and the KJ off road, but you would never know it because they get detailed the day after coming off the trail.

Gee you wait that long,mine is fully detailed within 4 hours of coming off the trail,never had brown tires before they have always been black.

AZKJ · Jan 17, 2008

AZKJ said:
For the two guys above, that's cool you don't use/like tire dressing, but I'm not a fan of brownish looking tires on a clean shiny ride. I take both the TJ and the KJ off road, but you would never know it because they get detailed the day after coming off the trail.

tjkj2002 said:
Gee you wait that long,mine is fully detailed within 4 hours of coming off the trail,never had brown tires before they have always been black.

Yep, I wait THAT long. A day on the trail starts early, finishes late and usually doesn't end till after we have dinner somewhere with everyone (which is always as much fun as the run itself). Besides, I never was one for detailing at night, the next morning works for me, dressed tires and all....

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67Customs · Jan 17, 2008

tjkj2002 said:
Very true and it attracts alot of dust,AND YES IT WILL DAMAGE YOUR TIRES AFTER AWHILE,it will soften them making them rott faster.O2 makes rubber rott(break down) so just having them aired up rotts them,adding any substance with H2O in it will accelerate the process.

And it looks terrible(blarg) !

I have been using tire shine on every car I have ever owned. I even started using it on my parents cars before I got mine and none of them came close to rotting or cracking. My dad's/later to be mine 83 F-150 had the same BFG All-Terrain T/A's on it for 9 years (still on the truck). They have never shown any hint of rotting, at all. And it sits a lot.

Now, on the other hand, my dad has a '04 Ram with stock tires on it. No tire shine was ever used. Just washing. After two years, they are cracked horribly. He had to get a new set of tires before the tread wore out.

I am a fan of tire dressing not only to prolonge the life of the sidewall of the tire, but to impove the over all look of the car after a good wash. And if you put it on correctly and use the right dressing, mine have never attracted dust. I make sure to buff them off with a rag after application. Cuts down on the shine and leaves a nice low gloss black tire behind. Sometimes, you get a used car and the tires are already stained or you something happens and you can't get them clean enough and they get stained or, if you are a detailer like me, you have to deal with other people's neglect. At that point, if you want them to be black again, tire shine is a must. A couple of the many tires I have done with just a nice, low gloss pure black shine...

My old Jetta...