I did a search but can't find an answer to this exact problem.

My tires seem to have more of a brown and dirty look to them instead of a deep black.

Any recommendations for a good cleaning product and then something for shine?


I just washed the car Friday and scrubbed the crap out of them with the regular car wash stuff and my big Mequiars brush but I think I need something more specific for this application.

Thanks!

 

The problem with using tire conditioner is that when you drive it in the rain or after washing them that is what happens. My truck tires have never seen any of those products. But our Focus has, so whenever I was them you can tell.

I use a spray bottle of Simple Green 50/50 mix for our tires wheels it seems to work well and have been using it for years. I have also used Soft Scrub in the past of the tires ONLY.

In regards to tire conditioner....IMHO stay away from Armor All. Products from Mother's or Griot's are much better products for you tires. But once you start using them you will need to reapply it after every wash or just let it run its course in the rain and washes. It will get back to looking like plan tires again.

Also I have heard that using Pledge on tires is good....a lot of classic car owners us it.

Make sure you use a course bristle brush of the tires. If the bush is soft you will not get any where.
Hope this helps!

 

I use Wesley's bleach white. Designed for white walls,but do a fine job on the black walls too. I also used it on my white S-Lights before I changed over to a dustless pad. Wet the wheels and tires with the hose,liberally spray the Wesley's on, one wheel/tire at a time,use a nice harder bristled brush and scrub the tire. You will see the gunk start to come off as it changes color when you sprayed it on. This is my best choice and I have kept it a secret! Works very well on cleaning the brakedust off of white S-Lights too!!
You can use what you want as far as tire shine. There are t on of them out there. i have had good luck with Black Magic "Tire Wet".
But I usually dont use a tire shine on the MINI. No paticular reason.

 

I have tried a couple of things. Currently I am using simple Green for cleaning the tires. Works well though I only use it on the tires because it can strip wax off the paint:
http://consumer.simplegreen.com/cons_prod_ori.php

Then I am using adam's VRT for the tires themselves. I've been very happy with the nice black matte finish.
http://www.adamspolishes.com/site/pr...7F01C8B1D7689A

Zaino makes a tire gloss and I will probably try some when I next order from them to try it out:
http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/...duct_Code=Z-16

 

I like the Zaino Perfect Tire Gloss. It is a little runny so you put it on with sponge or terry wrapped sponge but it gives a nice black shine without being overly shiny. Works very well on the rest of the black plastic trim on the Mini.

 

I use Meguiars Hyper-Dressing from their detailer line. I don't even have to clean the tires before I apply it (except for with water, when I clean the wheels). I just put it on, wipe the excess that might have ran onto the wheels, and walk away. It is that easy. Even after rain, there is no browning or anything like that.


It can be purchased here: http://www.autodetailingsolutions.com/Meguiar's%20Detailer%20Line%20Prices.html

1/4 the way down the page.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I have used tire shine before but it's getting them back to black that I am worried about.

Hmm.. can I use Mother's Back to Black on tires? I already have some. I'm guessing not though.

Also... I have custom painted rims so it has to be either rub on or safe for paint. Though I could spray anything on an applicator first instead of directly onto the tire.

I'll see if I can find any of these suggestions around town and try them out!

 

After using just about every tire product on the market I've found the Turtle Wax aerosol foam to be the easiest to apply, best shine and blackening, and the longest lasting of them all. This stuff will actually last through a couple, maybe three washes ( no scrubbing of tires unless they're muddy, just a quick hose off gets them clean) or light rain. I've found nothing that lasts through day after day of driving in the rain

 

Jenn B you could probably use the Mother's Back to Black it will not hurt anything. But it will probably last just like the rest of products.

You should really try the Pledge furniture polish. It will not leave the 'wet' look but will make them look black. Also you could try WD40 it too will not make the tires look wet but it also will black'n them up.

About your wheels.....we are thinking about either powder coating ours or chroming our wheels. What color are yours and how is the paint holding up with all the road rash?

 

for filthy dirty tires, i use a nylon brush and lots of car shampoo to clean
the surface...then use 2 apps of Meguiar's Endurance tire sauce (gel).

it will make your tire shine at least a week or two even through rain.

btw, i got the NXT tire shine from one of the Meguiar's promo samples...
it shines the tire well, but does not last.

 

I use Back to Black followed by a few squirts of aerospace 303 protectant on both my arches and tires. They stay black much longer. I think it is the U.V. rays that turn the tires that brownish color. Also Back to Black by itself on the arches turns them into dust magnets but followed by a coat of 303 it doesn't seem to happen.
- Dan

 

I just used this product for the very first time tonight on our Focus.

http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?&SKU=15532

This product is a creamy black dye product. Keep it off your wheels and driveway. I had to scrub the driveway when I was done it did clean-up. Also get rubber gloves it will come off your hands but it looks like oil/grease. This product does not shin your tires like Armor-All(I never us this product ever!!) but rather it will return you tires to the tire rack look.

It is supposed to rain tomorrow and I will let everyone know how it holds up.

So far I am happy with it but it is kind of messy with great turn out.

Hope this helps.
Rick

ps. you only need to use a small amount, it does not take that much to do the job.

 

My favorite product for my tires is No Touch Original Tire Care. It's an aerosol foam that cleans as well as protects. You just spray it on and walk away! Also the one I purchase is a satin. They may make it in a shiny formula but personally I prefer the satin because it makes your tires look brand new and not plasticy.

 

LISTEN TO HIM!!! Trust me I have a pickup which I use for 4wheeling and my truck ends up very very muddy very frequently. Anyways my BFG mud-terrains absorb mud like a sponge and even after rinsing them off wiht a hose at a straight stream...that brown nasty look starts to take form. I buy Bleach-White and the mud comes out of the tires before I can even finish spraying the whole tire. Get a hard bristle brush (also called a "tire brush) DUH and just spray the whole tire with the bleach white and scrub the hell out of the tires and when you rinse them off after a minute or two you will see all the crap that washed off of them. Trust me if I can get my mud-terrains to look brand new again after 4wheeling with just one application this stuff works!! I also use the Meguiars Endurance Tire Gel and use the bleach white on every wash just to get any residue that might have been left over on the tires since the last application. Hope this helps....BTW buy a spray bottle of it and when you run out they sell it in the gallon jug so you can just refill your spray bottle
Happy Detailing,
Steve

 

I cannot use bleach or dyes on my wheels. I have custom painted rims and I will not endanger them.

I have a tire brush, I scrub them like crazy, I've used tire shines many times but I was just looking for something safe and actually worth buying and less of a shine, more of a blackening product. I've had plenty of cars that I kept very well detailed but for some reason, I never had this problem before. I think it's the lack of covered parking at this house and job.

Got too busy this weekend to try any of these out but I'm going to write down the names of the ones I like best and head to a couple of auto stores and see what I can find.

 

I've used the Stoner "More Shine, Less Time" and it's a good compromise between too shiny and non-lasting. It takes about 25 seconds to apply to four tires, dries to a nice satin finish very fast and seems to last a little more than some of the other products that I've used. It's very safe for painted wheels and it's pretty cheap, so all things considered you might want to try that. It's in a big aerosol can with a yellow cap!

 

i am on wheelwax trim shine on the wheels.... so far it looks great, but again, a dust magnet, maybe i should try 303 on top of that.... the wheelwax looks great after about a week, but doesnt last too long

so far, the best trim and tire shine ive used is autoglym bumper care, its a green gel that lasts longer than the other stuff ive tried... so worth a look

 

I'll attest to the longevity of using 303... my tires stay black for a long time.

 

I use their glass cleaner.

Maybe I should grab some of this and some 303 and go to town.

 

I agree with KenChan

One thing you need to be aware of is this. When cleaning your tires you have to clean and prep them before you can dress them and make them black and shiny again. If you skip the prep, and just apply a dressing to a dirty tire, it's not going to last. If you only do the prep, then you're missing out on an opportunity to make them look their best!

Soooo, when I detail, I either use a tire foam like Meguiar's NXT Tire foam cleaner and a nylon brush, or I just use regular car wash soap and the same brush.

Once that's dry, I'll often use compressed air to ensure that, I'll apply the dressing. Like Ken, I prefer the Endurance Gel from Meguiar's, although I like the High Gloss. The tires will stay black and good looking for a week, and if conditions are good, up to two weeks.

All of the spray on products whether from Aerosol or pump I've tried only lasted a few days. The non aerosol kind tended to drip everywhere and get on my wheels, which I hated. The gel is easy to apply with a foam applicator pad, and lasts a long time. Also, you can tell by the look of your foam applicator pad how well you prepped the tires--it will turn black and ugly really fast!

Finally remember that the fact your tires turn brown is something that can't be avoided. There are chemicals in the tires to prevent dry rot, and the brown look is a result of this process. So no matter how well your clean and dress your tires, they will resort to this brown look until the next time you dress them!

One last thing, dressing the tires is easy. I find that often if I just clean my white wheels, dress my tires, clean and dress my trim, even without a car wash, the car looks freshly detailed.

Richard

 

JennB, if you are just looking for the tire rack black finish again I would go with the GRIOT'S link I gave you. You'll have to order it on line or just call them you should have it in a day or two.

IMHO any car product you buy at Super Size stores is not worth it. If you are serious about car care nothing you use should come from these types of stores. Specialty car care products are worth their weight in gold.

I know this post is going to make some angry but I have only come to this conclusion because others have educated me and also through my own trial and error.

This weekend a member told me about a product and I now have it sitting on my counter. With the looks of his car on Sunday this product is worth a try.

Good luck and please stay away from cheap car care products.

 

Just drive your MINI more - your tires will wear out before they have a chance to start looking brown!

I drive about 18,000 miles a year, and had to replace my front tires about 14 months. I'll have to replace all four after a little over two years' worth of driving. Voila! No need to worry about cleaning 'em.

But when I do, I put some 303 on them, let it sit for 5 minutes and then lightly wipe off the excess with a paper towel so I don't have to worry about putting any tire-blackened towels in the washing machine. Makes 'em blacker for about 2 weeks.

 

I use this from Black Magic http://www.autobarn.net/wesbm04twe.html (I can usually find it at Walmart)

Even though it says it has ultra-shine it really doesn't shine too much. I like it because there is no overspray. You just press the container & a bit comes out onto the sponge. Then run it around the tire. It doesn't wear off funny, it just kinda of dissappears & hasn't turned my tires brown (they have 16,000 miles on them) like many of these products do

 

at the risk of alienating myself as i am not yet a NAM sponsor, may i suggest the Zymol line of products?

the Wheel Cleaner is excellent and quite mild, unlike simple green, it shouldn't damage your custom wheels. for regular, (bi-)weekly, cleaning i simply scrub the tire with a soft brush using the Wheel Cleaner and it works just fine. however for more soiled tires i've used diluted Eimann Fabrik Hi-Intensity Cleaner, although be very careful as it's very strong and can damage wheels and your paint. as for tire treatment i prefer the results of the Zymol product Tyre. it creates a subtle shine and doesn't produce a high-gloss sheen that some prefer.

i was a very regular customer of Zymol before i became a dealer and only carry their products as i truely believe they're the best.

www.griotsgarage.com - Griot's garage carrys excellent products and you can't go too far wrong with them.

www.properautocare.com is an excellent source for product and advice

Zymol can be had here
www.zymol.com
www.emmonscoachworks.com - larry's great and IMO easily the best source for advice
www.detailingconcepts.com - my site.