Tire Treatment

[JohnT]

I have posted about tire treatment before and feel like I have a good understanding of how to prep the tire for treatment . I have been researching what product I want to use on my tires after prep. The car is always garaged, and mainly used for just road trips. I want a matte finish, and long lasting, so I think this means I want a coating, not a dressing. But, water base, silicone, ceramic? Anyone have any recommendations , and brands?
Thanks

 

[Mike Phillips]

I've always had good luck with Tuf Shine.

If you don't want the tires to look glossy, apply 2-3 coats and stop.

Machine scrubbing is the key to using tire coatings.

Here's some pictures from my last class showing how I personally clean tires and how I teach others that take my classes.




Wheels and Tires First
I cover all the fastest and safest methods to get wheels and tires clean and why do start low and then go up high.

After demonstrating multiple tools, products and techniques for getting wheels and tires surgically clean - it's time for the class to take over.

Products used

3D Orange Degreaser

3D BDX

FLEX Cordless PE14

Coming soon - the 1.5" Blue Machine Scrubbing Brush

 

[JohnT]

Hello everyone!

I finally got around to cleaning my tires in preparation for coating. I used a cordless drill with a Aqua Soft carpet brush attached, and Tuff Shine tire cleaner.

I followed the instructions on the bottle, and from Mike s reviews and video. The product did not “foam” as much as I was expecting, and was mostly white from the very beginning. I sprayed, let dwell, and rinsed , repeated the process several times.

I plan to drive for a week, and repeat the above process before proceeding with a coating. Thanks to UncleDavy for the tip about driving up on a board, I used a 2x4, very helpful.

The car is a ‘21 Toyota Highlander hybrid. The tires are new Pirellis with about a thousand miles on them. I have a few questions:

1. Anyone else clean tires and find them not very dirty? ( I was expecting much more dirty foaming)

2. I plan on putting a ceramic coating on the rims and will be cleaning them first, using Sonax. I know there will be some “ runoff” onto the tire. Should I do my tire coating first?

3. Any tips on how to get the product I use into the area around the lug nuts, and off?

Thanks for any help!

 

[Mike Phillips]

Hello everyone!

I finally got around to cleaning my tires in preparation for coating. I used a cordless drill with a Aqua Soft carpet brush attached, and Tuff Shine tire cleaner.

I followed the instructions on the bottle, and from Mike s reviews and video. The product did not “foam” as much as I was expecting, and was mostly white from the very beginning. I sprayed, let dwell, and rinsed , repeated the process several times.

I plan to drive for a week, and repeat the above process before proceeding with a coating. Thanks to UncleDavy for the tip about driving up on a board, I used a 2x4, very helpful.

The car is a ‘21 Toyota Highlander hybrid. The tires are new Pirellis with about a thousand miles on them. I have a few questions:

I'll take a stab at answering some of your questions.

1. Anyone else clean tires and find them not very dirty? ( I was expecting much more dirty foaming)

Yes. Cleaning tires that are clean is better than cleaning tires that have aged and had tire dressings applied. My normal rule-of-thumb is machine scrub 3 times and before applying the coating I also wipe the tire sidewall with a quality Panel Wipe. Mineral Spirits should work too.

2. I plan on putting a ceramic coating on the rims and will be cleaning them first, using Sonax. I know there will be some “ runoff” onto the tire. Should I do my tire coating first?

Yes - I would coat the tires first. Have a scrap rag handy to wipe any tire coating off the rims. The method I use to apply a tire coating includes blowing the coating from the lip of the rim OUTWARD towards the outside of the tire. The reason why is to speed dry the coating without blowing the coating onto the rim. It's almost impossible to coat 4 wheels with multiple applications of the coating and at some point NOT get coating on a rim - so have a scrap rag handy to wipe any accidental tire coating off the rim and also off the floor and our hands.

3. Any tips on how to get the product I use into the area around the lug nuts, and off?

The only way is to be efficient is to either remove some of the lug nuts to get them out of the way or remove the wheels.

Thanks for any help!

Hope that helped a little.



Mike