Tire Dressing.......

Nachtycoupe

Nachtycoupe

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This question is for all you concours folks...or not. I have yet to find a tire dressing that I really swear by. I'm looking for something that doesn't give a greasy look to the tire, yet something that lasts a little while but still gives a tire a "NEW" look, and not a "Shiney" I've got gobs of tire dressing on my tire look. Does that make sense? What's the latest and greatest?
 
Tufshine. Use it 3-4 times a year, nice clean shine, no grease, dirt washes right off. I've been using it for 6 years and I am only on my second 6oz. bottle. get the starter kit if your tires have any other dressing on them.

http://tufshine.com/tire_shine_kit.html

I use Zaino for everything else.
 
Interesting about the Tufshine. I have used many that seem to "bloom" (turn white) after driving the car (heating up the product). No bloom with Tufshine or Zaino?
Personally I hate tire dressing especially the real shiny ones but feel it adds so much to a show car once parked on the lawn. I prefer only a black mat look. I even bought a wellie product (rubber boots) that said that it cured the bloom, not! Seems worse. Yup don't get me started apparently! I am really up for something else.
 
Other than Meguirs I have never heard of any of that stuff so keep em coming. Interesting to hear the testimonials. Never thought about heat affecting the dressing much before either until you guys/gals brought that up. Thank you.
 
I use simple green or LA's Awesome and leave the rubber as clean as I can. No greasy film=no greasy dirt.
 
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The tire material itself, not being a chemist, does it really absorb any solutions? It seems that whatever dressing it is just sits on the surface. That wellie dressing interestingly enough does turn white (it was sold as a cure to blooming on rubber boots but probably another compound than tire material) but a light buff even with a paper towel reveals a nice matte finish. Not sure how long that will last. Almost time for new tires (how I hate getting tires mounted* as finding a shop that won't hurt the wheels is a "sweaty" process). Having moved from all of those wonderful artisans I found in Atlanta over the years to NC I had to start all over again. I have to over come the "hi darling" stage in that being female somehow I have to make it known that this is #1 my car not my husbands, #2 I am serious about the hobby, #3 I can be a good source of referrals, #4 just want a good job without damaging the car and I will gladly come back again. Sorry I guess I had to get that out............
Where I was going with this is that when I got this latest set of tires they bloomed right away. I contacted the Goodrich folks thinking that there might be a de-blocking wax or another compound that was used in the manufacturing process that should be removed prior to tire dressings. The lady Goodrich consultant overseas said to just return them if I wasn't satisfied! That was not satisfactory as they were already mounted*. So I have bought Griot's tire prep to strip off all the old stuff I tried ( as that is the way I was told it worked by Griot's) but it hasn't solved the blooming thing long term. Maybe new tires will..........
 
I noticed the blooming phenomenon with my old Michelins but only noticed it after the tires were several years old. I thought the age of the rubber (beyond use date reached) may have had something to do with it. I Just bought new Goodrich tires and treated them with Tuff Shine. No blooming after some hard driving.
 
SO you have Goodrich's also. Interesting. Did you buy directly from Tufshine? Looks like the top coat is some sort of coating....? I am willing to try it as tires are something that gets replaced so if it doesn't work out for me no problem. I am beginning to wonder if the hot summers here have something to do with it. I am sure I need to relax about it and just give it a try. It's not like the car lives outside.
 
If you have new tires you don't need the starter kit which includes a cleaner to get any previous silicone etc dressings that the tire may have on it. But it can't hurt. You can wash the new tires with soap and water then go straight to the tufshine. It is a flexible coating type stuff, doesn't peel, just gradually fades over several months. Not greasy. Dirt and brake dust come right off. If you don't like it I suppose it can be removed with some acetone or similar. I buy direct.
 
As someone who prepared the tires of a, cough, recent Quail winner, cough, :) after a good wash and rinse to get the tires clean and remove any brake dust, I use a couple of liberal rub downs with Black to Black and then wipe dry. Not shiny, not greasy, just nice and flat black leaving a very clean tire. Used it for years with good results. Cheap and easy and looks great.
 
TodB congratulations on the win at The Quail! I can identify with the challenge, work and worry about weather. I do have some Back TO Black and have noted to myself to try it next time. TKS
 
To be clear,

a) it was not my car. It belongs to Ski Coach
b) there were 2 others who helped with the prep
c) we started with a pretty good "canvas" as the car had been restored by Mario/VSR and painted by his wizard, Steve, a year or so ago
d) we were incredibly lucky considering the competition but that's a story for another day

That said, BtoB works pretty good on tires but like paint, its all in the prep. Gots to start with clean tires!

Good luck and hope to meet you one day!
 
Of course I didn't let this drop..........

I contacted a friend, who worked in the tire industry for many year plus has collector cars, to ask about tire manufacturing and materials of the modern day. This is very interesting:

The white bloom you are describing is from the sulfur in the rubber migrating to the surface of the tire. It is aggravated by the ambient temperature and humidity. Normally, it appears during warmer summer months and then disappears when the fall and winter months come around and the temperature drops. That being said there are a lot of things going on in the tire market. They are being driven by the EPA mandating changes in product use. For instance the EPA made the tire industry change one of the oil products used in the mastafication process because they felt it was harmful to the environment. But that change now makes it almost impossible to keep white tires from turning yellow or brown almost overnight. It is so bad that most tire manufacturers no longer offer white tires. The other problem is that there are very few tires for collector cars being made here in the US anymore. They are all being made in Asian countries where the quality control is not as valid as it one was. It is hard to monitor due to the distances involved and the products available in those countries. He went on to say that on his concours cars he uses ethanol gasoline on a rag and wipes down the tires thoroughly. It removes the bloom for a few days but it will eventually come back. Not a solution but a way to deal with it.

My take is that the Tuff Shine, being a coating, must seal the tire from the humidity. Not sure about the heating up of the driving...............

I hope that this information will help with the "why" this is happening.
Amy
 
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