{"id":1642,"date":"2010-05-11T06:00:10","date_gmt":"2010-05-11T10:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/?p=1642"},"modified":"2018-01-26T08:42:45","modified_gmt":"2018-01-26T13:42:45","slug":"how-to-clean-and-shine-your-tires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/how-to-clean-and-shine-your-tires\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Clean and Shine your Tires"},"content":{"rendered":"

If wheels are your car\u2019s shoes, the tires are the laces. After you\u2019ve spent time cleaning up your car\u2019s shoes (read Greg\u2019s article here<\/a>), nothing sets off a detailed car like a set of fresh black tires. Unfortunately, as the miles roll-on, that fresh black look seems to roll-off. Then you\u2019re left with nice shoes, but dirty laces. Knowing how to clean and dress them will not only keep them looking nice and fresh, but prolong their life as well.<\/p>\n

Before:<\/p>\n

\"Tires<\/p>\n

After:<\/p>\n

\"Tires<\/p>\n

The first step is to get the tires clean.\u00a0 Tires collect all kinds of debris from rolling on the ground as well as dust created from braking.\u00a0 These pollutants work their way into the pores of the rubber causing a grey, dirty tire.\u00a0 These pollutants cannot be rinsed off with a hose- not even a pressure washer.\u00a0 For proper cleansing you will need the following:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. A stiff bristled brush (SBB)<\/li>\n
  2. Degreaser of All Purpose Cleaner like Optimum Power Clean<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. 2 Buckets (One filled with Water and One with Soapy Water)<\/li>\n
  4. Tire Dressing like Meguiar’s Hyper Dressing<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. 1 Tire Dressing Applicator like Lake Country Tire Dressing Applicator<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Begin by wetting the tires with a hose.<\/p>\n

    \"Wetting<\/p>\n

    Then apply the Optimum Power Clean <\/a>generously to the presoak the tire.<\/p>\n

    \"Presoaking<\/p>\n

    It can be used at full strength but I find 2:1 or 3:1 dilutions to be effective for general use.\u00a0 Allow the Optimum Power Clean<\/a> to dwell while you fill up your buckets.<\/p>\n

    \"Filling<\/p>\n

    If it is a very hot and sunny day, fill your buckets ahead of time so the Optimum Power Clean <\/a>doesn’t dry on your tires (you don’t want to allow it to dry although it won’t cause irreversible damage).<\/p>\n

    Next, agitate the tire’s sidewall with the SBB.\u00a0 Rinse the brush with every couple of swipes on the tire in the clean water.<\/p>\n

    \"Agitating<\/p>\n

    Then, wash the tire with soapy water to neutralize any residue from the Optimum Power Clean<\/a> and rinse with the hose.<\/p>\n

    \"Wash<\/p>\n

    Allow the tire to dry while you work your way around the rest of the 3 tires.\u00a0 This is also a good time to check tire pressure (and don’t forget the spare).<\/p>\n

    Now that the tires are clean, it’s time to give them that fresh look and help protect them from destructive UV rays.\u00a0 While the level of shine you like is a personal preference, the type of dressing you select is easy to recommend.<\/p>\n

    Dressings come in two varieties: Solvent Based<\/em> (which are clear and greasy) and Water Based <\/em>(which are milky).\u00a0 Aside from being non-biodegradable and often slinging up onto your paint while you drive away, solvent-based silicone dressings contain an compound known as Dimethyl (DMS) which leeches the elasticity from the tire causing it to harden prematurely.\u00a0 It also advances the movement of Antiozonant out of the rubber, causing premature browning of the tire called “blooming”.\u00a0 Antiozonant is added to the rubber to block Ozone and UVrays from damaging the rubber. As the DMS evaporates, it takes all the positive properties of the rubber with it, leaving behind a hard rubber and an unnaturally shiny tire that will attract dirt like flypaper.<\/p>\n

    Water based dressings (like Meguiar’s Hyper Dressing<\/a>) contains a silicone based organic polymer known as PDMS.\u00a0 It is used in everyday items like shampoo <\/em>to leave hair silky and shiny.\u00a0 In addition, they often contain products that assist in UV blocking, are non-toxic, and are largely biodegradable.\u00a0 They won’t last as long as a solvent based dressing, but the benefits (and even the cost) are worth their use; and, they don’t attract dirt like their counterparts.\u00a0 Unlike solvent based dressings, Meguiar’s Hyper Dressing<\/a> can be diluted to become more cost effective and control the amount of shine or sheen you desire.<\/p>\n

    Last come the application of the dressing.\u00a0 Apply via sprayer or pour the like Meguiar’s Hyper Dressing<\/a> onto the Lake Country Tire Dressing Applicator<\/a>.\u00a0 When using a sprayer, it is better if you dilute the dressing 1:1 – 4:1 (depending on your desired level of shine) so that it sprays rather than streams out of the bottle.\u00a0 If you apply too much, it will run, but it can always be wiped even with a microfiber or second Lake Country Tire Dressing Applicator<\/a>.\u00a0 Do this to all four tires, and you are finito!<\/p>\n

    \"Applying<\/p>\n

    Here you can see the difference between dressed and not-dressed.<\/p>\n

    \"See<\/p>\n

    And one more time…After:<\/p>\n

    \"Clean<\/p>\n

    So the next time you shine your shoes, don’t forget the laces.\u00a0 Spend a few extra minutes now, and they will provide you with a few extra miles in the future.<\/p>\n

    Polydimethylsiloxane<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n

    Buy Products From This Article<\/h2>\n

    Purchase the products used in this article individually or in one convenient package here<\/a>!
    \n    <\/p>\n

    View Products Now <\/i><\/div>\n

    <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    David Bibiloni from Tailored Automotive Detailing provides a tutorial on how to clean and shines your tires like a pro. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":21414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[510,639,319,366,137,482,178,81,640,231,161],"class_list":{"0":"post-1642","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tire-care","8":"tag-brushes","9":"tag-cleaning-tires","10":"tag-degreaser","11":"tag-lake-country-tire-dressing-applicator","12":"tag-meguiars","13":"tag-meguiars-hyper-dressing","14":"tag-optimum","15":"tag-optimum-power-clean","16":"tag-stiff-bristle-brush","17":"tag-tire-dressing","18":"tag-tires"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/4565536166_86d540cae0.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1kPO7-qu","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1642"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1642\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23879,"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1642\/revisions\/23879"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}