Henwhee

My tires are really dirty, and kinda brown... not sure why but they look like complete shit. I always have to tireshine but the second it wears out, it turns back brown. What do you guys use to wash your tires?

Also, what's the best bang for buck tireshine?

Cody Red

Armor all.

importkid

I believe I have read it's the silicone base in tire shine that makes your tires turn brown to start with after using shine.

I use meguiars high endurance (gel, purple, smells pretty good).

To clean my tires I use a mix of car soap, dawn, purple power, and water in a spray bottle and a heavy duty brush. If your tires aren't dirty, just brown you can reapply tire dressing and it should go away.

akimel

For regular tire cleaning I use Meguiar's All Purpose Cleaner, which is also safe to be used on our painted wheels. Eagle One and Mother's also have tire/wheel cleaners that you might try. I've also just become aware of another APC that seems to be versatile: Extreme Simple Green Motorsports Cleaner. What distinguishes this from the more popular Simple Green cleaner is that it's safe to be sprayed on aluminum and other sensitive surfaces (in other words, it can also be used in the engine bay).

If the typical APC won't get the tires as clean as you want (and if you've been using solvent-based tire dressings, i.e., the ones that produce the super-shine), then you may need to get a stronger product, namely, Griot's Rubber Prep.

I don't know what kind of tire dressing you have been using. Most of the ones you get from the local auto stores are solvent-based (and that includes most of Meguiar's offerings). They produce a high shine but they also leave behind a residue that's hard to remove. I strongly prefer water-based tire dressings: e.g., Mother's FX Tire Shine, Surf City Garage Beyond Black, Optimum Tire Shine, 303 Protectant. A water-based dressing leaves a more natural, satin look and may not last as long as a solvent-based dressing, but it cleans up a heck of a lot better, thus leaving the surface ready for a fresh application of tire dressing.

The browning that you are seeing may simply be what is supposed to happen. It's called blooming: the antiozonants in the tire work their way to the surface as the tire rolls. These antiozonants provide protection against ozone; but they also turn brown when exposed to the air (or something like that). We can remove the brown film, but it will always return. Some folks believe that solvent-based dressings actually intensify the browning and make it look worse. That may just be commercial propaganda. I'm not sure.

NH_s2k_Guy

I rarely wash my tires, when I do it's the leftover soap from the car washing and a heavy brush.

Then just hit them with some tire shine and they are back to black.

redboost10

anything oil based will turn them brown with time...armor all and basically anything at walmart/auto store.

get something water based that doesnt sling off like poorboys world natural trim restorer or soemthing like that. it lasts a long time and dosnt soak into the tires and attract crap

detailersdomain

here are a few tips.

while you are washing the car it would be a good idea to clean them with an apc. (all purpose cleaner)

even after the apc at the shop we use Stoner's Tarminatorwith a towel that you can throw out.

You will get a very very clean tire.

Then a nice dressing.

PanteraKitty

I am still using Mean Green for my tire cleaner. Simple Green works about the same. I stay with Mean Green because it is cheap - $5 a gallon at the local dollar store. I have not seen any damage to the wheels and it gets the bulk of the crud off. For tar spots and marks that do not come off with Mean Green or my thumbnail I use WD40 or Naptha(lighter fluid). Sonax is the last step in the wheel cleaning. It works great but it is expensive compared to the Mean Green and lighter fluid.

For a tire dressing I use Zaino Tire Gloss. It is a UV protectant.

The brown is from the oils and solvents in the tires. As the tire flexes these are released. That is supposed to happen. One of the best things you can do for a tire is drive on it. Good example is my wife's car. I replaced the original tire at 74,000 miles and 9 years age. They were not down to the wear indicators yet but they showed cracks in the sidewalls and edges of the tread. Our trailers do not get enough use. Their tires start coming apart about five years from the manufacture date. No visible tread wear.

If you really want to get into complete Wacko cleaning see: https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/420...well-cleaning/

SgtDuracell

Tire shine is more of a dressing. for a good look you should actually clean them first with soap, All purpose degreaser, or tire foam etc. After you clean then you tire shine, use meguiars, mothers, or AutoGlym... I stay away from anything armorall. That should last a lot longer.. My tires never really go brown

takeshi

Car wash soap, wheel/tire brush & 303.