The tyres on the CC3 are looking a bit, er, tired.
I don't want them super shiny, but I would like to get back to the ever so slightly glossy finish they were when new.
Any ideas what best to use?
Either a tyre product or something I might have in the house already.
I wondered about something like Mr Sheen or furniture polish, but I'm wary because I know some types of cleaner can rot your radials.
Thanks in advance.
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Black shoe polish cleans them nicely without the 'Arthur Daley used car lot' look.
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I like those foam cleaners best- Armorall clones. Wilkos do a great own-brand one for £1.49 and LIDL sometimes do a W5 branded one for £1.99 in a bigger can, or you can probably get the same sort of thing in Halfords for £4.99.
You spray it on, it foams up, dissolves and runs off along with the dirt and leaves a silk sheen, not a greasy gloss. It also helps if you wipe off the residue while still wet.
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I'll clean my wheels but the tyres.... Wouldn't paint/clean tyres to make them look black as I don't see the advantage. Each to their own.
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I tend to clean mine whilst doing the alloys, the Bilberry wheel cleaner that I use seems to lift the muck out of the rubber.
Once cleaned I use the Meg's Endurance Tyre Gel, but it is probably a little too shiny for your liking.
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Once cleaned I use the Meg's Endurance Tyre Gel.....
Sounds like a line from the beginning of American Psycho :-)
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I like those foam cleaners best- Armorall clones. Wilkos do a great own-brand one for £1.49 and LIDL sometimes do a W5 branded one for £1.99 in a bigger can or you can probably get the same sort of thing in Halfords for £4.99. You spray it on it foams up dissolves and runs off along with the dirt and leaves a silk sheen not a greasy gloss. It also helps if you wipe off the residue while still wet.
Tried this, but found that it tended to leave black trails on the alloy wheels once the car had been used on the road.
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Turtle wax foaming tyre cleaner is what I use. You will find it in Halfords. It doesn't make the tyres look shiny, but just like new. Spray the foam into the lid of the can and apply to the tyre using a 1" paint brush- easy peasy and looks great
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Meguairs hot shine tyre spray. Great stuff altogether but doen't last too long. Simple to apply though - 10 seconds a wheel. A spray on the wheel will make them look great too just be careful to avoid brakes just in case...
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"Tried this, but found that it tended to leave black trails on the alloy wheels once the car had been used on the road."
Maybe the brake dust sticks to it. I suppose you could treat them before washing the car and then it would be washed off the wheels, but I don't know whether this would negate too much benefit on the tyres themselves.
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I just wash everything all in one session ~ bodywork, under wheelarches, wheels and tyres ~ using Turtle Wax Zipwax. Polished tyres look unnatural to me. I prefer to display my personal pride by always having clean and polished (leather) shoes. And I hate to see anyone who has polished tyres but scruffy shoes.
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Has the first of April come round again rather soon?
Tyres go on the road, they get a bit dirty. What's the problem?
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its a fine line getting bald tyres to look like new,its taken me many decades of honing my concoctions to make the perfect blend
and im not sharing,its mine i tell you all mine............
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its a fine line getting bald tyres to look like new its taken me many decades of honing my concoctions to make the perfect blend and im not sharing its mine i tell you all mine............
Would you buy a used car from............ :-)
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[On temporary stand in as BB's straight man]
>>and im not sharing its mine i tell you all mine............
What's yours?
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I occasionally use Auto Glym Instant tyre dressing - put a little on a clean rag & rub it in & it gives a nice matt fresh rubber look. I can't stand that shiny stuff they use nearly bald tyres to tart them up.
Nice finishing touch after the wax & alloy wheel cleaner - scuffed, browny-orangey looking tyres spoil the overall effect in my view, esp. on nice premium tyres with plenty of tread.
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I wouldn't know if my tyres were shiny or dirty, but they are always black - does it really matter, especially in view of UK weather (Met Office style barbeque or otherwise), that they should look almost like new?
It's the permanent bits - such as the bodywork - that should be the centre of attention cleaning wise.
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My '94 Kia Pride's got one whitewall tyre. They had whitewall tyres when new.
I wonder how old that one is?
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It's the permanent bits - such as the bodywork - that should be the centre of attention cleaning wise.
I can see both sides of the argument. On one hand, they're just tyres so why clean them?
However whats the point in washing your car to make it look good but have muddy looking tyres?
The wheels on a car are a major part of its appearance especially if its got shiny fancy alloys. so cleaning them and making them look good is all part of the process. Otherwise you may as well not bother.
Also it gives you a reason to check their condition and look for tears or bulges.
all in my opinion of course.
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So long as the tears or bulges aren't too bad or obvious to Plod, I ignore them...:-)
Not as visible either if the tyres are dirty.
Edited by Stuartli on 30/07/2009 at 14:24
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This reminds me of my yoof days when these things hadn't been thought of and I used to buy black tyre paint that went on with a brush and had to be left to dry or it would spray up onto your wings when you drove away.........
And the shiny silver spray for the wheels (steel not alloy)...
Ah those were the days......
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like this
i6.photobucket.com/albums/y246/smartiesx3/30-07-09...g
before you say anything look at the dirt on the tin as i havent used it for 10 years..
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>>So long as the tears or bulges aren't too bad or obvious to Plod, I ignore them...:-)
You jest surely?
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i6.photobucket.com/albums/y246/smartiesx3/DSC01300...g
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Is that before or after use of the tyre paint?
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i dont know because the split rim retaining collar came off and killed me :-(
;-)
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>>You jest surely?>>
As an undervalued senior citizen, struggling on the pittance those expenses loading MPs so reluctantly give me each week so I can at least eat and keep a roof over my head, I can't afford to replace such expensive rubber circles very often...:-(
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Stu
You could ask the estate of the late bb if he had any more of those partworns he showed us recently. ;-)
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Stu .You could ask the estate of the late bb if he had any more of those partworns he showed us recently. ;-)>>
Thank you. That is extremely valuable information.
Will they be less part worn than mine?
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Of the 28 posts so far, there must be at least six that answer my question.
Boot polish appeals - cheap, and I have some to hand.
Or I might try a pot of the Turtle Wax foamer stuff.
Many thanks for the replies which have attempted to answer my question, not so many thanks for the others. :)
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Sorry IIH, a bit of thread drift earlier...
I use Autoglym tyre dressing, skoosh it into a cloth and apply means that you can apply it to the bits that you want to (and not necessarily over the tread!)
In the past have used the foam things that you spray directly onto tyre but find these end up getting into brakes etc as well as marking the driveway!
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...Sorry IIH, a bit of thread drift earlier...
No need to apologise, a bit of drift here or a bit of drift there is harmless enough.
It is funny, though, that some folks' answer to: What do you clean tyres with? is: Why do you want to clean tyres?
There's a Two Ronnies sketch in there, somewhere.
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Plenty of drift with part worn tyres..:-)
Seriously, it just bemuses that anyone would want to clean vehicle tyres, especially in view of the UK weather (which would probably wash them clean in any case).
Personal view is that, just like avoiding wash 'n wax to keep it off a car's windscreen, I wouldn't put a possibly slippery substance on a tyre.
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Just a note on the marking of alloys and it spraying up the bodywork. Fellas ( and gals ) thats because your either using too much or you are not removing the excess.
I use the old pashioned paint on stuff, then my much used old rag to wipe the excess off, to get a matt sheen. Oh and I use Autosmart Highstyle applied with a thick 2inch paintbrush.
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Are you driving hard enough to bring the slippery sidewalls into play during cornering or are you one of these concours types that jacks up the car and polishes the treads??!! :-}
Edited by Armitage Shanks {p} on 30/07/2009 at 19:38
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I always kept such driving to Oulton Park, Donington etc...:-)
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I wouldn't put a possibly slippery substance on a tyre.
Can't agree really. A nice wide flat country lane covered with a thin even coating of liquid cow dung and mud is a fine place for exploring the extreme-attitude handling of any car at relatively safe speeds. More consistent levels of part-grip than wet cobbles, the other place for that sort of thing. Easier to lose it completely on cobbles and suffer embarrassment or worse.
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...I wouldn't put a possibly slippery substance on a tyre...
Don't think a bit of boot polish on the sidewall is going to catapult me into a hedge.
However,
A tyre fitter once told me to be a bit wary of new tyres for the first few hundred yards, particularly if it was wet.
The (silicone?) stuff used in the mould to make the tyre release easily makes the tyre slippery until it wears off.
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I use the instant shoe shine - the stuff in liquid form applied from a little sponge at the end...very effective and cheap...
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I didnt realise we had so many extreme detailing tyre polishers in the BR. The rain keeps mine clean.
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The rain keeps mine clean.
I like to see a bit of mud on the car too. Otherwise you suspect it of not having gone anywhere and think less of it.
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...I didnt realise we had so many extreme detailing tyre polishers in the BR...
That's exactly what we have not got.
My original question was aimed at finding a sensible, real-world way of keeping tyres a bit smarter.
Most of the answers focus on cleaning methods which are quick and easy, rather than 100 per cent efficient.
I'm surprised there are a few members who see tyre cleaning as the preserve of anal detailers.
I expect most of us spend a few minutes - probably no more - cleaning the alloy wheels, and quite a lot longer on the paintwork and windows.
It's daft to let grubby tyres spoil the overall effect.
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As I stated earlier, if you use the turtle wax foaming cleaner and spray it into the lid of the can and then apply it with a 1" paint brush, it doesn't end up all over your drive/brakes/alloy wheels. I am not into spending hours cleaning my vehicles, but I do like to do a job properly. The exception in our family is my sister. Her 4x4 permanently sports a coat of Exmoors finest mud. I can see the point in her not bothering. To me having a clean car but dirty wheels equates to wearing a smart suit and tie but scruffy shoes.
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This is a new product and should do just what you want spautopia.co.uk/rubberdub.aspx
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The only time I clean the tyres (other than a wash when the car gets washed) is when it's up for sale. Clean glass, door shuts, wheels and tyres makes a big difference to the first impression.
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...Clean glass, door shuts, wheels and tyres makes a big difference to the first impression...
nick,
When I was in the motor trade we used the simpler phrase: "windows and wheels", meaning if they looked well, the car looked well.
As you say, dirty windows in particular are a complete turn-off to car buyers.
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