Advice on Cleaning Tires

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peacemaker

New member
I have been going crazy recently on trying to remove tire shine residue from my tires. I recently stopped at DD to pickup some Optimum APC and Tarminator. They told me that would do the trick. I attacked my tires with both this past weekend and it didn't take it all off!! I went through about a third of APC (3:1) in my foaming sprayer.



I let the APC soak for a few minutes, scrubbed, washed. Then I tried tarminator, which helped a lot, but didn't get it all. I'm thinking maybe it just requires a few more applications and a lot more elbow grease.



Does anyone have advice for how to get to the bottom of the tire? It seems almost impossible without driving over something or removing the wheels completely.
 
Are we talking about Optimum Tire Shine? I thought it was water based? There are some products out there that are made specifily for removing old product so you can start over again.
 
brownbob06 said:
What do you mean by "driving over something?"



Are you trying to take dressing off of the treads?
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Like a block of wood to elevate the tire off the ground. I am trying to take off the brown soot/dressing off the side walls.



tom p. said:
Peace, I'd like to know what kind of tire shine you are using. It sounds most durable :)
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I use Poorboy's Bold N Bright (water based); i'm assuming the brown crap is a mixture of dirt and tire shine



John Styrnol said:
Are we talking about Optimum Tire Shine? I thought it was water based? There are some products out there that are made specifily for removing old product so you can start over again.
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Optimum APC. I was told its good for everything from degreasing tires to cleaning interiors.
 
Tyre Cleaning



The slightly porous nature of rubber (however this varies according to the polymers used) attracts oils, dirt, brake dust and road grime. For any type of protection to work efficiently on rubber it must be able to adhere to the surface. First remove any brake dust, blooming, road tar, grease and grime, silicone and oxidized rubber from the surface to properly clean it. The key to tyre dressing durability is deep cleaning the tyre, spray or apply your cleaner allow to soak in for a minute or two and then scrub with a fairly stiff tyre brush, once clean you should be able to take an old white dry terry towel and rub the tyre surface, it should be almost pristine (if not repeat). Tyre cleaner needs to be strong enough to tackle a heavy build-up of tyre dressings, silicone and road grime, but not damage wheel coatings.



A quality citrus-based cleaner (P21S® Total Auto Wash) or Griot's Garage - Rubber Cleaner should clean the tyres down to the original rubber surface, this is especially important when you apply a new dressing, as dressings won't adhere to, or create the right shine on dirty rubber or silicone residue. This tyre cleaner is a strong concentrate; spray-and-rinse, without scrubbing, if you are starting on an old, neglected surface, use a fairly stiff tyre brush for the first application and a spray & rinse at least 3-4 times a yearAlternative products – Optimumâ„¢ Polymer Technologies - Power Clean (diluted 3:1: to 5:1) or 3M Tyre & Wheel Cleaner # 39036







TOGWT® Autopia Detailing Wiki - "Tyre Cleaning and Careâ€� - http://www.autopia.org/forum/guide-detailing/138250-tyre-cleaning-care.html



These Detailing Wiki informational resources contain everything you’ll ever want to know about automotive detailing and are an invaluable addition to your detailing knowledge base.

 
Purple Power always does great on tires for me at full strength. It's an "industrial degreaser" and you can pick up a few gallon jug at o'reilly for around $12.



A lot of people on here don't like it but I love it and haven't felt a need to upgrade it because it does what I need it to and does a great job at it.



With how much APC you've already wasted on them it's probably more economically feasible to try something else than to keep using what you have.
 
Best rubber cleaning product ever IMO is Griot's Rubber Prep. Pricey, but gets them *CLEAN* with zero damage. I simply love the stuff.



Their Rubber Cleaner is OK for every-wash use, but it's awfully mild.



As for gettting to the lower area, you kinda gotta raise most vehicles up a bit to do the wells/undercarriage anyhow. Or you can just pull the vehicle forward/back half-a-tire-rotation.
 
TOGWT mentions the citrus-based P21S product which is very good. However, you can hit Walmart and find inexpensive citrus-based cleaners that work pretty well. I think that's where I have purchased Orange Blast in the past. It's somewhat stronger than the competitors if you don't want to make the jump to the P21S version.



There's also Wesley's Bleach White. Very strong, would probably do the job.
 
tom p. said:
There's also Wesley's Bleach White. Very strong, would probably do the job.
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Wesley's Bleach White does a fantastic job (just spray on, wait a few minutes, light scrub and rinse), but I was always concerned it might be damaging the tires (although I only used it a couple times a year). Is there any evidence to suggest it might damage tires.
 
Accumulator said:
Best rubber cleaning product ever IMO is Griot's Rubber Prep. Pricey, but gets them *CLEAN* with zero damage. I simply love the stuff.



Their Rubber Cleaner is OK for every-wash use, but it's awfully mild.



As for gettting to the lower area, you kinda gotta raise most vehicles up a bit to do the wells/undercarriage anyhow. Or you can just pull the vehicle forward/back half-a-tire-rotation.
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The Tropi-Care stuff I use to have was a Tire Prep I believe.
 
I gotta get the Griots Rubber Prep. First stop will be Advanced Auto. Their Rubber Cleaner is indeed mild;almost too mild to get my Cadillac white walls white. The P21S cleaner ought to be the same as a S100 product, right? Id check out a motorcycle store for it.
 
Use caution with any strong products. Ugly wheels will make the dirty tires seem insignificant.



For something easy to get I have found E1 A2Z does a pretty good job on tires, even mixed 1:1. Wesley's Bleach White is great but harsh on the wheels. Tarminator is efficient but is a solvent and can damage the rubber and should only be used as a last resort.



Sometimes it just takes patience and repeated applications with a good scrubbing.
 
pwaug said:
Wesley's Bleach White does a fantastic job (just spray on, wait a few minutes, light scrub and rinse), but I was always concerned it might be damaging the tires (although I only used it a couple times a year). Is there any evidence to suggest it might damage tires.
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Wesley’s Bleche-Wite® Whitewall Cleaner - this product doesn’t contain bleach (despite its name) but uses optical brighteners; they're added to make the white wall of a tyre appear brighter and whiter than it really is. These agents absorb ultraviolet light and emit it back as visible blue light.



It is formula with Butyl Cellosolve (2-butoxyethanol) Sodium Met silicate, which are acidic, none of which are particularly paint, rubber, polymer or human friendly. It will stain and / or etch clear coat painted wheels and zinc rotors as well as drying out tyres and with constant use turn them grey. Be very cautious of overspray
 
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