Armor All Original For Tires

J

jmsc

New member
A friend of mine showed me the Guru Report on Tire Dressings. Armor All Original was rated high or highest on durability and scored excellent points in the other catergories. The report said it changed its formula a few years ago and its now water-based and more tire friendly. So I picked up a small 10oz bottle at WalMart for $2.50.



Before I try it on my tires, is anyone using it? Any browning out of the tires over time? Are you getting at least 2 weeks of durability with good shine and blackening? How is sling and dust attraction?
 
Well, TBH, Armorall is good because it gives a nice shine (for my taste) and you can find it pretty much anywhere, even on drug stores. It is cheap, and water based, so application is a breeze for me. Now, about durability, is not a great deal unless you wash your car evey week, and re-apply after wash. You can either spray it directly or use a sponge applicator, which will save some product because there's no dripping, and will not show later on any part of the car. You get browning out of it, dunno why, but nothing to worry if you clean your tires with ewvery wash.



You will get the best deal if you buy 1/2 gallon, which is $11.00 at my local Wal-Mart. I recommend the product if you are in a budget, and want something that will go on fast and easy. There's a lot of products that will last longer.



I presonally like Mothers FX Tire Shine for the finish it leaves and durability. I just bought Meguiar's Endurance Gel, which some people swear about it, so I will gove it a shot.



Hope this helps... :dance
 
Ive been using Meguiars Endurance Gel for quite some time now and absolutely love it. This stuff has a nice shine to it, and LASTS more importantly. This stuff is EXPENSIVE though at $7.77.



But you can't beat $11 for a gallon of ArmorAll. It is the new formula, and from what I have seen also carries a very nice shine. Im going to be giving ArmorAll a shot once I run out of Meguiars Endurance Gel, simply because ArmorAll is more economical. You can use it for the wheel wells too.
 
I've been using the reformulated version of AA almost exclusively for about 4 years now. Can't beat the price or availability. Great look, excellent durability, cheap. What more could you ask for? :)
 
Scottwax said:
I've been using the reformulated version of AA almost exclusively for about 4 years now. Can't beat the price or availability. Great look, excellent durability, cheap. What more could you ask for? :)
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Definitely agree. $11 for a gallon, you cannot go wrong. Scott, do you use this stuff for interior/dash as well? I usually just Meguiars Quick Interior Detail, but dont dress it with anything.
 
I've never cared for the look nor durability of AA.



Meg's Hyper Dressing, diluted 3:1 offers greater durability, as does the product overall.



Meg's Endurace Gel is probably THE most durable, but is slightly difficult to get worked into intricate sidewall moldings.
 
ZaneO said:
I like it very well, but I wouldn't get excited about the durability.
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I agree. It's cheap and looks good, but durability isn't the best at least for me. One thing I noticed was it slung a little on my car. This was after spraying directly on a tire wiping it in with a Eagle1 tire swipe, then patting the extra with a MF. :o



I'm now considering getting some Zaino tire shine from the rave reviews, I just don't know if I feel like spending more money on detailing products, I still have a 32 oz bottle of AA left.
 
evenflow said:
Definitely agree. $11 for a gallon, you cannot go wrong. Scott, do you use this stuff for interior/dash as well? I usually just Meguiars Quick Interior Detail, but dont dress it with anything.
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I use Meguiars Interior QD or Optimum's Protectant Plus on interiors due to the ultra low gloss. If a customer wants a somewhat glossier look, I'll use AA.



BTW, applied weekly and even rain in between, my tires and my customer's tires always look great.
 
I also use AA almost exclusively. I've been using Meg's Hot Shine recently here and there, but I usually use AA. Durability seems to be fine IMO. I use AA on asphalt dump trucks every weekend and it holds up pretty well...and we're talking dump trucks!
 
evenflow said:
Ive been using Meguiars Endurance Gel for quite some time now and absolutely love it. This stuff has a nice shine to it, and LASTS more importantly. This stuff is EXPENSIVE though at $7.77..
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If you've got a Costco nearby, they might have some on sale. I saw cases of Endurance at the NH costco for 3 something a bottle.
 
AA is great IMHO as many have mentioned; good durability and great pricing however I am beginning to fall in love with the much more expensive Mother's FX Tire Shine and Mother's Reflections Adv. Tire Care.



Both you can't go wrong with...
 
I've become partial to BnB, but I still keep original Armor All on the shelf. Before finding BnB it was actually my go-to. I couldn't find any other product that offered a reasonably durable low-gloss finish. I find it particularly useful on "difficult" tires. Some Pirellis, Goodyear Eagles, and any others that have those hundreds of verticle grooves in the sidewall.
 
Thanks for all the replies.



I just used it on my own car this morning and my tires have a Z-16 look to it. Black, low-matte shine, easy to spread, not as watery coming out of the bottle as Z-16 so I could not load up on the AA dressing as I applied it. All in all it looks good with good bang for the buck.



Durability is what I am looking for. A week or 2 and I will know.
 
jmsc said:
Thanks for all the replies.



I just used it on my own car this morning and my tires have a Z-16 look to it. Black, low-matte shine, easy to spread, not as watery coming out of the bottle as Z-16 so I could not load up on the AA dressing as I applied it. All in all it looks good with good bang for the buck.



Durability is what I am looking for. A week or 2 and I will know.
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Good luck with durability, since it doesn't last long.... :sosad
 
mblgjr said:
Meg's Endurace Gel is probably THE most durable, but is slightly difficult to get worked into intricate sidewall moldings.
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:clap: Got some of this... my KDW tires are smooth on the side so it works great. They are literally dark black after several weeks including some rain. They lose some shine after maybe a week, but still... dark black. I definately agree about textured sidewalls though... hard to get in there... maybe someone has a good tip on how to do that.
 
Got about 2 weeks plus a few days on the AA Original water based version on my Bridgestone Tires. It lost what little shine it originally had in just a few days but it kept its blackening characteristics for the 14 days then it started its optical deterioration. Didn't drive it much in rain so I kept alive the AA look. Not bad. Not bad at all for an inexpensive o-t-c product.
 
I've used endurance gel before but it's sticky to the touch if you need to take off the wheel for any reason. I've been using 303 Protectant recently. I like the low-gloss look.
 
Z K said:
I've used endurance gel before but it's sticky to the touch if you need to take off the wheel for any reason. I've been using 303 Protectant recently. I like the low-gloss look.
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And endurance gel sucks for most tires if they have any sort of texture on the sidewall... works best on SMOOOOOTH sidewalls.
 
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