Does anyone not dress their tires on a detail?

I like when the tires look "warm" but not shiny in any way. Shiny reminds me of a cheap look that is asking to be looked at. While a bit of warmth is subtle and clean. That's how I also like my cars :) (mod wise, not paint! Paint can be crystal clear to the max!)
 
I always use Armor All Original or Hyper Dressing 3:1. Either will leave a satiny look that makes the car look "finished" but doesn't look obnoxious.
 
It really depends on the car. I love black tires, but I HATE super shiny plastic looking dressing. For high end concours the trick is to make it as BLACK, BLACK as possible, clean and even, but no obvious shine.
 
I like the low-sheen look, but I like for tires to be dark black and with no shine or a satin finish at most. I haven't had much luck at getting them black without some type of final dressing. I use a marine product called Roll-Off to clean the tires -- it always removes a lot of brown dirt even on apparently clean tires, but the tires looks too flat and not consistently dark black when done. Topping that with Zaino tire treatment gives a black with low-sheen and 303 works well as well to create a really nice satin finish. I suspect most that don't want a dressing really mean they don't want that thick shiny stuff (also silicone products are pretty bad for tires). Also, I've found that people who track or autocross their cars almost universally don't want dressing anywhere near the tires.
 
There are a couple of products I have tried that have a subtle appearance: Michelin's Tire Shine and the Surf City Garage product. IIRC, the Michelin stuff pretty much dries and doesn't have any throw.



Those tires better be clean if you're not doing dressing, David. Some of these newer ("Eco") tires take on a very odd brown appearance over time. Really detracts from the appearance of the car.
 
tom p. said:
TSome of these newer ("Eco") tires take on a very odd brown appearance over time. Really detracts from the appearance of the car.
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Jeez, you'd think with today's technology, tires would be able to be manufactured with a basic degree of nice gloss, not too flat and dead looking, nor too bright and glossy, right in the middle. The blooming brown sounds a lot worse than better with new tires being made. :(
 
Some(few)times (when I am pressed for time) I skip the dressing part. Leaving them undressed between washes once is not so bad. But as soon as my surf garage hits them they are all new and deep black again.



I agree that uncared tires (at least not wiped down after washing for even drying) detract severely from the overall result.
 
Ch96067 said:
Some(few)times (when I am pressed for time) I skip the dressing part. Leaving them undressed between washes once is not so bad..
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I hardly ever dress tire at *every* wash, the Z16 holds up well enough that I don't have to do it every time unless I've let the wash go for ages (which does sometimes happen :o ).
 
I sometimes will not dress tires if they are still blooming from new and unevenly releasing their release compounds and antiozinants. No matter what unless a solvent dressing is used they will not hold the dressing evenly(and this is obviously in their infant stages). Otherwise I tend to aim for black, even if no gloss or dressing is requested. When I do this, the customer loves it.
 
Griots cleaner to get them squeeky clean and top it with a wipe of 303 to add back a natural no gloss touch that is absorbed quickly.
 
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