Tire brown from EF-HI?

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Hey folks,



Well I have searched the archives relating to all of the various posts on tire browning, fading etc. I have also read Ron K's posts on tires and cleaning at Autoint.com.



Now here is my question. I use a 50/50 water/efiHI dilluted solution to clean my 1 year old, stock GoodYear tires, and dress with Vinylex. I apply Vinylex with an Eagle One tire swipe, and wait 30 minutes to an hour before rubbing off excess with a Terry Towel. I clean my tires and wheels once per week(when I wash) and apply Vinylex after cleaing.



I have noticed that my tires are "greying". After I clean the tire with EF-HI, and rinse, and allow the tire to dry, I notice that the tire is a dull black/slightly grey. In other words I have to reapply Vinylex every week in order to keep the tire black. In many cases the Vinylex only lasts for a week before I have that gray/black look again. I also notice that several days later the Vinylex may have "burned" off the tire from driving, and that I have slight streaks or grey "spots" underneath the coating of Vinylex.





My concern is that the EF-HI is "greying" my tires. I am washing the tires when they are cool, using a tire scrub brush, and plenty of cold water to rinse. Have any of you folks had this happen to you? Is it possible that the EF-HI is removing the carbon black and micro wax from my sidewalls?!



ARGH?!!! I hate to think that I have been destroying my tires by using this product, but I don't know what else to believe. Seems strange that right after cleaning my tires that they are "grey/black" and that it takes Vinylex to bring back the black.



Let me know what you folks think, and what you have experienced with EF_HI. I really like it, but after reading Ron K's comments, and others, I wonder if EF-HI is too strong for tires????





As always, if I am just ranting over nothing, and this is "normal" then just put me out of my misery and worrying with a quick post.



Thanks

SJ
 
A side note



I am also interested in what folks use outside of EF-HI to clean their tires? I see plenty of wheel cleaners out there PS21 etc. but not a lot of TIRE cleaners. Your input and experiences are appreciated.
 
any answers that i know are the correct ones...sorry......but i thought the EF hi stuff...which i also use on my tires....was for when the tires get really bad...like once a mth...not every wk....maybe im totally wrong there but thats all i can think of....:confused:
 
I only use HI on the rims when the brake dust gets out of control. I don't apply any special cleaner to the tire itself, I just attack them with a bucket full of car soap and a tire brush. This works well for me.
 
Aside from EF-HI, I use the Eagle One Tire Cleaner and like the results. But, as mentioned above, I use a tire cleaner once a month at most - the rest of the time just a brush & soap, followed with 303 or Eagle One Satin.



No browning issues with this routine on Michellin XGT V4's.
 
Okay so the idea I am getting here is that I am "cleaning" with Hi too often. That's fine. I can lay off a bit. This is funny.



I cleaned with HI every week because I worried that if I did not get the tire "clean" then my applied dressings would cause tire browning. Now after cleaning them weekly with HI, I find that I don't need to, and I could actually be hurting my tires. HA!



Thanks for the replies so far, keep em comin.



SJ
 
First things, first. Have you seen the natural color of tires? A new tire is not black, it's charcoal and dull. This is due to the wax used in the mfg process. We make them look black and shiny by applying dressings.



Any detergent you use on your tires will pull out the dirt and cause the tire to dull. The tire should go back a "new" tire finish. The graying is natural.



A product like Eagle One, which I use as my tire cleaner, will turn the tire blue. Eagle One puts an optical enhancer in their product that works as highlight when you apply a water-based dressing.



If you use it, another good tire cleaner is P21S Total Auto Wash. Very gentle on rubber. I like it as a light engine cleaner, too.



db
 
David B,



Thanks for the info. Okay, so maybe I am not crazy. I had planned to pick up the Total Auto wash to clean some stubborn bug items etc from my front bumper. Now I can use it to clean my tires.



A few more questions for you,



1. Is it safe then to clean the tire each and every week with a "tire cleaner" be that PS21, Eagle One, or Hi Intensity?(this is in your opinon of course). If EF-HI is too strong to use weekly, I can always switch to something else.



2. I use a rather inexpensive tire brush from Pep Boys. Now it's not a wire metal brush, but the bristles are a very stiff plastic type.



Can I damage the tire carbon black/wax coating using a brush which is not soft like an OXO? (I can buy a new brush!)





I have read all of your tips on wheel/tire care many times, don't mean to be beating a dead horse here. I just don't want to "clean" too harshly, and age my tires prematurely.











Thanks

SJ
 
Using a brass brush is tricky and can badly scratch a tire.I thought i had the technique down until a customer brought in a car with some expensive perelli P-Zoeros, soft compound for good grip. Anyway, on the first tire i scratched it. So after that i didnt use the brass again ad use a cheap stiff plastick like brush we had lying around the house, cleans just as good without the scratches.
 
I've used P21S TAW for more than 10 years now, on all kinds of surfaces (in fact, I just used it to clean tar off my hands... had to patch the roof before it rains) with no problems. You can dilute it, but it's just as easy to turn the spray head down and use less.



The best tire and wheel brushes I have used so far are OXO. Using a brush that's too stiff will scuff your tire and make it look rough after a while. I have a simple rule: if you can't use a brush on your skin, don't use it on your car. The exception is a brass brush used to detail manifolds, etc.



db
 
i used to use highly diluted simple green to clean my wheels, and tires weekly, then i found out it was bad for long term use.:(



so i started using dawn to clean the wheels and tires. :)



does anybody have any comments on that? :confused:



i use a sponge it works good, just wondering.
 
I use slightly diluted car wash in a spray bottle on my wheels and tires regularly. They clean up nicely and the car wash is mild in comparison to dawn and the other spray cleaners. One advantage is not to let the tires get too dirty in the first place. The carwash lathers up nicely and the tires stay black.;)
 
Thanks folks for the replies. Beau, aka the secret detailing agent emailed me offline and advised that he uses EF_HI 50/50 just like I do, and has had no problems. I think I might have flipped out because the DUST around here is SOOO bad! No rain for over a month and 1/2 right now. I



had just washed the car on Saturday, and cleaned my wheels. By Monday morning the tires looked all grey. I suppose this could be all of the dust floating around here. Thanks for the tip on those OXO....man, I have a list probably totally over 300.00 that I want to buy from CMA/Tascar. Oh well, Christmas is coming



SJ
 
Very good info David. On a side note, one of my colleagues visited Coronado this weekend and she swears its the nicest place she's ever visited. I believe she wants to move there now. Laters.
 
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