Some silly issues I need advice on

[Calendyr]

Ok, so a few things that have been bothering me over the years and never read any solution to them...

1) Removing Armor All from tires. Anyone know an effective way of doing it? Last detail I did, the client wanted a wheel coating. He has been putting Armor All on his tires for years. So I scrubbed the first tire 4 times with my normal tire cleaning solution (Meguiar's Super Degreaser 4:1 with a ounce of Dawn added to the gallon for extra suds. Well the only thing it did was make my tire brush really dirty with Armor all residue. Could not get it off the tire. So when I informed the client I would not be able to coat because of the armor all, he said let me try. He went inside and came down with Fantastic, Laundry Detergent and some other cleaner. While I was working on the car, he scrubbed the tire for 20 mins... could not get it off. This was a 2 day detail so during the night between the 2 sessions, he tried again (he really wanted the coating). But still, armor all was still there. I told him I could probably get it off using a petrolium based solvent, but really did not recommend it because it could damage the tires. So he finaly accepted not to do it. Any of you have a solution to this? I normally push coatings for tires when people have nice vehicles, and from time to time I get someone with Armor All tires and have the same issue almost every time.

2) Removing polish or compound from rock chips. From time to time, I get a car with road rasg type rock chips and once polish gets in them it's almost impossible to remove. I use a 25% IPA solution with ONR at detailer concentration to clean the pannels after polishing session but sometimes it won't remove the residue in the rock chips. Any advice?

[ducksfan]

Meg's Super Degreaser and Dawn are both degreasers. Armor All may have a chemical composition that isn't broken up by degreasers. Have you tried Mother's Back to Black tire renewal? Really strong reviews by posters on this site. Just a thought because I really don't have much beyond basic knowledge on the subject.

I've used the Mother's on various rubber problems with good to great results.

[Jimmy Vegas]

I've always used Bleche-White and a brass brush to clean my tires. That combo will clean anything off. Spray a dry tire, then I usually rinse the head of my brass brush (the area with the bristles is 2 inches by 2 inches) and scrub the rubber.

When it dries, you will have a super clean tire, and any raised white letters, or white walls will be perfect. You will need to apply a dressing, as the black rubber will be a dull gray when dry.

[wing commander]

TUF SHINE Appearance Products (http://www.autogeek.net/tuf-shine-appearance-products.html) This is what you need. All of this stuff is great for coatings on tires.

[gspam1]

Tuf Shine tire cleaner. Removes the silicone tire dressings. Highly recommend their brush too. Might take 15 passes to get it all. Follow the directions exactly. You have to rinse the brush with a strong stream of water between passes. Great stuff.

[Eric@CherryOnTop]

Agree, there is some sort of sodium derivative chemical in dedicated tire cleaning products that is not found in regular degreasers and all-purpose cleaners. I used to use Bleche-white too but stopped because I had read about it degrading the leather with chlorine. I use a product called Omni-clean now, I think it's pretty much comparable to Tuf Shine tire cleaner.

[Audios S6]

I'm sure I'll get some backlash, but...Considering the amount of solvent based dressing applied regularly, I have no issue with a single application of solvent to remove stubborn dressings. Rinse well and do a follow up application with your preferred wheel cleaner while you are cleaning the wheels to remove as much residual as possible.

Gasoline, oil and similar petrochemicals that leave behind substantial residual petroleum should definitely be avoided.

[ducksfan]

I'm sure I'll get some backlash, but...Considering the amount of solvent based dressing applied regularly, I have no issue with a single application of solvent to remove stubborn dressings. Rinse well and do a follow up application with your preferred wheel cleaner while you are cleaning the wheels to remove as much residual as possible.

Gasoline, oil and similar petrochemicals that leave behind substantial residual petroleum should definitely be avoided.

I agree. It's not like permanent trim on a car. Tires run their course and are replaced. One solvent cleaning followed by dressing should be fine.

[Kappy]

Has anyone tried using Griot's Garage Rubber Prep for cleaning tires? Someone suggested using this to thoroughly clean the rubber trim around the windows and I noticed that it also says it's "an intense cleaner for heavily soiled rubber tires." It's not a new product, but I haven't heard of it, and I don't know if it works any better than Mother's Back to Black Tire Renew, which I like better than Tuff Shine.
Griot's Garage Rubber Prep, Griots Rubber Cleaner, Griots Garage Rubber Prep Cleaner (http://www.autogeek.net/griots-rubber-prep.html)

[gspam1]

Has anyone tried using Griot's Garage Rubber Prep for cleaning tires? Someone suggested using this to thoroughly clean the rubber trim around the windows and I noticed that it also says it's "an intense cleaner for heavily soiled rubber tires." It's not a new product, but I haven't heard of it, and I don't know if it works any better than Mother's Back to Black Tire Renew, which I like better than Tuff Shine.
Griot's Garage Rubber Prep, Griots Rubber Cleaner, Griots Garage Rubber Prep Cleaner (http://www.autogeek.net/griots-rubber-prep.html)

Yes, it's a good product but I used half a bottle on one tire when prepping for the Tuf Shine tire sealant and the Tuf Shine cleaner was still pulling brown suds. Three rounds of Meg's Super Degreaser then 1/2 bottle of Griot's Rubber Prep and then about 10 passes of Tuf Shine tire cleaner to get to white suds. I use it now for window trim and other soiled rubber areas. Would have taken 8 bottles to do all four tires. These aren't huge tires either 215/55-16. The next three tires I cleaned only with the Tuf Shine clear. Tuf Shine is the only cleaner I've found that will take the black staining off the brushes I use to wash the tires on my wife's car that aren't sealed (Car Pro PERL) on her car.

[Calendyr]

Ya, doing 15 rounds of cleaning to apply a coating is not something I can realisticly offer to a client. You are talking of about 45 minutes work to prep each tire, I would need to charge like 3-4 hours work to do it. Would you pay 120-160$ to coat your tires? I sure wouldn't!

So no one has an actual sure way to remove Armor All in a reasonable amount of time (say 5-10 mins per wheel)? I could try gasoline next time the issue shows up, I just don't know how effective it would be. Other than that only other hard solvents I can think of are the typical Acetone, Paint Thinner and Grease and Wax remover (Duplicolor). I doubt those would work since I don't think any of them are petrolium based.

[Audios S6]

Wax and grease remover, silicone remover, tarminator; or in my case, I have use Kleen strip prep-all successfully.

Do not use gasoline; it will leave substantial residue that could affect the tire and will just be more of a pain to remove; consider how carburetors can gum up.

[Dr Oldz]

If you can find a product called Whitewall Cleaner by Trans-mate. It's all I use for tires. It will take any dressing/bloom from tires. Not sure the chemical compound in it but I have been using it for over 20 years with amazing results.

[Mad Wax]

I've heard somewhere on here Tarminator strips everything off tires. I have not yet tried it though.

[Eldorado2k]

I've heard somewhere on here Tarminator strips everything off tires. I have not yet tried it though.

I know a detailer who swears by Tar X. I think it's too expensive to be using as a tire cleaner.