Is Tire Dressing needed?

[rjgervacio]

If I get myself a wheel/tire cleaner like the Mothers Foaming All Wheel & Tire Cleaner (http://www.autogeek.net/mo05924.html), or Meguiars All Purpose Cleaner Plus D103 (http://www.autogeek.net/meguiars-all-purpose-cleaner-plus-d103.html), or Meguiars Wheel Brightener (http://www.autogeek.net/meguiar-s-wheel-brightener.html), will I still be needing a tire dressing? Can I achieve the deep black appearance of the tire (almost new look) just by using cleaners?

If not, what is the best economical tire dressing available?


(http://www.autogeek.net/meguiar-s-wheel-brightener.html)

[Rsurfer]

If I get myself a wheel/tire cleaner like the Mothers Foaming All Wheel & Tire Cleaner (http://www.autogeek.net/mo05924.html), or Meguiars All Purpose Cleaner Plus D103 (http://www.autogeek.net/meguiars-all-purpose-cleaner-plus-d103.html), or Meguiars Wheel Brightener (http://www.autogeek.net/meguiar-s-wheel-brightener.html), will I still be needing a tire dressing? Can I achieve the deep black appearance of the tire (almost new look) just by using cleaners?

If not, what is the best economical tire dressing available?



No, after cleaning your tires it will look dull and a faded black. I happen to like Optimum Tire Gel, but some like it glossy. You will get 10 different answers on tire dressings.

[Flash Gordon]

I prefer no dressing on the tires. Just the fenderwells. Looks much cleaner that way IMO

[BRM]

I really love the high gloss look, but I can't seem to get away from 'slinging' and those ever so annoying black specks that wind up on my car. I've tried lesser amounts of products, different products (All Armor All), and up to 12 hours of drying. Nothing seems to work. Going to attempt different brands and see if the results are any better.

[Rsurfer]

I prefer no dressing on the tires. Just the fenderwells. Looks much cleaner that way IMO
No dressing eh, interesting.

[TLMitchell]

No, after cleaning your tires it will look dull and a faded black.

Not necessarily so... I had a set of Firestone A/Ts for 4 years that had a smooth, sidewall apart from the RWLs. If you dried the tires after washing they were clean, black and unfaded. Only tires I ever owned that were like that.

TL

[jbgrant]

Another facet to this question: Do tire dressings actually keep the rubber from oxidizing/fading from deep black to charcoal-grey?

Several tire brands are actually producing sidewall compounds that are more resistant to fade than they were a decade ago.

I generally don't use tire dressing either because I go through tires too fast (too many corners to be properly experienced) and don’t see the need for spreading more chemicals around the roadways for little added value over the life of my cars. [and in case you're wondering, I'm of course cornering hard to save fuel... let's not concern ourselves with logic here] Even on non-daily drivers I don’t feel it’s possible for a tire dressing to prevent sidewall cracking as many manufactures seem to claim, but I would love to be proven wrong. Just my opinion on it; don’t get me wrong I like a black satin tire and would certainly be happy to dress up any customer’s car on request, I'm just more concerned with protection than image (no, that's not my approach to anything else).

[rjgervacio]

Everyone seems to have mixed opinions about this topic and I could definitely understand why. I guess it's safe to say that tire dressing can be optional. Agree?

[jlb85]

rubber will oxidize and turn brown naturally over time and with exposure to the ambient. Tire dressings are a way to mitigate the look of naturally occurring oxidation, or damage from brushing or cleaning too hard, or whatever. I don't think it will prevent anything or necessarily prolong the tire life, but tires sure look better black than brown IMO. I prefer the matte tire shine or the slightly glossy like Optimum (the new formula rocks!). For corrected black cars I believe a higher gloss suits the end result better, but I still knock it down with a dry wipe after application. Thin is the key to avoid fling, and make sure to wipe really good around letters and features since slop will accumulate there.

That said, Wurth used to make some nice rubber care product in a spray can. We worked on a Vector W8 with the original tires from 1992. Never washed, just wiped clean and Wurth Rubber on the tires. Looked flat black, awesome, no cracks. The cans were as old as the car, the whole few cases of the stuff the owner had stockpiled. Couldn't pay him enough to let us have one can!

[Flash Gordon]

No dressing eh, interesting.

Only on the fenderwells

Its not for everyone I suppose

[akimel]

I agree that tire dressing is optional. Many folk are happy with just a clean tire. For a locally available tire dressing, I'd try Surf City Garage's Beyond Black. It's a water-based dressing and will not sling. It will leave the tire looking wet and black. It's available at Advance Auto. Though I haven't tried it yet, you might also give the new trigger spray version of Meguiar's Endurance a try.

If you're willing to order a dressing online, then you have many, many choices, and you will get dozens of answers on this forum. At the moment I really like Mother's FX, but if you want less gloss try Duragloss #253. Neither product slings and both work well.

For all the above dressings, I use the Eagle One tire sponges, which I pick up locally. I spray the dressing onto the sponge and then spread it on the tire.

For an aerosol dressing, try Stoner All Shine, which you might be able to find locally. I know that my NAPA store is willing to order it for me.

[SeaJay's]

I always use a tire dressing. Most tires fade over time.

If I'm going for a flat matte finish I'll use DP tire gel, it leaves the tires looking right off the shelf with no high gloss.

If I want something that has some gloss to it I prefer the WG Diamond Black tire gel. It lasts weeks and works awesome.

[rjgervacio]

Any thoughts on Poorboy's World Bold N Bright Tire Dressing (http://www.autogeek.net/pbbnb16.html) to serve as cleaner and dressing?

[jlb85]

I wanted to add that Black Magic has a true "matte" tire dressing available over the counter at Pep Boys, says MATTE on the bottle and works great! This stuff is great on large truck or jeep tires.

[ScubaCougr]

Any thoughts on Poorboy's World Bold N Bright Tire Dressing (http://www.autogeek.net/pbbnb16.html) to serve as cleaner and dressing?

I use it on my truck. Spray on liquid that does clean minor tire dirt well on it's own. Leaves more of a matte finish, certainly nothing shiny or super glossy despite the name. Durability is a couple weeks, perhaps more if it would stop with the daily rain. It's my go-to.