New Tires Tuff Shined !

[swanicyouth]

New Tires Tuff Shined ! (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/70411-new-tires-tuff-shined.html)


I got 4 new tires today. General Grabber AT2s

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/13/u8y3utu7.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/13/a6unejur.jpg

Of course the tire shop had sloppy hand prints in tire bead lube all over my wheels and new tires:

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/13/memeza2u.jpg

They also got some mystery grease on my wheels that wouldn't come off with regular wheel cleaner. It took Meg's Degreaser to remove it:

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/13/mu9eqahu.jpg

Then there is the obligatory scratches where the tire "technician" jammed his screwdriver into my center caps to pop them off:

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/13/yhahu2yv.jpg

Anyway, everything needed to be cleaned up, and I wanted to get Tuff Shine on the tires. This is my first set of tires that will never see any conventional dressings from the get go.

The stuff for the tires::

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/13/e9ehymaj.jpg

I ended up cleaning the wheels as well. I don't think a lot of people know this, but the excellent Tuff Shine tire cleaner (non concentrate) can be diluted 1:1 with DI water without affecting its performance. The cleaner is very good for what it's designed for, cleaning tires, but its kind of expensive for a tire cleaner ($40 a gallon). Diluting it 1:1 cuts the cost in half, but the cleaner still works very well.

TS Tire Cleaner 1:1 :

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/13/9yhahypu.jpg

It had no problem taking care of this yellow mark:

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/13/hy8ejyga.jpg

I also always drive up on pieces of wood so you can clean and dress the whole tire without rolling the vehicle around and getting the tire dirty. You want the tires completely clean with Tuff Shine.

I was curious to see if I would get any dark foam from the cleaner since the tires where brand new.

Foam stayed mostly white:

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/13/4a2azene.jpg

However, I like to apply the TS all the way into the tread on the tire edge, it stays pretty well. So, I cleaned about a 1/4" into the tread. There was some dirt there. I always find when cleaning a tire its best to clean from the part closest to the rim out, as that area is farthest from the ground and the cleanest.

After I made sure the tires where 100% clean and dry, I coated them with TS's Tire Clear Coat. I used 3 or 4 coats. Once the tire is clean, TS is pretty hard to screw up. The coats dry pretty quick. However, the first coat never dries perfectly even for me.

1st coat:

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/13/u8atu4ub.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/13/8ubuza8a.jpg

After 3-4 coats I was very happy with the look. I find if you brush any wet spots out (hight spots) while the coating dries it evens it out and looks better when it dries.

Before:

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/13/9a9epujy.jpg

After (different wheel):

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/13/edejezy9.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/13/u2ybeva9.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/13/uva3ytur.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/13/du2upe7y.jpg

I was going to do a waterless wash, but of course it started to rain. I love TS because it makes maintenance washing easier and faster. You never have to clean or dress tires. You can just wipe off the tires with soap and a towel. There is no dirt or brown that sticks to the tire.

Also, the tire remains new looking forever. Since it doesn't get dirty, you never need to scrub the tire. You never have to remove the TS from the tire, you just top it off every once in a while. My last tires were coated over a year (driven daily) and I never removed the original coat.

The tires always look good and new. You only use the cleaner once during the initial application. Snow, road salt, soap, and rain seems to have little to no affect on the Tuff Shine coating. Yes, it is expensive compared to traditional dressings. But, since I'm almost out of the coating, I plan to get the 32oz bottle and that should last years.

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Wow that looks incredible! I think you just persuaded me to get on the tuff shine bandwagon and get away from the conventional tire dressings.

Thanks Steve.

[MarkD51]

You should've taken your center caps off before going. I've actually gotten better tire service from wally world, and from a woman no less.

She crapped on every man in the place.

[The Guz]

That looks really good. I may have to get this once I use up what dressing I have.

[VISITOR]

what do you use to clean all the gunk of the tire brush?

[swanicyouth]

You should've taken your center caps off before going. I've actually gotten better tire service from wally world, and from a woman no less.

She crapped on every man in the place.

I was thinking about new center caps anyway. There is another style cap that fits with a chrome emblem I've been looking at. Now I have a good reason to get them.

[Don.]

Wow! Your tires look better than new. I also used tough shine on my truck tires and was very happy, although I used over half the bottle of the cleaner. I wish I would have known about diluting it. Well, now I know for next time. Thanks for the tip.

[swanicyouth]

what do you use to clean all the gunk of the tire brush?

That's a really good question, and its important for Tuff Shine. First I blast it with a hose. Then I work the TS cleaner in it with an old terry cotton towel. Then hose it again. Sometimes I will use a grit guard and scrub the brush on it under running water.

To get it 100% clean and the bristles glowing white, I spray it with a few sprays of mineral spirits I keep in a 4oz spray bottle. It doesn't take much, this is in the little sample bottles AG uses for sprays. 5 or 6 mists. Then, I spray half a spray of the TS cleaner on the brush (so it foams) and work it in with a cotton towel. Then rinse. The dirt will transfer from the bristles to the towel.

While it's a bit of work, you only have to do it once, as the tires never need to be cleaned this way again. Its important to do it right the first time, or the coating will peel. You want the tire and the brush "surgically clean". You want the brush bristles to be ivory white, that means the tire is 100% clean. So, you have to keep cleaning the brush as not to re- deposit gunk on the tire. You don't need to work the cleaner forever, its better to rinse frequently and start with a new spray. You have to keep rinsing to flush the dirt away.

Here you can see the brush and the mineral spirits:

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/13/3ybyjahy.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/13/nuhyry2y.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/09/13/ynebymam.jpg

[EvolutionDetail]

Hey man what did u use to apply the coating?
Back when i used my Tuf shine, i used their orange applicator and i kept getting air bubbles here and there and it looked super bad.... I notice if i dont smooth it out and leave a "High spot" they will turn into a air bubble or some sort....

[Boudin]

Looks great, love Tuff Shine for looks and ease of maintenance. I have not used anything other then car wash soap or UWW+ on my tires and they are still looking great after 4months.

[swanicyouth]

Hey man what did u use to apply the coating?
Back when i used my Tuf shine, i used their orange applicator and i kept getting air bubbles here and there and it looked super bad.... I notice if i dont smooth it out and leave a "High spot" they will turn into a air bubble or some sort....

The only way to apply TS is with a brush IMO. I use the Carrand Applicator Brush. You can see it in the picture with the gallon of TS Cleaner and the supplies above.

If you use that orange sponge, it tends to leave little orange tid-bits on the tires. The other thing is every time I use anything foam, I have to clean it. The brush can be easily cleaned with IPA & water. I keep 2 of those brushes, 1 for regular dressings and 1 for TS. Also, you can brush the coating into all the patterns on the tire face with the brush.

[rjd598]

Tuff tire shine is awesome. I tested it last year on my daily with amazing results. Like many have said and will say the key is to have a completely clean surface. Fortunately for me I've had new tires both times I have tested tuff. I recently used mothers all wheel and tire cleaner and man it's awesome for tire cleaning. I've used the tuff cleaner many many times and I've found it can be tricky to work with for some reason but the mothers was so easy and it's foaming was great. Saw the brown lift off on initial contact just like tuff. Anyways on my original test I think I got about 3-4 months of shine on my tires. This was on a car that is daily driven, left outside 24/7, driven 370+ miles a week, and only saw automatic car washes. No pressure wash, soap, or anything of the sort. Obviously by the end the level of shine had decreased but anyone could tell it had some type of tire shine on them. Currently I am testing on my new daily and it's been holding up in same conditions just now it only gets pressure washes. As soon as I hit it with the pressure washer the dirt on the clear coat comes flying off and the tires shine comes up a little bit. Seriously doubt there is anything better in terms of longevity and a little does go a long way so price isn't a big issue at least to me

[Setec Astronomy]

You should've taken your center caps off before going.

That's what I do if I'm worried about it.


I was thinking about new center caps anyway. There is another style cap that fits with a chrome emblem I've been looking at. Now I have a good reason to get them.

I'm worried more about damage to the wheel than the caps...the caps are a lot easier to replace and don't corrode!


Wow that looks incredible! I think you just persuaded me to get on the tuff shine bandwagon and get away from the conventional tire dressings.

Yeah, I'm going to give it a go if I can ever use up my conventional dressings...although I'm thinking how good it would be for the backs of the tires that only get cleaned/dressed at tire rotations.

Oh, and Swanic...new tires?? I hope this doesn't mean there was a bad ending to the 10-yo spare tire story...I'm almost afraid to bring it up!

[JDGolden]

Looks very nice! Seems like a hell of a process, I think I would screw it up.

[swanicyouth]

Oh, and Swanic...new tires?? I hope this doesn't mean there was a bad ending to the 10-yo spare tire story...I'm almost afraid to bring it up!

It blew up at 70mph. I veered into the other lane and killed a few people, but more importantly, me and my car didn't get a scratch!

j/k. Actually that tire was the only one I kept. I replaced the others because they were worn. That circa year 2000 tire is back where it came from, on the spare rim. It served me well.

The TS is a lot of work, but again, you only do it once. After that, tire maintenance just involves topping the coating whenever you feel like it. You will never have to scrub a tire again. It makes the sidewall of the tire like cleaning a painted panel.