Quick and easy tire detailing - Use water-based all-in-one rubber & vinyl cleaner/conditioners instead of tire dressings

Quick and easy tire detailing - Use a water-based all-in-one rubber & vinyl cleaner/conditioners instead of tire dressings



Below are some before and after pictures of a car I just detailed to test out the IGL Poly Ceramic Coating and IGL Compounds & Polishes. The technique I used for the tires on this car, (to complete the detail job), is a fast and easy technique I use to clean and dress tires on a lot of cars including my own.

So I've turned this technique into an article and share not just the HOW-TO but more important the WHY-TO.



From this review

Review: IGL Poly Ceramic Coating & IGL Compounds and Polishes - GREAT ABRASIVE TECHNOLOGY


Here's a couple from the before shots of the paint that shows the tires.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Ford_037c.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Ford_029c.JPG




Here's how they look after machine scrubbing with a rubber/vinyl all-in-one.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...7_Ford_091.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...7_Ford_092.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...7_Ford_093.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...7_Ford_094.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...7_Ford_095.JPG


It took me about 3-4 MINUTES for each tires. Process is as simple as 3-steps...

1. Spray rubber/vinyl cleaner onto tire sidewall.
2. Machine scrub tire with cordless rotary with brush attached.
3. Wipe and scrub tire sidewall with scrap rag to remove loosened grime and excess product.

Done.


A little bit of work and a huge improvement.



Here's something else to consider when cleaning and dressing your own tires.

Instead of looking for a LONG LASTING tire dressing, consider an all-in-one rubber and vinyl cleaner.

Why?

Generally speaking, long lasting tire dressings are DEDICATED dressings. This means they have no cleaning ability in and of themselves so the tires must first be pre-cleaned. No big deal, that's normal and you can do the dedicated cleaning step when washing the car. The thing about long lasting tire dressings is they tend to be solvent or oil-based, as in a silicone oil. These types of dressing last longer because they don't break-down easy with water. For example if you drive your car in the rain, or when you wash your car, the dressing will not simply mix with the water and run off the tires.

The problem with this type of dressing is because it's more difficult to remove - you cannot remove it. At least not easily.


Now follow me as I go deep....

If your car, or your customer's car is a DAILY DRIVER - the tires ARE going to get dirty. They're going to get road film on them, brake-dust and normal grime build-up. So a long lasting tire dressing doesn't stop them from getting ugly BUT a long lasting tire dressing is going to be harder to remove to REFRESH the look of your tires. This is what you want, a way to remove and then replace the tire dressing so it's fast and easy and you can quickly refresh the look of your tires.

So instead of getting a long lasting tire dressing and dealing with the mess that goes with them, get a water-based rubber/vinyl CLEANER & CONDITIONER. Because it has a cleaner, you can use IT to remove itself off your tires and at the same time it's conditioning and protecting the tire or in other words refreshing the look.


I learned this approach from Mike Pennington years ago when I was at Meguiar's. He always used Meguiar's M40 on his tires and company vehicle tires because.... it didn't last a long time. It was easy to remove an replace or refresh and thus quick and easy to always have your vehicles tires looking great.

A real out-of-the box way of thinking but it works.


The product I shared above is called Pinnacle Vinyl & Rubber Cleaner & Conditioner. It's 100% water based. Safe for use on all your interior rubber and vinyl include door gaskets, engine compartment gaskets, hatchback gaskets, and it also makes a great one-step tire cleaner and conditioner and protectant.

Heck most the time I don't even wash the tires I just machine apply this product, wipe off the excess with a scrap rag and I'm done. The next time I do this to the same tires it works even better. The more you do it, the faster and easier it gets.

This is what you want when it comes to detailing cars, fast and easy. And also consistency in results over time.


Pinnacle Vinyl & Rubber Cleaner & Conditioner





Machine scrubbing vs Hand scrubbing


You can do the same type of cleaning, conditioning and protecting by hand it's just a LOT more effective to work by machine. The human hand gets tired. The machine never gets tires.


Once you use a cordless rotary polisher to machine scrub tires you'll never look back -Mike Phillips





Machine Scrubbing


FLEX PE-150 Cordless Rotary Polisher

Heavy-Duty DA Carpet Brush – Long Bristles

Rotary 4 ¾ inch Flexible Backing Plate




Hand scrubbing

A short bristle length brush works best to hand scrub tires.

Low Profile Tire Brush





:)

Along those lines, I would like to see a review of Meguiars all wheel & tire waterless cleaner. Never talked about. A one step that also leaves protection & gloss on the tires.

Meguiar?s Ultimate Waterless All Wheel & Tire

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pro 4x

Along those lines, I would like to see a review of Meguiars all wheel & tire waterless cleaner. Never talked about. A one step that also leaves protection & gloss on the tires.

Meguiar?s Ultimate Waterless All Wheel & Tire

---

I had to look at the link and must confess, that is the worst product I have purchased for being 'waterless' and something I would likely not use again on my tires.

I thought about it having value in an engine detail but not sure that it would be the correct solution to use (gather dust). It is rather oily, my guess is that it is more a solvent based product. At least that is the way it felt to the hands and reacted when doing the tires and wheels. It is not a water-based product, but that is my opinion based only from the feel of the product.

I think the Meguiars's Hyper Dressing (D170) is a good product but has no cleaning value. But it is water-based and easily applied and dried.

Sorry about the rant, but was truly disappointed in that product.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Thomkirby

I had to look at the link and must confess, that is the worst product I have purchased for being 'waterless' and something I would likely not use again on my tires.

---

Interesting Kirby.

I have not used it before myself.

Back on topic - the product I shared works every time.

Here's another recent rig I detailed and used the same approach to clean, condition and protect the rubber tires.

Machine Polishing Mag Wheels with BLACKFIRE Metal Polish & Metal Sealant

BEFORE

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...heels_0001.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...heels_0002.JPG




AFTER

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...heels_0017.JPG



KISS = Keep it Simple Simon

Don't take things that should be really easy and turn them into Rocket Science.


http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...heels_0034.JPG



:)

Mother's Back to Black Tire Renew is a good water-less tire cleaner. But be ware that it will burn the heck out of your skin if you don't wear protection.

Mothers Back to Black Tire Cleaner

It claims to leave a factory-fresh black appearance but I still hit my tires with DG#253 and my faithful flag-tipped brush.

But that's two steps, so I lose. My next AG order may include some of the Pinnacle Vinyl & Rubber.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mike Phillips

Heck most the time I don't even wash the tires I just machine apply this product, wipe off the excess with a scrap rag and I'm done. The next time I do this to the same tires it works even better. The more you do it, the faster and easier it gets.

:)

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Hey Mike -- just used some M40 I had laying around and used your method when I did a quick clean up on my DD this morning.

Very good results and dramatically shortened the tire cleaning/dressing time process.

Great tip.

Thanks Mike!


:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wknd Dtlr

Hey Mike -- just used some M40 I had laying around and used your method when I did a quick clean up on my DD this morning.

Very good results and dramatically shortened the tire cleaning/dressing time process.

Great tip.

Thanks Mike!

---

Good to hear. Meguiar's M40 is another great vinyl/rubber AIO.


:dblthumb2:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 57Rambler

My next AG order may include some of the Pinnacle Vinyl & Rubber.

---

Because you won this contest,

Are swirls circular scratches?


I'll send you a bottle.


:dblthumb2:

A different take. But it might be of use to some.

First, thanks Mike. Your article led me to try this.

I have a gallon of OptiBond. I love the way it looks on a tire. I hate the way it applies. But I'm cheap and am not going to just get rid of a mostly full gallon. So, it has basically sat on the shelf.

After reading the article, I decided to play around with a few products - M40, Duragloss 253 and OptiBond. The M40 and Duragloss looked good and with your method were quicker to apply. But the Optibond looked better to me.

The problem is the time to scrub the tires clean before the OptiBond. So, to speed things up, I tried not scrubbing the tires. I washed them like you would when washing your car. Then, while still wet, wiped some Optibond @1:1 quickly around the tire(Like 5-10 seconds) to just get the product on. Next, I used the rotary brush to work it in and then wiped off with a small cotton towel.

It may not be as fast, But, it probably cut my time of using OptiBond to a third of what it was before.

Oh, and the tires I used this on were newer and had browning on them. A day later, and they look as good as the tires I scrubbed clean.

A different take. But it allowed me to use a product I really like and be a lot quicker with it.

More....


Here's another set of tires I cleaned and dressed in one step....


http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Cuda_0021.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Cuda_0031.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler..._Cuda_0011.JPG




:)