Silicone Tire Dressings Bad!! For Tires And Paint!!!!

[trhland]

just wondering ive read that tires dressings that have silicone in them are bad for tires turns them brown over time. also it stains paint too. is this true? im refering to pro tire dressings from distributers. they seem like they shine real nice. i saw a post on autopia a detailer used carbrites purple dressing and it left the tire looking awesome.

[budman3]

Silicone is perfectly fine for paint ... it will not damage paint. Silicone and paint stuff is a myth. It may interfere during a repaint but it is not harmful to paint ....

Tire dressings, though, are different. Tires contain a chemical in the rubber that aid in the UV blocking and this is what is actually turning the tires brown. That is why using a strong cleaner on tires may not be a good idea -- you'll be stripping the rubber of this product which could lead to dry rotting. That is what silicone does ... dry rubber out. I'm not too sure you'd want to be using something that is degrading your tires. Many RV owners have to replace their tires because of dry rot and some use tire dressings to prevent this occurance to protect them from UV rays but when they use a silicone, it doesn't help the situation and may make it worse ...

[conan777]

Funny I was asking a friend of mine about this a couple weeks ago. He is a production manager for DUNLOP which was recently bought out by GoodYear. He has 30 years experience making tires so I figured he was expert enough for me. Anyway he told me that the tire dressings that you buy at the local autoparts stores etc are really bad for your tires. He said that when your tire is spinning the friction and heat cause certain oils to make their way to the outer edge of the tire and this is necessary to keep your tires in good condition. By applying Silicone based products it leaches these chemicals and oils from the tire and causes them to become dried out over time and crack (ie dryrot). Now this is the laymans version. I took some chemistry in college but that was several years ago. He was much more descriptive when he was telling me why it is bad to put silicone products on tires but this is all I can remember ha..ha..! I am in no way an expert and I'm sure other people can elaborate more on this topic but the advice I was given by a guy who makes the tires was Do not put it on your tires! I no longer put any silicone products on my tires. I have since been using 303 on my tires (not super impressed) and just ordered some Ultima Tire and trim plus so we'll see how that works?

[TOGWT]

Good Silicone / Not so good Silicone:
a) Water - based silicone dressings, usually a milky-white liquid, (Polydimethylsiloxane (PDS)that doesn’t contain petroleum distillate; silicone oils, waxes, or solvents that can harm rubber and/or vinyl over time. Water-based dressings use a combination of natural oils and polymers to offer a non-greasy, satin finish. Some of these products also contain ultra violet radiation (UVR) blocking agents to help keep tires from cracking, fading and hardening. Most, if not all water-based dressings are environmentally friendly / biodegradable, whereas solvent-based silicone is not.

b) Solvent-based silicone dressings, usually a clear greasy liquid, (Dimethal (DMS) that contain petroleum solvents as a cleaning agent, they remove the elasticity from vinyl, rubber and paint; causing them to evaporate out of the substrate, leaving behind a dry inflexible surface. Most high gloss products are based upon DMS silicone oil, the difference between water and solvent based is in the carrier system used. Solvent based products use a hydrocarbon silicone to suspend the product. When you apply it, the solvent evaporates leaving the dressing's active ingredients (Silicone oil) behind; solvent-based silicone is not biodegradable.

[budman3]

Funny I was asking a friend of mine about this a couple weeks ago. He is a production manager for DUNLOP which was recently bought out by GoodYear. He has 30 years experience making tires so I figured he was expert enough for me. Anyway he told me that the tire dressings that you buy at the local autoparts stores etc are really bad for your tires. He said that when your tire is spinning the friction and heat cause certain oils to make their way to the outer edge of the tire and this is necessary to keep your tires in good condition. By applying Silicone based products it leaches these chemicals and oils from the tire and causes them to become dried out over time and crack (ie dryrot). Now this is the laymans version. I took some chemistry in college but that was several years ago. He was much more descriptive when he was telling me why it is bad to put silicone products on tires but this is all I can remember ha..ha..! I am in no way an expert and I'm sure other people can elaborate more on this topic but the advice I was given by a guy who makes the tires was Do not put it on your tires! I no longer put any silicone products on my tires. I have since been using 303 on my tires (not super impressed) and just ordered some Ultima Tire and trim plus so we'll see how that works?

Very good information. I'm not going to say this with 100% certainty but I believe that the Ultima is silicone based. It definitely isn't water based, that's for sure.

A general rule of thumb- silicone based products are clear and water based dressings are milky colored.

[trhland]

thanks guys!! wow what great info!!!!

[trhland]

im wondering how about theses silicone detail sprays? that u spray on plastic trim ect? are these bad too????

[ScottB]

there are good silicones and bad silicones, unfortunately there doesnt seem to be a label warning which ones they are. I tend to stay away from any cheap as usually an indicator of low grade silicones.

[TOGWT]

im wondering how about theses silicone detail sprays? that u spray on plastic trim ect? are these bad too????

Don't go along with the myth that all silicone's are bad / harmful. Car care products in spray / mist type containers; to be efficient they need to be emulsified to work as a spray, to facilitate this they need to use an emulsion of silicone oils and water.

Good or not so good would be dependant upon the type of silicone used (Polydimethylsiloxane (PDS) or (Dimethal (DMS)

[supercharged]

there are good silicones and bad silicones, unfortunately there doesnt seem to be a label warning which ones they are. I tend to stay away from any cheap as usually an indicator of low grade silicones.

you simply get what you pay for...