About Tire Dressing and Applicators

[Jsuro]

Hi all,

New here but I thought I share a tip, not really an article though.

I've always thought that properly cleaned and dressed tires are as important to the look of a car as a dazzling paint job. Over the years new products and applicators have come to the market and I have tried my share of them. Some dressings don't last at all while others make the tires brown after a while. Some are really glossy some are not.

I prefer a long lasting dressing that does not turn the tires brown. I don't like a high gloss but I like the tires to look shinny if that makes sense, like the rest of the car. I finally settled on Meguiar's High Gloss Hot Shine tire dressing.

High Gloss? Yes, if you spray it on it is very glossy and it also gets all over the wheels. Even if you wipe the wheels, in a car with high carbon brakes like my X5 the wheels go black quickly because the stuff just wants to turn things black and it lingers on the wheels even after wiping. But, it lasts forever and it never turns brown. As I said, I don't like high gloss, but the stuff lasts forever if you clean your tires well on the first application. Tires are tough, so for my initial cleaning I use a VERY stiff brush on them. This is the brush:



I think its used for concrete. Stiffest brush I could find!

But what about the high gloss? I don't like that! Well, if instead of spraying it on you wipe it on then it's not high gloss at all, it's perfect.

We now get into the applicators. Spraying - too much gloss and a mess on the wheels. Commercial foam applicators work perfectly but are a bit expensive for the life of the applicator, and they all get messy. Getting close to the rims without getting black stuff on them is hard to do. Disposable rags don't work because they soak up too much product and don't lay it back out, making the tires not shinny.

What to do? I thought about this for along time. The foam on the commercial applicators is perfect, but kind of costly considering the mess an the lack of fine edges to get close to the rims.

Well, it came to me one morning while walking around the local home improvement store. And here it is:



I call them Lollipops . They are $.85 cent disposable foam brushes. They come in sizes from two to five inches for all the different tire widths and last for about 5 cars when stored in plastic baggies. I use the 3-inch size. They have a sharp edge so I can get all the way to the edge of the rims without getting product on them. The foam is designed to hold a lot of product but to also put it all out so five really short squirts from the bottle will do one tire and so a bottle of product now lasts forever.

And, as I mentioned above, I am not spraying the product onto the tires anymore so I get the perfect shine, not a high gloss and no mess on the wheels.

This is how my tires look after about 10-hours after application:



Not a high gloss but very shinny, and the stuff will last even after washings. As an aside, I use Klasse AIO and Klasse High Gloss Sealant on the wheels - really keeps the dust off of them

Hope this helps .

Best,

Jose

[ScottB]

I like foam wax applicators, cheap and hold enough dessing. To get the best out of any dressing tires do need to be cleaned often and old protectant removed.

[JonMiles]

How does the Glenmorangie come into play?

[Jsuro]

How does the Glenmorangie come into play?

LOL! No branding so you recognized it. I do sip single malt after hours on weekends at home. Just happened to be on the work bench that Saturday after a long detail day. Not used for tire dressing!!! .

[Rsurfer]

How does the Glenmorangie come into play?

It's used to clean his tire applicator.

[Old Tiger]

Really good post Jose. Welcome aboard!

[Old Tiger]

It's used to clean his tire applicator.

Well Ron, it tastes better than IPA!

[GaDetailDoc]

I use this applicator to apply lacquer to wood after it has been stained. Will give this a try. Got one sitting around in the garage.

[Shane731]

What kind of tires are on your Beemer? I can see the Michelin part, but can't make out what type of tires they are.

[Jsuro]

What kind of tires are on your Beemer? I can see the Michelin part, but can't make out what type of tires they are.

They are the factory tires - Latitude Tour HP Runflats 255/55-18. I thought I wouldn't like the runflats but I do now. They're a bit stiffer ride wise but the car corners like on rails. And a lot more storage space where the spare used to live .

Best,

Jose