Are Your Tires Turning Brown?

[6-Shift]

exact reason why I use Westley's Bleche White. stuff is borderline corrosive but it keeps your tires cleaner than anything else. The other option is no tire shine. My recommendation is to just forgo the tire shine and on the next wash scrub the tires. Hope that helps.

[Veloist]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I added pictures so that the issue is a little more clear.

I can confirm it is not brake dust because I swiped my finger and a towel in the inside of the wheel and there wasn't any dust accumulating there (surprisingly!). In some spots, like directly under the brake itself (bottom picture) there is an evident pile of brake dust or other microdebris but that's about all.

[IloveBaldEagles]

On the second picture, is that a mark of something or maybe you rubbing it off?

[xyr03]

Its probably a chemical reaction between the tire compound on the side wall plus ur tire shine and exposure to air. This reaction probably didnt occur while the car is sitting in the garge becuase its sitting in the garge. Once you drove the car ur tires get stretched allowing anything on the surface to react what now a different surface. My advice is to just use a different tire shine or dont use one at all.

[NetMagi]

Am I the only one thinking OMG they're tires, relax!?

[Veloist]

Originally Posted by Sekal

On the second picture, is that a mark of something or maybe you rubbing it off?

Yes, I touched it and noticed it crumbled so I rubbed it lightly. It looks like it's just the antiozonant but I don't know why that would accelerate it when it clearly says on the label it prevents it.

[tracerit]

Did you paint your wheels. The sheen looks really good.

[xyr03]

Originally Posted by NetMagi

Am I the only one thinking OMG they're tires, relax!?

lol

[6-Shift]

Like I said, scrub your tires with a brush then use a crap sponge with soap to clean them. I'm personally not a fan of tire shine. Unless you're leaving the car for years they probably don't NEED any dressing to stay "fresh" so my recommendation is to keep it nice and normal

[wbradley]

First world problems yet once again.

I was told never apply tire shine on a car in storage. Some types degrade the rubber over time. Then again my car is in a deep freeze.

[Greg Gellas]

Here is a little blog post on tires Browning.

"Blooming - after the antiozonant works its way to the outside of the tyre and is exposed to the ozone in the air, it oxidizes and turns brown. The technical term for this effect is blooming. Many chemical compounds, especially solvents, react vigorously at ambient temperatures as the oxidizing process takes place between water and the tyre polymer-binding agents. Water tends to wash away the natural oils and micro-waxes that help to maintain the tyres flexibility

Tyre Cleaning

The slightly porous nature of rubber (however this varies according to the polymers used) attracts oils, dirt, brake dust and road grime. For any type of protection to work efficiently on rubber it must be able to adhere to the surface. First remove any brake dust, blooming, road tar, grease and grime, silicone and oxidized rubber from the surface to properly clean it. The key to tyre dressing durability is deep cleaning the tyre, spray or apply your cleaner allow to soak in for a minute or two and then scrub with a fairly stiff tyre brush, once clean you should be able to take an old white dry terry towel and rub the tyre surface, it should be almost pristine (if not repeat). Tyre cleaner needs to be strong enough to tackle a heavy build-up of tyre dressings, silicone and road grime, but not damage wheel coatings.

A quality citrus-based cleaner (P21S® Total Auto Wash) should clean the tyres down to the original rubber surface, this is especially important when you apply a new dressing, as dressings won't adhere to, or create the right shine on dirty rubber or silicone residue. This tyre cleaner is a strong concentrate; spray-and-rinse, without scrubbing, if you are starting on an old, neglected surface, use a fairly stiff tyre brush for the first application and a spray & rinse at least 3-4 times a year."

I love the TuffShine Tire cleaner to clean everything off the tires. Optimum Power clean diluted properly also works well.

[Paul_S]

Greg hit the nail on the head with his description of blooming. Some brands are worse then others. There are many good cleaners out there to take care of this. I have used Westley's for years with great results. Tire dressings and brake dust are not the culprit here.

[g0lden]

Use some 409, simple green, etc. to degrease them, and then wash them with a good scrubbing brush. Apply some Armor-All Extreme Shine. Stay away from those gel tire dressings. That junk sucks

[Paul_S]

Originally Posted by g0lden

Use some 409, simple green, etc. to degrease them, and then wash them with a good scrubbing brush. Apply some Armor-All Extreme Shine. Stay away from those gel tire dressings. That junk sucks

May I ask which tire gels you have tried ? I use Garry Deans Tire Gel and Optimum's Opti-Bond and consider them two of the best tire dressings on the market. No tire sling and and great longevity. Easy application and average price are what comes to mind. My customers stay very happy.