Cleaning tires

kartoon

kartoon

Don't ever drop your clay
After clening my wheels today I decided to give my tires a good cleaning. I sprayed a little of dilluted Orange Blast and scrubbed away. After the tires were completely dry, they were very brown. I have never seen them like that (10k miles/1 yr old).



I'm wondering if I just cleaned them really well and removed all the layers of various dressings or whether there was some strange reaction from the OB. What do you think ?
 
If pH has anything to do with it, I'm unsure of the pH of OB, but it might have been too strong ( I suspect too alkaline) and stripped too much carbon. FWIW I presently use Mothers Rubber and Tire cleaner ( my pH testing strip shows it just slightly above neutral at 8) and have some Michelin Wheel and Tire Cleaner (pH is a straight 7) on tap. I've never gotten the browning from the Mother's
 
To clean tires use K-VLRP, it is kinda expensive for cleaning tires but it is an excellent chemical cleaner for ABS and rubber. I usually follow it up with a better shine product like z16 or stoners. My tires look like cr*p when the shine is gone too and they only have 4k on them. I've noticed that with KVLRP under Z16, the shine lasts longer. Probably because your applying your shine to a clean surface, and rubber is hard to clean w/o the right product. If you use a brush and soap instead, use a soft brush.



http://www.autopia-carcare.com/kla-vlrp.html
 
Only issue I've had with EP A2Z is that its acidic and if it drips on the rims you'll get marks on them. I've been using a rubber cleaner (3M Tire & Wheel Cleaner -39036) which doubles as a wheel cleaner

JonM
 
I've been using EF HI for several years and am pretty pleased with the results. I am thinking about experimenting with the EF tire cleaner.
 
Inzane said:
I use Eagle One A2Z with a tire scrub brush to clean my tires. Works great and no browning.
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agreed. just picked up some, it's in a new silver bottle (new formula that cleans/clings tires better.
 
I came to a similar conclusion as Burlyq by accident. Been applying Vinylex or EO on the tires on my LandCruiser because they have a nice sheen. But after a rainy week, I noticed that the front tires are nice and black and clean while whatever was in the rear tires have washed off. I remembered that I applied KLasse VLRP a few months ago (December) only to the front tires. It was too flat looking for me so I abandoned using it. Apparently it has some qualities that are very good. VLRP is also an excellent cleaner. I just wish that there was an easier way of applying it like maybe having a spray head on the bottle.
 
TOGWT said:
Only issue I've had with EP A2Z is that its acidic and if it drips on the rims you'll get marks on them.
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Actually A2Z is not acidic, its alkaline (basic). I use it to clean rims too and haven't had any problems. You just have to make sure you thoroughly rinse. And I wouldn't use it on polished or anodized rims. But it seems to be fine for most clear-coated rims.
 
A2Z can usually be found in my "bag of tricks." It's my go-to product for tires that are that nasty brown color. Sometimes it takes two applications, but preps the tire for applying dressing.
 
I use Mineral Spirits. I have yet to find anything that works as well, and for $5 for a can that lasts me about 2 years...can't go wrong. My main purpose for it is the white letters, and I have never had one fade as it does not affect the rubber, and requires NO scrubing.
 
Stratous said:
I use Mineral Spirits. I have yet to find anything that works as well, and for $5 for a can that lasts me about 2 years...can't go wrong. My main purpose for it is the white letters, and I have never had one fade as it does not affect the rubber, and requires NO scrubing.
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Mineral Spirits?? I have white BFG Radial Long Trail T/A's on my truck. Might try that out,,,,,,AR
 
A2Z for me. Perhaps the browning was caused by your your tire dressing. Some of the tire dressings have petroleum in them and can cause browning. I'm not sure exactly but the petroleum extracts something from the rubber. Water based dressings are best for tires/rubber.
 
Seems like some tire are just more prone to browning than others.



The tires on our minivan are a good example. During the winter I had plenty of time to clean the summer wheels/tires up. Dunlop tires. I scrubbed the rubber with EFHI and then Griot's Rubber Cleaner. I did a good, thorough job; the tires were *clean*. No staining at all when I wiped them off with a white cloth. But they were brown and blotchy, appearance-wise. Once I treated them with the Z-16, no more brown, no more blotches- just uniform, satiny black.



But the Bridgestone Blizzak snows that I was taking off, despite not having the Z-16 redone all winter, were nice and black. No browning at all despite all the abuse and neglect they'd been through :nixweiss
 
I dilute it, but I do this by eye. I was using it pretty strong on the tires in this instance. I diluted it a bit further for my normal wheelwell cleaning. That stuff cleans well even at considerable dilutions.
 
RE: Orange Blast - I have the same issues with tires browning after using OB to clean them, and this has happened at different times on different tires. I think it has to do with the chemicals used in OB.



My two favorite tire cleaners are A2Z and Westley's Bleeche White. I like the A2Z because I can get it anywhere, and can use it on the wheel and tire. The Westley's is nice, but if you get it on your wheels, it will leave white residue behind that is hard to remove - if not harmful to your wheels' finish.
 
I use D-M Tire Cleaner from a local paint supply shop. I honestly have no clue what is in it, but it works like a champ to get tires clean. I think I pay $7/gallon.
 
I use E/O A2Z and dress the tire immdiately afterwards. No browning on my tires.



I only use A2Z monthly, if that. I just clean the *tire* (not the wheel) with the mit I use for the wheels wells with a little bit of left over shampoo mix from washing the car. This is after I clean the wheels in the same way with a designated mit.
 
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