mastertl

Whats good for making tires have that extra shine? Is Zaino good enough or is there a better product. And what is good for cleaning brake dust on the rims. I cant seem to get them off wiht simply water and soap

exceldetail

Master, find yourself an "All wheel safe" type cleaner, I think Meg's makes one called "Hot rims" ? Personaly i attack it with some diluted all purpose cleaner (Castrol Super Clean) diluted big time.....A good coat of wax or polymer will keep the brake dust from sticking or adhering to the wheel. As for keeping tires "BLACK" i use No Touch.....Love the stuff, i use it on all my client cars....You can get it at Costco, 3 cans $9.00....

mastertl

lol thanks a lot. i have a costco near me i'll make a trip there soon. i hope they have the other stuff at target, which is right next to costco

SK2003TypeS

If your tires are really dirty and gritty, you should scrub them with a tire brush and some cleaner. This will help whatever tire dressing you decide to use adhere to the tire better. I use the Oxo Tire Brush and EF High Intensity Cleaner. I haven't used it yet, but from what I hear No Touch is really good, very little sling off.

Vincent

For the wheels, I found that a wheel brush and Black Magic wheel wipes work best. Frist brush the wheels of any heavy brake dust. Then use the wheel wipes to clean up any of the rouch spots.

For the tires, just a brush and some cleaner will do wonders. For shine, I personally like Black Magic tire spray (you'll need a little tire dressing spread brush) which gives it an amazing shine.

Tom Blasing

I've read you can use Simple Green on teh rims but I don't think it'll get very shiney liek you want, great for heavy brake dust though.

For the tires, after their cleaned, I use Maguires Endurance. Sticks onto things like anti-sieze compound and lasts for weeks/months. I usually let the car sit overnight when I use it and go over the tires again the next morning to get what's left in the tire's shoulder treads. Only a little glossy when it's done.

KamikazeTL

Use BLACK MAGIC brand.. They have it at Kragens or autozone

Lucid4000

For Rims use the Castrol Wheel Cleaner and for the tires use Black Magic in the spray can with the 3 adjustable settings. Low, Medium, High Profile. (real nice and little overspray)

VTEC11

For the rims I have some Eagle 1 A-Z cleaner. Dosn't seem as good as other cleaners, wheels don't shine.

For the tires, I used Meguirs Endurance, and it worked pretty good. Very easy to put on and the tire stayed shiny for about 3 weeks. Used to use, the foam cleaners like NO TOUCH, and the tire would only stay shiny and black for about 2-3 days.

Vicman17

Over the years, I've gotten used to using two or even three wash mitts and two buckets- one with the car wash soap (clean) and the other just plain water. I leave the bottom part of the car for last and include the rims srubbed with car wash soap using an older bonnet. I've never used any chemicals on my rims as I have seen clearcoated rims look pitted after regular use of these rim cleaners. If the tires and rims are muddy, then I use a soft tire brush (Sundance- $6.99).

As for the tires, I've used the foaming spray on tire shines but they leave a "purplish" tinge when the rubber gets dirty. The best product I've tried so far is the Meguiar's Endurance applied with a foam pad. It lasts for weeks and does not build up. As long as you don't put on too much as it splashes off and is very obvious on the SSM. (If you have NBP then I guess it's OK) I also find that touching up the tires does not require re-applying more Endurance as the residue left on the foam pad is enough to bring the tire back to it's glory. I still have 1/2 a bottle left after a year of using (still have 2 bottles unopened). It's great and smells like grapes too.

Armor-All I've heard, gets your tires "addicted" to the product. That is, if you stop using it, the rubber (and vinyl) begins to crack and deteriorate.

dheel

For the wheels I generally just use car soap, works just as good as those wheel cleaners. Usually have to wipe with those cleaners as well so you might as well save the money.
As for tire shine, I have found Armour All Extreme Shine works really well, seems to hold up longer than most stuff. This is clear not the original stuff that most say is junk.
Seems to work better also after scrubbing tire with the soap and then applying the tire shine. Foam tire swipes are good for applying too.

groebuck

black magic makes a tire cleaner that is spray on spray off that is pretty good - I use Meg's Hot Shine - big giant bottle is 6 bucks at target - then when drying the car make my last stop at the rims and dry them - best product I have found is Klasse AIO or a product called buffalo milk (supposed to be for paint but I didn't like it but works awesome for the rims)

Rusky

I don't know if this is going to start a war, but, I use dawn on my rims. I wouldn't touch my car with it, but, dawn takes grease (and oil and brake dust) out.. you get the idea. I got a brush at cosco that connects to the hose. drip a half a teaspoon of dawn in the bristles, pull the trigger and you can sometimes do all four rims and tires without reloading. Plus, the grim wipes off just like the commercials. That costic crap sold for cleaning rims confuses me. What is the point of using that crap when a good oil penetrating soap works so well?

Tire dressing: magic Dressing. Google "AutoMagic Magic Dressing"

Its awesome! Not gooey. Works on interior, too, and lasts quite a while. Smells great.

Vicman17

[QUOTE=Rusky]I don't know if this is going to start a war, but, I use dawn on my rims. I wouldn't touch my car with it, but, dawn takes grease (and oil and brake dust) out.. you get the idea. I got a brush at cosco that connects to the hose. drip a half a teaspoon of dawn in the bristles, pull the trigger and you can sometimes do all four rims and tires without reloading. Plus, the grim wipes off just like the commercials. That costic crap sold for cleaning rims confuses me. What is the point of using that crap when a good oil penetrating soap works so well?

QUOTE]


I'm pretty sure it's good for the rims, but I will start to wonder if it will harm the rubber, since it does no good to weather strips,etc.. Like what you said, a small amount goes a long way since you only use a few drops and you whole sink foams up. But hey, if it works, it works.

GaleForce

Armorall and Zaino work fine on the tires.

hbreiden

I use Griot's Garage Rubber Cleaner to clean my tires, then follow up with Zaino Tire Gloss. I do not like the wet look tire gloss products. They attract dirt and spray all over the wheels and car. The Zaino Tire Gloss just leaves the tires looking flat black and do not seem to attract dirt. I also have a few coats of Zaino on my wheels and it seems to make it easier to get the tremendous amount of brake dust off my front wheels. I have the Brembos on the fronts and my only complaint about the is that I cannot keep my wheels clean.