Best tire shine

When looking overall appearance of a car, tires pay a significant role. Car with messy, sticky, wet and gross tires does not look that good. Car’s tires get dirty quite fast – they are in contact with road tar, dust, grease and other dirty things found on road. To make matters worse, there is also the fact that over the time, tire rubber degrades, even if it is not used. That is why having clean and shiny tires can be a difficult task. In order to tackle this problem, car detailers had come up with many tire cleaning products and tire dressings. Tire dressing is a product that makes your tire look clean and shiny. In this way car looks also much better. Tire dressing is applied to tire usually with the brush and then makes sure tire looks clean and shiny for an extended period of time. How long this is depends on the type of the tire dressing used and how much and in which circumstances you use the car. In general at normal use, most tire dressings tend to last few weeks. They improve the final look of the car and impress all the car enthusiasts with its looks. Below is the detailed article about how to make your tire shine. It touches all details from cleaning your tire, removing all the dirt from it to applying the tire shine product. It also discusses all you need to know about tire shine and best tire shine products.

Before applying tire shine products to your tire, you must make sure that your tire is clean.

Tire shine reviews

Picture	Product name	PROs	CONs
	Meguiar’s G12024 Hot Shine High Gloss Tire Spray	+ adjustable + reduces the effort for cleaning	- does not last that long
	Optimum (OB2008Q) Opti-Bond Tire Gel	+ eco-friendly + makes your job easier	- sometimes you need to apply multiple coats
	Chemical Guys TVD201 Vintage Series Natural Shine Satin Shine Dressing	+ nice, wet shine + works as described	- rain can wash it up fast
	Turtle Wax T-12KT Jet Black Endura-Shine Tire Coat Kit	+ nice, wet shine + can last quite long	- sometimes you need multiple coats
	Chemical Guys TVD10916 Silk Shine Sprayable Dressing	+ gives a nice shine + easy to apply	- not all-in one dressing

There are quite a lot of tire dressings on the market. It is certainly not easy to decide which one is the best. Here we reviewed some of the best tire dressings currently available on the market to make your decision easier and better. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us on the contact us page on this site.

How to clean tires?

First thing you need to do is to make sure is that you clean your tires separately from the car. Then you need to apply tire cleaner to your tires. The best is to just spray it apply it in any other way and wait for few minutes so it will soak in a bit. Best tire cleaners can be found in next section. Next thing you have to do is to scrub your tire with cleaning brush for tire. They are usually made of feather. In case you still have any stains that did not go away, rinse and repeat. It is okay to repeat once or twice. If then the stain still does not go away, you can use alcohol to remove those stains. It is okay to apply alcohol on tires. Note that it is not necessary to clean tires with water as most tire cleaners do not need water in order to clean the tire. It is not wrong to use water though. Next step is to dry it with a piece of cloth or towel. Then use applicator pad for applicator dressing.

It is possible to skip the step with degreaser and apply the dressing without cleaning the tire with tire degreaser. In this case, it is still essential to make sure that tire is as clean as possible before applying tire dressing on it. It is not necessary to clean tire with a degreaser, it is just a better option if you want to clean it well. You need clean tire before applying a tire dressing.

If you want an extensive guide to cleaning tires, you can check our guide here. It is also possible to make a homemade tire shine.

How to apply the tire dressing

Apply only a bead of dressing on applicator pad preferably throughout the whole pad so it will spread over the whole tire. Then spread it out evenly over the whole tire. Note that the first tire usually needs more dressing than the next ones because applicator pad also contains some of it after it is applied. You should only apply the dressing on the part of the tire that does not come in contact with the road. It is not safe to do it elsewhere on a tire.

Best tire cleaner buying guide

Note that here I talk about degreasers and not tire shine products.

Best tire cleaner could come in a spray-on, gel or paste. Tire cleaners differ in how much effort you need to make after applying it. Some offer quick solution, but you can get the best results if you spend some time on cleaning. You can get tire restorer and cleaner both in one or separately. Note that if you just use simple shampoo and water, you will not be able to remove all the break dust and road dirt from your tire. Tire cleaners also protect your tire from UV rays and some other things that can harm your tire. And most of all they will extend the tire life and make it look better. Following is the list of some best tire cleaners.

Product image	Product	PROS	CONS
	BLACKFIRE Total Eclipse Tire & Wheel Cleaner	+ Works both on tires and wheels + Contains no acids + Can go on paint	– A bit expensive
	Spray Nine 22732 Grez-Off Heavy Duty Degreaser	+ works also on other things like garage floors, machinery, etc. + cheap + good quality for the price	– A bit smelly – Must be on correct settings, otherwise it is weak and resistant
	Chemical Guys CLD20116 Signature Series Orange Degreaser	+ great quality, removes tough grease and oils well + fast cleaning + can be used also on other products	– If there is an excessive oil (like on bike chain), it can have problems
	Oil Eater AOD1G35437 Cleaner Degreaser	+ bio degradable and eco friendly + removes all grease, not just oil + works on other things as wel	– Works a bit slowly
	Oil Eater Cleaner Degrease	+ works on other stuff as well + good against oil and grease	– Bad smell

Water based vs silicone based tire shine

There are two types of tire shines: water based and silicone based. Although some people prefer silicone based dressing, majority likes water based tire dressing. This is because while silicone based dressing last longer and is more shiny, but when you are cleaning it, it is much harder to clean because the dressing is made to stick to the tire. The cleaning can be tough. They are also quite messy and greasy. The silicone is very hard to remove; much harder than grease and you will have to spend a lot of time removing it. Water based dressings last less time and are therefore easier to remove. So it really depends how much you are willing to clean. Although water based dressings are less durable, they are safer to use. So here we come to tradeoff between longevity and easiness to use.

Water based tire shine

As mentioned before, water based tire shine is made to be washed with water. Weather conditions play a large role in longevity of the dressing and it may go away much sooner. Those are the bad things. However, it is also safer for the tire. It is easy to remove and therefore when applying new layer, you can apply it quite easily. It is what most of experts recommend. Water based dressings are generally milky looking and solvents are usually blue (although that is not always true). They are good for the tire because you do not have to brush them off in order to remove them from your tire. The tire shine will not look as good as with silicone based dressing, but it can be reapplied almost countless number of times. Most of them are also bio-degradable. They are also not greasy and contain ultra violet radiation (UVR) blocking agents to help keep tyres from cracking, fading and hardening. They do not contain petroleum distillate solvents which can harm your car tire in the long run. If you are looking for good long term care for your tire, water based dressing is preferable. The best water based tire dressing reviews are in the general tire dressing reviews section.

Silicone based dressing – longest lasting tire shine

The best feature of silicone based tire shine is that it lasts longer. If you are looking for longest lasting tire shine, silicone based dressing is right for you. However, it is good to be aware of the pros and cons of the silicone based dressing. The good thing about silicone based dressing is that it last very long time, because once it is removed, it is very hard to take it off. The dressing will last through quite a few washes and rain. But the dressing is made of greasy liquid that contains petroleum solvents which can be harmful for your tire in the long run. Silicone oils form a protective shield that prevents moisture and dirt to come in contact with the tire. Those dressings are hard to remove because they leave high gloss film and can ruin paint and leave inflexible surface behind. Since they are hard to remove, cleaning is a problem. Moreover they leave silicon oils behind which are not biodegradable and environmentally friendly. Therefore as long as they give you longer lasting tire shine, they can also harm your tire and even car in the long run. They are very hard to remove, so if you use them, you will have to do some hard job with brushing the tire. And the paint might go away too. Silicone based dressing reviews can be found in the general tire dressing reviews section.

Permanent tire shine – is it possible?

To achieve permanent tire shine is impossible with current tools we have. Road dust, brake dust and many other things just ruin the tire. It needs to be cleaned regularly and therefore tire dressing goes away. Besides that, especially if using silicone based tire dressing, dust might come on and make it look worse again. So permanent tire shine does not exist, but there are products that enable tire to shine for longer time – as discussed at silicone based dressing section.

Tire brush – which one is best to use?

When talking about tire cleaning and tire dressing, it is often mentioned to brush the with the tire brush. There are tire brushes designed for cleaning tire as well. Important features to look for are that it should be long in order to reach the far back of the wheel barrel, durable (made of materials that will not break right away). Nylon material is great. The density of the bristles is also important. If they are too dense, it is hard to reach into the places that are tight and harder to reach. If you choose to own a brush that is designed specifically for car tires, you are able to clean them much better and come into the places in which you cannot come with normal brush. For quality car detailing, such brushes are preferred to casual all-purpose brushes. They are usually also not expensive (around 10$ most of them) and last for decades (if they are made of good material and won’t break – that also depends on how often they are used), so investing into some smaller tire brush is not such a bad idea. Below are some of the best tire brushes presented with their cons and pros.

To find out more about tire brushes, you can check our guide here.

Product image	Product	PROS	CONS
	Mothers Wheel Brush	+ cheap + soft bristles won’t scratch your tire or rims	- Hard to get dirt out of the bristle once we are done cleaning
	Chemical Guys ACCG09 Body and Wheel Flagged Tip Short Handle Brush	+ great for working with light dirt + cheap	- Being made especially for wheels is bad in this case as it cannot be used on other things - A bit big - has trouble reaching the back end of the tire
	Speed Master Wheel Brush	+ no scratching + can reach some hard to reach parts	- Mediocre durability
	EZ Detail Brush	+ no scratching + flexible + holds a lot of water	None
	Large Wire Wheel Spoke Brush	+ cheap + made for tires	- Long

Best tire shine product

When looking for the best tire shine product, we have to take into consideration that there are different needs and uses of tire dressings. When determining best product it really comes down to what exactly you want. If you want only long lasting tire shine, the silicone based dressing is the best, while if you want to take care of your tire while having a mediocre dressing, water based dressing is the best. Tire dressings are also tire protectants because they prevent cracking, fading and hardening of tires.  If you read by now, you probably already made up your mind of which dressing is your personally favorite and what kind of dressing you want to use. In the review section, there are some of the best tire dressings compared and reviewed to make your decision easier. Besides dressings, there are also some other products mostly used for tire cleaning, which are reviewed on this site. Tire brushes, cleaners and degreasers will also help to make your tire shine. For the dressings, note that they can come in sprays, gels or other forms. Some people prefer one form over the other, and usually all depends on personal preference.<>