Some folks wish their tires to have some kind of stunning, shiny black hue. Well, keeping your car in a classy form requires a lot of attention and energy. Tire shining products help you take a great of the car if you use them correctly but let’s explore the answer to is tire shine bad for tires or not.
If you use tire shine products correctly, it is not harmful to your car. These items protect your tires from damage by UV rays, air pollution, road salt, and dirt while maintaining the aesthetic appeal of the tires as well. Thus, you should use tire shine because it is made to improve the tires instead of degrading them.
Scroll down below if you wish to know more about tire shining products for your car tires!
Should You Use Tire Shine For Tires
Tire shine cannot harm your tires as long as you are using it properly. Basically it offers UV radiation protection, which may stop cracking and other possible problems.
But before reapplying, you must thoroughly wipe it off. Whether it is oil- or water-based, no tire shine is usually harmful to the tires.
Do Tire Shining Products Cause Cracks in Tires
Aggressive acidic degreasers and cleaning chemicals are much more responsible for tire cracking than low-quality tire shining products, which may occasionally speed up the tire cracking.
This is the reason why you must carefully follow the instructions if you wish to make your tires look nice for the longest time, irrespective of the product you are using or for whatever reason.
The gradual depletion of the anti-ozone along with the anti-oxidation layers that tires are constructed with, and the continuous sun exposure mostly accelerate this process.
If you are using tire shining compounds properly, they would not really make the risk of tire cracking high. But if you notice any cracks or gaps on your tires, you must fix them right once to stop further damage.
Can Tire Shining Products Turn Tires Brown
Using tire shining products may cause your tires to turn brown. Despite what you would believe, this basically has very little to do with the tire coating. The antiozonant material used in its design can move to the tire’s surface or sidewall as it becomes aged, making it turn brown.
But the relieving news is that, if you would prefer, you can simply get rid of this unwanted brown color with properly cleaning and scrubbing them before coating them. It is just like exfoliating your skin, and you should be doing it more frequently as a tire gets older.
Avoiding the mud on your tires: Even when dry, some silicone-based shine products are more prone to contamination along with brake dust retention. If you drive in an area with a lot of dust, a proper water-based treatment which also repels dirt would make more sense. Solvent as well as silicon-based products can give a highly sticky surface for dust attachment.
Keeping your tires from turning brown: Usually, the brown color of your tires is simply because of the dirt that has been lodged on them. This may get more worse if your tire dressing is not completely dry before you take your car for a spin,
What Effect Does Tire Shine Have on Rims
The tire shine doesn’t harm rims most of the time. But, all commercially available tire shines may not necessarily be beneficial for the rims of your tires.
In general, you should not spray the tire shine straight onto the rims. We would say that it is better to be safe than sorry, even if it does not necessarily damage them. After application, clean off your rims as well. Wiping off your rims after applying each time is quite beneficial for them as it removes the accumulated dust and debris. The tire shine spray would not have an impact on the rim itself, perhaps.
Anyways, a rim which is expertly finished would not require additional UV protection. So, you should not be getting overly concerned if your tire shine ends up on the tire rims. Long story short, it should not affect professionally finished tire rims.
Do Tire Shine Damage Brakes
Tire shine really has an impact on brakes in some way. But it would not be a direct effect on them. For instance, tire shine would not harm your brakes or calipers through corroding them or leaving stains on them.
As a result, the solution will be sticking to the rotor if you make a spray directly at the rotors. Tire shine does not really resemble water much, It is more similar to something like a creamy solution, which would adhere to nearly anything it comes in contact with.
It can now directly affect the functioning of the car’s brakes. Dirt and debris would adhere to the tire shine if you have been riding for a long time. Your brake system may also suffer severe wear and tear due to this debris adhesion.
Suppose a small rock gets lodged on your brake rotor, you would probably need a new one much sooner than you think. Consequently, your rotor would ultimately get a sizable hole from the stone, making it totally worthless.
The cost of rotors is also not very economical for you. The brake rotor replacement would usually cost you around $400. In many of the cases, the point is not actually whether this would happen, but rather when it would be. Eventually, dirt and debris would happen to make their way up there if you are driving a car which has a sticky rotor.
Is Shine Bad For The Paint On The Vehicle
Tire shine usually would not really be able to damage the paint of your car. Tire shine is not acidic or anything of the sort as it is an oil-based material. That is why it cannot cause damage to the paint.
But it may cause your car to become dirtier more quickly. If it gets on the paint of the car, it may cause additional dirt and debris to stick to the paint as well since it is sticky. Well, this is not always a bad thing!
It probably would not matter very much if it is just a tiny amount. On the other hand, we do not suggest spraying the tire shine all over your car. That would not only be very heavy on your pockets, but it would also speed up the rate at which the car would become unclean.
As your automobile grows dirtier, this will ultimately make you do more cleaning, prompting you to apply additional coats of tire shine. Thus, you will eventually find yourself in a never-ending cycle of continuously cleaning and shining your whole car.
How To Apply Tire Shine The Right Way
Being aware of how to use a product properly is much more important than the product itself. Tire shining products are available in a number of varieties, and the most of them are either water or oil/solvent-based. You should prioritize the use of water-based tire shining products because they are usually safer.
It really does not matter the product you select to use, you should always follow the instructions provided on the product bottle, because some would require a more specialized approach than the others. Make sure to thoroughly clean your tires of any leftover residue from earlier tire conditioning treatments in either case, since this can result in various kinds of flaws if combined with other products.
Irrespective of whether you use tire shine products or not, leaving the car basking in the sun is the worst thing you would do to your car. You should drive your car and keep it out of direct sunlight, specifically in the summer days, as not driving it frequently speeds up the drying and cracking process.
How To Use Tire Shine Correctly
Your use of the product will define the answer of this query. Never washing your tires and leaving your car basking in the sun all day would speed up tire cracking and aging, which you probably are not going to do anyway. Driving helps prevent cracking and decaying of your car tires. You should be fine to proceed if you abide by the directions on the label of the shine product you choose when using items generally.
You can use lots of different products to get the shine you wish for, but not all of them are designed the same. They are classified into water-based or oil/solvent-based categories. While each type has merits and demerits, most products work very well and do not have any serious kind of impact on tires.
The most important thing we have observed is to be sure to remove the tire dressing after each wash before the reapplication. But some people swore off using petroleum-based shine products. We have not observed any sign of any serious issues if these products are properly used, although some are more prone to get removed than the others.
Is There a Good Alternative To Tire Shine
You can use various common household products as tire shine in many scenarios. Castor oil, olive oil, and baby oil are some of the few examples of many oils which you can apply to make excellent shining products. Moreover, brake fluid is also a viable option for you!
The effectiveness of a number of these oils differs it seems. For instance, it is mostly believed that lemon and caster oils are safer for your car tire’s rubber as they do not dry it out. But, there is no actual support for this common belief. Also, the tire Shire itself does not dry up your tires if you are using it properly.
For people who are concerned about the environment, these home-available tire polishes are an amazing option as they are naturally very environmentally friendly. They usually would not harm the environment when they come off the tire.
These tire shine alternatives are much more economical than tire shine, as you would have guessed it for sure. If you consider the quantities required to shine your tires, castor and olive oils are incredibly inexpensive. These tire shine substitutes are also very secure. These substances would not cause irritation to your skin or the respiratory system as much as the majority of tire shires would do!
You may also want to go for an alternative if you suffer from asthma or other health issues for preventing potential hazards. In the light of this, some products also have some drawbacks. Talking about lubricants first, they usually draw a lot of dust which may make your tire more filthier than it would be in the other case.
The second aspect you should remember is removing any excessive product by dabbing it off. It may sling onto unfriendly regions of your car in the absence of that. Brake fluid can also harm paint severely! Lastly, these natural oils do not really protect your tires from Ultraviolet rays, despite the purpose of tire shine. Thus, they are not quite as useful as other available alternative options.
What More Should You Know?
What Are Different Types of Tire Shines
Following three categories comprise of the tire shining products which are used mostly nowadays:
1. Gel Tire Shine
Tire shine products which use gel as their base perform better in severe weather conditions such as hailstorm or rain. When you use a gel-based tire shine, it is even more important to pre-clean your tires since the gel can potentially retain hazardous pollutants that may cause damage to your tires.
Gel based tire shine usually gives a layer of shine which is less even and much thicker. If you can apply a thicker coating of protective fluid throughout the entire sidewall surface evenly, it will effectively protect your tires more, for sure.
2. Spray Tire Shine
Among the commonly used tire conditioning ways are spray tire shine items. They are simple to use and mostly leave a reasonably uniform covering. You can reach all the nooks and crannies of the tire much more reliably and with less effort. This is because you are able to spray on your tires actively.
3. Tire Coatings
The most active tire shining and protecting treatments you would find are industry-grade tire coatings. While a standard spray tire shine can only stand a few weeks at most, they can occasionally last for a few months before reapplying. However, tire coatings are the most dangerous among all as they mostly use a stronger chemical composition.
Moreover, you must prepare your tires in advance to ensure that the coating stays and there are no pollutants remaining on the tire surface. You must follow all the manufacturer’s instructions when it comes to applying the coating and maintaining it afterwards.
Wrap Up
If you are doing the tire shine properly with a high-quality product, it would not harm your tires. Tire defects like cracking, blooming, and drying mostly occur due to aging, aggressive acidic degreasers, or protracted exposure to sun rays.
However, many people out there mistakenly presume that tire shine product is to blame for all of the mentioned problems. Your tires are probably going to look more appealing, as well as last longer if you carefully follow the instructions and use tire shine as mentioned.
We hope that now you have made yourself familiar with the car tire shine products and their different types. Hit the comment section if you still have any confusion. We would love to serve you with the needed guidance!
