Technical Black tire cleaner

I am looking for a good cleaner for my black tires. Don't want anything shiny .

 

Lestoil, find it in a old grocery store. Your grandmother used it to clean everything.

 

The most thorough I find is half strength Dawn dish soap

 

I hit the tires with a commercial tire cleaner(Armor All, McQuires, etc) let them sit until dry and then use a pressure (electric 1500lbs) washer to rinse heavily.

 

409 is great for white walls, can't see why it wouldn't be great for black tires...

 

Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner.

Gary

 

Try a Brillo pad. It is like steel wool with a detergent.

 

Awesome cleaner, a stiff scrub brush and a pint of elbow grease. Make sure whatever you use doesn't contain any petroleum ingredients. Not good for tires, ya know. Some of the products sold as tire treatments are actually harmful to the rubber. Oh, yes, Formula 409 is really good, too. I use it for lots of stuff.

 

I use to use Westley’s Bleach White. Works great on cleaning up whitewalls but also on black walls. But they changed the formula by taking out the TSP.

 

I have always just used a bucket of water with some car soap in it and a brush. Then follow up with some Poorboy’s World Bold n Bright. It goes on a little shiny. Just wipe it down with an old microfiber to wipe off the excess. It will leave a matte finish then. It’s water based so it won’t sling on the car later on.

 

You can still buy tsp, add it to your cleaner

 

Simple green is excellent for removing the ugly brown that leaches out of coker tires.

 

I've just used Brillo Pads (the soapy kind) to scrub the sidewalls since the late 60's Works well, a fair amount of work.

But lately, after MUCH experimentation (with other cleaners), I've been using Armor All Tire Foam.
Also works very nicely. Spray it thickly on the sidewall. It starts cleaning right away. The foam and the grime/dirt, etc, starts dripping off of the sidewall, so far, NO harm has come to any wheel surface (polished alum., paint).
Then as the cleaner is almost gone, I wipe the sidewall, clean and dry with a clean, dry rag. This helps make sure that the rubber is "NOT" like shiny painted rubber.
I also hate shiny rubber.
Been using this for the last three or four years. It does not...seem to harm the rubber after said years on three different cars.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Armor-All-...VZBKtBh0x2gVqEAQYASABEgKpwPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Mike

 

Spray on oven cleaner works good on black walls, even better on WW's.. Spray it on, give it a scrub, then wash off with a brush.

 

I use simple green with a stiff bristle brush on both white and black walls. Zaino Z16 is a great tire dressing to follow up with.

 

Not sure what some people are using but on occasion I see a daily driver vehicle with dirt road grime clinging to the sidewalls, they look like big glazed donuts, I assume a local drive through car wash uses an oil base cleaner that is like a magnet to the dirt.

 

Just sayin' Take care where, and how, that stuff is used.
It ain't like the name says

 

DON'T BUY RANGER WHITEWALL PAINT,
OR HOPE IT WORKS FOR YOU !!!
I WAS ALL EXCITED BUT
I WASTED MY MONEY FOR PRODUCT AND SHIPPING TO GET IT TWICE..

 

Hello,

We have used a ton of different stuff over the years from common soap and a scrub brush to automotive liquids like Westley’s products. They worked, but eventually as time moves forward, the many times, blasted/maligned Armor All Spray product worked the best for all surfaces.

Yes, the tires were cleaned of any marks and “stuff” that gets on tires anywhere. But, after a standard car wash with water and a brush, the Armor All was sprayed on and wiped off. The somewhat shiny appearance that most did not like was on the surface.

Trial and error using this product worked for us. It was shiny, but withing days of driving, the shine was not apparent. But, if the initial cruising with somewhat shiny surfaces, a quick rub with a cleaning cloth took the shine off. The now soaked rag with Armor All residue was tossed as it never came clean white again after many hand washes. It was a losing proposition.

The microfiber material towels were much better in the hand wash, using detergent. But, then the cost was low enough to NOT wash the soiled cloths and they were tossed.

Jnaki

So, all of you who do not like Armor All spray due to the shine left over, what product cleans any surface and leaves a nice feel after a clean white towel wipe down? My wife used to like the clean leather surfaces of her sporty car black bucket seats after I cleaned them with Armor All spray. Yes, the black leather looked shiny at first, but one quick wipe with a clean cloth took away anything shiny on the surface. If I did not do a second quick wipe, there was a slight shine and made everyone squeak as a body got moved into and out of the black leather bucket seats.

Eventually, the newer tires don’t get that dirty anymore. Less driving and the brake dust is minimal if any is still lingering around. If it is still around, then it does not stick as much as years ago, when we all had to spray the dust and wash each wheel individually to get the dust off. New technology in pads or composition of the products used is helping the tires stay black longer… YRMV

Note:
I still have my original Armor All white, bottle spray from early 1990s. I do not remember the last time I used it other than on a grey leather bucket seat, just before I sold an old sporty sedan. One last coating on the leather seats and it was a final goodbye after 17 years of great service. The tires stayed black even after many washings… weird but it happened… newer tire technology?

Note 2:

A "Garage Step Stool," once used for perfect elevated seating for working on tires and rims. No more bending or squatting, the height is perfect for sitting and working on cleaning tires or doing brake work.

It is and also used for car seat height adjustment, toddler step to reach bathroom/kitchen sink and won’t slip with rubber anti-slip pads on sturdy legs. And a 47 year old 2x4 step stool for top down (added height angle) photos in photo shoots as well as a indestructible seat for our son.

I made a 2x4 stool. At first, it was a stool just to raise the toddler safety seat higher, so he could see out of the windows. But, it was the only way to get the seat belts/shoulder harness to work correctly. Then it was convenience for us to make adjustments and to get him in/out without breaking our backs. Especially in the tight back seat area.

As his toddler era was coming along, he used the stool as his kitchen nook dining area seat for messy ice cream in the hot summers and lunches at the kid's table. If it got dirty or had a series of drips, the polyurethane coating protected the wood and was an easy wipe off.

Over the years, it stayed in the garage as a step stool to reach the taller cabinets. the older we got, the more stable a short ladder or platform was necessary. But, when our granddaughter was getting to the toddler stage, she needed a little help to get to the faucets to brush her teeth. So, up comes the old stool, totally cleaned off and still solid polyurethane coating protecting the wood. She can now, step up to any of the sinks to easily turn on/off, the faucets and brush her teeth.

It also acted as a seat in the TV room to set things on for snacks and stand up toys that needed a flat, secure area. So, two generations of total family uses and still going strong for a couple of old folks to continue their protected pandemic lives. Step up and be counted…

But, now with many garage clean outs to our credit over time, this solid 2x4 step stool is still functioning and is being put to good use by a couple of old folks out in the yard, when planting new bushes, flowers and trees. It is low enough to the ground, but high enough to work comfortably without back pain. Perfect height for working on replacement electrical wall plugs and detailed work on new baseboards, too. YRMV

 

Brake fluid & a rag ....

 

I've always used this:

Works good and is easy to find too...right under the sink

 

Purple Power works well for me.

 

I discovered Maguire's Hot Rims Wheel & Tire cleaner when my wife won a bucket of car stuff at an event we attended a few years ago. Figured I'd try it since it was free, and was amazed to see the brown that came off my tires after spraying it and brushing with a stiff brush! It worked so well on my tires and wheels that I found it in gallon jugs for a big savings over the spray bottles, so I got a gallon to refill my spray bottle.
It leaves my tires black, and my as cast American Torq Thrust looking new. No shine on my tires, just like new finish.

 

Atwater Mike told me after a thorough cleaning to use Kiwi black shoe polish, same way you do shoes, buff with a stiff shoe brush too, he said that in the 50s, 60s car shows you would get points for using that, does not have a shine, just satin and water proof.

 

Black Magic Bleeche Wite

 

Note there's a difference between a tire cleaner and a tire dressing. These days I use Bleach White and a small scrub brush for cleaning and 303 for a dressing. These work on black walls as well as white walls, and leaves a dull sheen. Doublepumper mentioned Comet - it works well for cleaning too, as does Ajax.

With any cleaner (especially Simple Green or oven cleaner) be very careful about getting it on the wheel or on the surrounding body panels, they can cause damage to the paint (or if you have alloy wheels, they can damage the aluminum.)