Tyre shine gels- are they bad for tyres?

Johnny Utah

I got a new set of tyres recently. I used to apply tyre shine gels quite regularly and I noticed that the sidewalls in my old tyres were badly cracked. The tyres were due to be replaced anyway as they had reached minimum thread depth, but I wonder did the tyre shine products damage the sidewalls on my old tyres?

vectra

Johnny Utah wrote: »

I got a new set of tyres recently. I used to apply tyre shine gels quite regularly and I noticed that the sidewalls in my old tyres were badly cracked. The tyres were due to be replaced anyway as they had reached minimum thread depth, but I wonder did the tyre shine products damage the sidewalls on my old tyres?

Exactly how old were the old tyres and what sort of driving do you do?? ie. Mucky roads etc?

Anan1

How old were the tyres?

Johnny Utah

The tyres were on the car when I bought it. I bought the car about two and a half years ago and I have driven just over 10k miles in that time. The tyres were partly worn when I bought the car.

Therefore, I don't know exactly how old the tyres are as I never asked the previous owner when he purchased the tyres, but at a rough guess, I estimate the tyres have covered about 30k miles and are about 4 years old from new. However, there were no cracks in the tyre sidewalls when I purchased the car, and I am now wondering whether the tyre gels I have used over the past two years had a detrimental effect on the old tyres.

I just spent nearly €500 on a new set of decent tyres and I don't want to make the same mistake again, although I do like using the tyre gels.

Johnny Utah

vectra wrote: »

Exactly how old were the old tyres and what sort of driving do you do?? ie. Mucky roads etc?

City/motorway driving mostly, usually clean roads.

hi_im_fil

The rubber in tyres tends to perish over time if they aren't used. Id say this is what happened yours. I doubt the tyre shine was the cause.

djimi

4 years is a long time to have a set of tires on a car. Id imagine it was just down to natural perish on the rubber.

Gers_punto

Johnny Utah wrote: »

The tyres were on the car when I bought it. I bought the car about two and a half years ago and I have driven just over 10k miles in that time. The tyres were partly worn when I bought the car.

Therefore, I don't know exactly how old the tyres are as I never asked the previous owner when he purchased the tyres, but at a rough guess, I estimate the tyres have covered about 30k miles and are about 4 years old from new. However, there were no cracks in the tyre sidewalls when I purchased the car, and I am now wondering whether the tyre gels I have used over the past two years had a detrimental effect on the old tyres.

I just spent nearly €500 on a new set of decent tyres and I don't want to make the same mistake again, although I do like using the tyre gels.

only 10k in 2 and a half years. Im presuming this car is siting up for extended periods of time. I highly doubt tyre gels causing the problem more than likely the natural rubber starting to deteriorate

Midnight_EG

If you don't want to be wasting money on gels, just get a paintbrush and some oil and rub it over the tirewalls


Gives a nice shine

vectra

Johnny Utah wrote: »

I estimate the tyres have covered about 30k miles and are about 4 years old from new. .

I reckon put it down to old age
we all shrivel and crack after a hard life

TomMc

http://www.303products.com/pdfs/303-Pamphlet-TechFacts-2009.pdf

WHY ARE TIRES BLACK?
The sidewalls of tires which are parked for extended periods dry, check and eventually crack and split. Annually, tire “dry-rot” is a multimillion dollar problem for RVers, trailer boaters and owners of classic cars. This engineering memorandum is a scientific examination of the whys of this process and explains in detail how 303 Protectant™ is an answer to the tire dry-rot problem. Tire manufacturers blend into the tire polymer certain chemical ingredients which inhibit damage from ozone and ultraviolet light, the main environmental degradants of tires and all other types of synthetic and
natural rubbers. Ozone is an odorless gas, but is commonly thought of as the “electric train smell”. Though more severe in cities and manufacturing centers, ozone is part of the air we breathe everywhere on earth. Hastened by the hazardous effects of UV light, ozone eventually causes rubber to dry and become brittle no matter the locale.

ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT: The need to protect rubber against UV damage is why tires are black. For this purpose a common type of UV stabilizer called a ‘competitive absorber’ is used. Competitive absorbers work by capturing & absorbing harmful UV light wave energy (instead of the adjacent molecule of
tire polymer. . .that’s why it’s called ‘competitive’). Competitive absorbers have the added ability to convert harmful UV light wave energy into heat so it can dissipate harmlessly. ALL tire manufacturers use the same competitive absorber, carbon black. . . an extremely inexpensive compound. All other UV stabilizers are prohibitively expensive. This is why tires are black and why tires are not available in designer colors. All UV stabilizers are sacrificial, meaning they are gradually “used up” to where they can no longer protect against UV damage. As carbon black loses the ability to do its job, it
turns gray. This is why rubber grays as it ages.

OZONE: Tire manufacturers use waxes to protect against ozone. When tires
are in use (regularly running up and down the road for example) they flex. Flexing causes the protective waxes to migrate to the surface where they form a physical barrier between the air (ozone and oxygen) and the tire polymer. This process... the waxes migrating to the surface of the tire during flexing...is called “blooming”. When tires are not regularly used (a parked RV, boat trailer or classic car, etc.), blooming does not occur. Ozone begins eating away the protective wax and before long reaches the tire polymer. Often by this time, the surface carbon black has lost its ability to protect against UV. With UV light and ozone working in concert, degradation starts. The tire dries, checks and will eventually crack.

OTHER DEGRADANTS: Petrochemicals and silicone oils can remove the protective waxes and increase the rate of degradation. Common automotive
“protectants” and “tire dressings” are typically devoid of UV stabilizers of any type and contain petrochemicals and/or silicone oils which dissolve away the protective waxes and can actually aggress the sidewall. In the event of warranty sidewall failure, one of the first things tire manufacturers look for is evidence of the use of these types of products. When found, this is
often cause for not warranting the sidewall failure.

303 FOR TIRES: 303 contains no petrochemicals or silicone oils and does not remove the protective waxes. 303 is actually absorbed into tires, delivering its unique set of powerful UV stabilizers into the tire polymer, supplementing and surpassing the UV protective action of the carbon black, and leaving a long-lasting, flexible protective finish that is water repellent, detergent resistant and will not attract dust. Ozone must eat through the 303 before it can get to the wax. 303 is an extremely effective anti-oxidant and anti-ozonant. 303 is the longest lasting, most powerful protective and beautifying treatment for tires and all other synthetic and natural rubber.


TIPS FOR TIRES: 303 treated tires have the rich, waxy, almost vinyl-like, dark black look of new rubber. 303 tires look and feel like brand new, not greasy-new.

FOR MAXIMUM TIRE BEAUTY: Spray 303 directly on a clean & dry tire until the sidewall is thoroughly wet with 303. Without touching the rubber,
easily wipe away any 303 overspray from the rim. Do each tire the same way.
After 10 - 20 minutes, wipe around each tire once or twice with a dry rag to pick up any unabsorbed 303. Your tires will have the look and feel of fresh new rubber.

FIRST TIME USE: On sidewalls that are excessively dried out, two treatments may be necessary the first time. To note: A) The regular use of 303
can entirely prevent the UV and ozone damage associated with parked tires. Reapply 303 every 20-30 days. 303 is 100% safe for all types of wheels, all alloys. Wheels regularly treated with 303 repel water, road grime and brake dust and clean up far easier than untreated wheels.

Matt Simis

I looked up 303 Reviews on car forums after that and it gets rave feedback. Any suppliers in Ireland?

As a side note, you shouldnt spray silicone based blackeners (or silicone spray or vasaline etc) on Rubber strips (door frames) or plastic (body trim, interior) on your car either for pretty much the same reason.

TomMc

Yes, it very good stuff and doesn't give a real shiny "bling" finish. More a natural satin finish. I buy it in gallons in Navan but I think detailer.ie may stock some as well.

-Corkie-

I get silicone spray from autosmart. I find it good and leaves a nice smell. I wouldnt use it on tyres or exterior plastics though.

VinnyTGM

Any good tyre gel/spray should do. Applying it regularly actually protects the tyre sidewalls.

EPM

Old age again here. My sisters last car was 4 and a half years old, stupidly small mileage and she needed 4 new tyres for NCT...well until she crashed it:rolleyes:

Tyres go the same route as wiper blades - couple of years max. Personally I'd change tyres after a couple of years regardelss of mileage. Small cracks given any bit of pressure could cause trouble...and thats last thing you want on a motorway.

I had to change tyres on a car thats been parked up about 6 months yesterday.They had been on it about 4-5 months previous to that. The tyre lads showed me damage I hadnt noticed. They back wheels were at an angle over a kerb and not moving had done serious deformation to them.

Bad thing was it had been valeted before being parked up and the tyre shine had hidden a lot...so inspect your tyres carefully before application of anything:pac:

Seperate

Matt Simis wrote: »

I looked up 303 Reviews on car forums after that and it gets rave feedback. Any suppliers in Ireland?

As a side note, you shouldnt spray silicone based blackeners (or silicone spray or vasaline etc) on Rubber strips (door frames) or plastic (body trim, interior) on your car either for pretty much the same reason.

I have some in stock if you want to give it a bash!

JHMEG

Matt Simis wrote: »

As a side note, you shouldnt spray silicone based blackeners (or silicone spray or vasaline etc) on Rubber strips (door frames) or plastic (body trim, interior) on your car either for pretty much the same reason.

I've been doing exactly that for over 10 years with very positive results.

JHMEG

Midnight_EG wrote: »

If you don't want to be wasting money on gels, just get a paintbrush and some oil and rub it over the tirewalls


Gives a nice shine

Putting oil on your tyres is not really a great idea.

cat320

-Corkie- wrote: »

I get silicone spray from autosmart. I find it good and leaves a nice smell. I wouldnt use it on tyres or exterior plastics though.

What do you use it for?

colm_mcm

You’re asking someone who closed their account years a question in a 10 year old thread.

The J Stands for Jay

cat320 wrote: »

What do you use it for?

Are you getting that error where sometimes boards shows you 10 year old threads instead of the latest ones? Very annoying

cat320

McGaggs wrote: »

Are you getting that error where sometimes boards shows you 10 year old threads instead of the latest ones? Very annoying

I was looking at something online re tyre dressings and it came up as a topic I just asked a question without looking deeper into it....

biko

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