Forced to live with BROWN tires?

lineman said:
I have used "Bleach White Tire Cleaner" for years. You can get it just abut anywhere including Wal-Mart. Have been very pleased.
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This, this stuff is some of the best tire cleaner you can get its very strong and makes the tires bleed off the brown.

Its at wall mart and I'm pretty sure it will work
 
The photos I attached are all AFTER shots of 10 applications with scrubbing of Megs APC at full strength. No more brown was coming off the tire.

Will another product magically remove more brown after an extensive APC bath?
 
You're missing the point--the anti-ozonant that causes the browning is a chemical that's added to the rubber compound. Some cleaning chemicals can bring this chemical to the surface, so the more you clean, the more you bring out of the tire.

I use Optimum Power Clean now and I don't have any browning problems anymore. Other posters have made other suggestions.

Also bear in mind that different tires are different (compounded differently) and that age may play a factor as well, so generalizations about this should be viewed as just that, generalizations.
 
I understand about the blooming. I was just unsure if it's worth more effort and more money spent on other products that may or may not remove it. Considering that Megs APC is a favorite by many on this forum and, as you can see, did absolutely nothing for me.

I suppose I could try the local stuff first, (Zep 505, Bleache white, LA TA) and see what happens. Then if that doesn't work, Optimum. Then Tuff shine.

$$$$....:(
 
evo77 said:
Considering that Megs APC is a favorite by many on this forum and, as you can see, did absolutely nothing for me.
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I found D101 to not be helpful with browning problems. One OTC product that seemed pretty good was the Mothers Foaming Tire & Wheel Cleaner. Where are you located?
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I found D101 to not be helpful with browning problems. One OTC product that seemed pretty good was the Mothers Foaming Tire & Wheel Cleaner. Where are you located?
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I'm north of Chicago about 40 minutes.

I have also used Mothers tire cleaner as well. Same results.
 
Rsurfer said:
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The browning is called blooming
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I've heard it called that for over 30 years and I'm sure you have too...

Rsurfer said:
...and is caused by using harsh tire cleaners and some solvent based tire dressings.
These harsh cleaners and dressings are leaching out the UV and ozone blockers to the surface of the tire causing excessive browning.
This was explained by Dr. G of Optimum.
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...but, I'm not so sure I buy into Dr. G's reasoning because I just cleaned a set of tires that are several months old and have never been cleaned prior, nor dressed. I know they've not been cleaned or dressed...they're on my auto.

They had browning, but like I said, it wasn't from me using chemicals or dressing because I hadn't cleaned them prior to two days ago, nor dressed them prior to yesterday.

lineman said:
I have used "Bleach White Tire Cleaner" for years. You can get it just abut anywhere including Wal-Mart. Have been very pleased.
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One of the greatest cleaners ever to get the brown off besides another you'll see me mention below. Those two..and only those two have worked great for me. I've tried so many more products including APC+ and Roll-Off and found other uses for them.

dlc95 said:
I've always had great results using Meguiar's Hot Rims All Wheel Cleaner on brown tires.
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On more than one occasion I've had this product as well as DUB virtually ruin two sets of cleared aluminum wheels. Meguiar's wheel cleaners and me don't get along.

Setec Astronomy said:
You're missing the point--the anti-ozonant that causes the browning is a chemical that's added to the rubber compound. Some cleaning chemicals can bring this chemical to the surface, so the more you clean, the more you bring out of the tire.

I use Optimum Power Clean now and I don't have any browning problems anymore. Other posters have made other suggestions.

Also bear in mind that different tires are different (compounded differently) and that age may play a factor as well, so generalizations about this should be viewed as just that, generalizations.
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In my case, the browning started coming out of the tires after a few months having used zero cleaners or dressings...zero. As far as it being an anti-ozonant, may be.

I cleaned my tires 3 times until no brown foam was apparent. The tires were clean, but still some brown appearance near the tread remains. IF it's in fact something added from the tire manufacturer, then the brown should eventually come completely out with repeated cleanings...which I plan to start. Been much to busy in the past months caring for elderly grandparents than focusing on a clean ride. Things are changing...but I'd still rather have my grandparents back and no time for luxury cleaning.

Setec Astronomy said:
I found D101 to not be helpful with browning problems. One OTC product that seemed pretty good was the Mothers Foaming Tire & Wheel Cleaner. Where are you located?
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Besides Westley's, using Mothers Foaming All Wheel and Tire Cleaner has been an absolute pleasure. Works great on wheel cleaning as it even cleans well enough that I've found an Iron-x 2nd pass to be a waste of time. Mothers cleans the rims great and works just as good at cleaning tires. That's two bangs for one buck.
 
evo77 said:
I'm north of Chicago about 40 minutes.

I have also used Mothers tire cleaner as well. Same results.
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Are you in the North Shore or farther west from the lake?

I'm over in McHenry County.

I have Tuf Shine's concentrate.
 
dlc95 said:
I've always had great results using Meguiar's Hot Rims All Wheel Cleaner on brown tires.
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^^Same here.. and also a regular APC always does the trick for me.

Might help that i use a water based tire dressing with Vitamin E in it.
 
Hoytman: Tires are designed to push the browning to the surface regardless of using cleaners or not. Some bloom more than others--particularly tires that are meant to last longer. (SUV tires, truck tires, econobox tires...etc)

Nearly every car has brown tires if they aren't recently dressed. Walk down a parking lot aisle and check it out.
 
Kacz said:
Hoytman: Tires are designed to push the browning to the surface regardless of using cleaners or not. Some bloom more than others--particularly tires that are meant to last longer. (SUV tires, truck tires, econobox tires...etc)

Nearly every car has brown tires if they aren't recently dressed. Walk down a parking lot aisle and check it out.
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You missed my very first comment on my post. Why do you think I said I didn't buy into Dr. G's comments on cleaning? I well know exactly what you're talking about...you don't have to clean them or dress them to see them turn brown. I think all that was pretty apparent in my last comments.

EDIT:
By the way, when you get the first initial browning off of them you can usually keep it off by simply maintaining them with Mothers or similar cleaner without dressing them for a natural black look with no browning. Key word...maintain them...over time they'll bloom more if you don't clean them as many people are aware.

As Setec said earlier, depending on the tire compound it was made from I've seen some tires always have a brown hue to them no matter how much you clean them.
 
I believe what Dr. G meant was if you use to strong of a cleaner you will make the tires brown at a much faster rate.
 
I just want to get rid of the brown to have good base to start with. That way I can throw a light natural matte finish tire coating on there.
 
I'm the guy that mentioned lacquer thinner earlier. After reading all these posts and recommendations let me add this... I've used everything from APCs to household cleansers (think Comet) and Westley's (now Black Magic) Bleech White. I've haven't used the Mother's product or some of the others mentioned. From my experience (going back to the 1970s) the Bleech White is the most versatile and is highly effective in most cases. One word of caution though, it will etch bare alloy wheels and in some cases even stain clear-coated wheels, so be careful. In the most extreme cases when even the Bleech White is ineffective is where the lacquer thinner comes into play. When all else fails, dampen a rag with lacquer thinner and wipe the tire. I guarantee the tire will be as black as it possibly can be after the lacquer thinner treatment.
 
7.3powerstroke said:
I believe what Dr. G meant was if you use to strong of a cleaner you will make the tires brown at a much faster rate.
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Not so sure I buy into that either, but I don't want to appear argumentative so we'll just leave it at that.
 
Hoytman said:
I cleaned my tires 3 times until no brown foam was apparent. The tires were clean, but still some brown appearance near the tread remains. IF it's in fact something added from the tire manufacturer, then the brown should eventually come completely out with repeated cleanings...
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The anti-ozonant is an additive that is designed to exude from the rubber across the life of the tire, and protect against "dry rot". If it's "completely out" then arguably the tire has reached the end of its useful life. But don't take my word for it, listen to this guy, Mike Phillips:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...owning-tire-after-cleaning-4.html#post1046842

The point about tire cleaners, is that some cleaners can cause the antiozonant to migrate to the surface at a faster rate.
 
I guess what I was trying to say Setec, is that you can keep the brown at bay with repeated cleanings...meaning regular weekly, or bi-weekly cleaning even with soap and water after the initial brown is gone with a stronger cleaner. I'm aware of the article and I'm aware, though I didn't state it, that the brown will continue to "exude" over the life of the tire and that it suppose to...at least that's what is claimed. This will be apparent if you don't clean the tires over time as well as they'll turn brown.

Your last comment may be true, but even at that I've never noticed Westley's (one of the strongest) to cause browning faster. It may cause them to dry faster and as a result you get black on your hands, but I've never noticed the browning to get faster. Not saying I'm right or that you're wrong or that I disagree, just stating my experiences.

I can say that the compounds in tires may be different than that of black rubber or even red rubber water hoses, but over time with either color rubber hose you'll get the according color on your hands once they start to brake down, yet they don't turn brown, rather begin to oxidize and break down. Again, the compounds may be different which causes the browning in the tires. IDK. Sometimes I wonder if the browning is more from road grime/oils than anything else. Why do I state that? I've had spare tires around the house, or seen them elsewhere as flower pots...even old tractor tires...and neither were brown, at the least were nowhere near the brown state of some tires I've seen. Some can get really bad. So with that, I really question some of the so-called reasons for browning.

One thing is for sure, whether it's from road oils or "in" (from factory) the tire coming out, if you use the wrong dressing I've certainly seen browning increase and also be a bear to remove.
 
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