If you’re reading this, chances are your tires are in a sorry state. The truth is that if they’re any color that’s not a deep black, your ride is going to look second-rate.
The most common problem is when tires turn from black to gray. Today, however, we’re tackling a different and even uglier issue: tire blooming.
Deep rich jet black tire shine that lasts
SHINE AND PROTECT TIRES IN 5 MINUTES
RESTORE TIRES
★★★★★ "This is the best product on the market for your car I just love how it makes my car shine people take notice I would like to get the tire shine in a gallon that would be awesome" - Robert S.
RESTORE TIRES
The Problem: What Is Tire Blooming?If your tires have developed brown stains or brown residue on their sidewalls, you’ve almost certainly fallen victim to tire blooming. This has the appearance of old mud, but when you go to wipe it off. .. it won’t shift.
And if you thought that gray tires looked cheap, this is far worse!
What Causes Tire Blooming?Okay, before we can deal with the problem, we first need to understand what causes it.
Let’s dispel the central myth: that the cause of tire blooming is tire dressings/products. People have suggested that these products will degrade over time and leave the brown marks behind.
While this makes sense, it isn’t true!
The cause of tire blooming is the tire itself. Tires might seem like they’re just lumps of rubber, but they are highly specialized pieces of equipment. Manufacturers add multiple compounds and chemicals during the production process, and one of those compounds is called antiozonant.
Antiozonant helps to prevent the tire from degrading over time. Rubber will naturally dry out and crack unless it’s protected. Antiozonant doesn’t completely prevent this, but it does slow the process down.
Unfortunately, it also reacts with the outside elements.
Air and water are the main culprits here, and they work to break down the antiozonant over time. It’s this breakdown that leads to that ugly brown color.
A quality tire dressing helps to stop this process by forming a barrier between the tire/antiozonant and the outside elements. With this barrier in place, the degradation process occurs more slowly, and may even prevent it completely with regular applications. So, a tire dressing has two benefits: not only does it give that rubber a fresh black color, but it also helps to prevent blooming and decay in the future.
How To Clean Brown TiresSo, now you’re ready to give your ride a makeover and get those tires looking their best! By the end of these instructions, you should hopefully have taken care of the problem without having to buy new tires.
This is what you’ll need:
You may also try dish soap as a household solution. Normally, we would never recommend using household dish soap for your car. For paintwork, plastics, and other surfaces, it can be argued that it’s far too aggressive. However, tires are a different story, and dish soap will be safe on them. Nonetheless, if you’re looking for the best possible results, choose your preferred tire-specific cleaning product. 
Its formulation protects from both UV and water, and it’s also strengthened with sealant technology. This combination is guaranteed to give you the best protection against tire rot and blooming that money can buy! However, Tire Shine isn’t just for protection. It will rejuvenate a tire of any age with a beautiful, rich, satin-black shine. Our 100% money-back guarantee comes with every bottle we make, and we guarantee you’ll love the results!
Sloshing that over the wheels for the final rinse will get the job done. Now that you have everything you need, here’s your step-by-step method to getting rid of tire blooming!
It does increase the work, but it also improves the effects - and it guarantees you won’t suffer the frustration of waiting for everything to dry and then realizing you’ve missed a spot! You’re done! Not only will the dirty, cheap-looking bloom be gone from your tires, but now they’ll also have a beautiful premium black shine and be protected from future discoloration!
More Myths Around Tire BloomingWe already know that tire products don’t cause tire blooming, despite what some people say.
But there are some more myths out there, and it’s helpful to separate fact from fiction.
Mold is definitely a problem for tires. Any mold or rot will degrade the rubber and drastically reduce its lifespan. It can even make your tires unpredictable and dangerous while driving. However, despite all that, it doesn’t directly cause tire blooming.
As we know, the cause of tire blooming is antiozonants reacting with the outside environment. Mold doesn’t contain antiozonants, although very occasionally, the mold can cause a build-up of antiozonants on the surface, because they will cling to the mold itself. So, mold can contribute to tire blooming, but it’s not the direct cause.
You can use non-stick lubricants (also called mold release) to get rid of mold. This is a quick, easy, and relatively cheap solution that doesn’t require more than a few minutes of work. However, if you’re finding mold on your tires, we have to suggest a more regular cleaning and care routine! Mold isn’t a good sign!
Have you ever used a tire dressing product that gets your tires nice and black but then attracts dirt like a magnet? Chances are you’ve used a silicone-based product.
Silicone is well known for attracting dirt and other unwanted substances, and we would never recommend using any tire product that contains it. However, one thing it doesn’t do is cause tire blooming!
Deep rich jet black tire shine that lasts
SHINE AND PROTECT TIRES IN 5 MINUTES
RESTORE TIRES
★★★★★ "This is the best product on the market for your car I just love how it makes my car shine people take notice I would like to get the tire shine in a gallon that would be awesome" - Robert S.
RESTORE TIRES
Until you have experienced it yourself, you probably wouldn’t ever think about tire blooming. However, once it’s happened, you’ll certainly know all about it!
Using the cleaning and restoration guide above, we’re sure that you’ll be able to get your tires back to a showroom-ready look in no time!
Of course, the best solution to a problem is to prevent it from ever happening in the first place.
That’s where regular tire care and dressing comes in. With just a little regular attention, you can guarantee that your tires never fall victim to rot or tire blooming!
Deep black-colored tires are essential for any car to look its best. After all, we all want our ride to look stunning! So, even if Torque Detail Tire Shine doesn’t protect against tire blooming and degradation, it still makes total sense to use it! However, considering the added protection that Tire Shine will give you, this really is a no-brainer. Pick up a bottle today and give your tires the five-star treatment!
Written by Dan Sweeney
COO of Torque Detail & Certified Car Detailer
I help run the day to day for America's Number #1 Car Wax Mirror Shine by Torque Detail. As a Certified Detailer by the International Detailing Association, I use that knowledge to help create products that get professional grade results with super simple application techniques.
Regular cleaning and dressing of your tires will prevent or at the very least minimize the appearance of brown on your tires.
Chances are you've encountered tire blooming and you don't even know it. Blooming is what causes a tire to look brown. That new set of tires that you have to scrub over and over again to get them to look black, or the tires on a car you detail less frequently that are closer to the color of chocolate than they are black. Modern rubber compounds are becoming increasingly complex, far more than most people realize. Tire manufacturers are continually pushing the envelope with chemistry and design to create tires that can keep up with the demands of today's cars and drivers. Higher mileage, more miles per gallon, better all-weather traction, or high speed and cornering as cars get better, faster, more intense the tires they roll on must change to keep up. We expect increased performance from our vehicles and tires are an integral part of that, but rarely do we take the time to understand what exactly has changed about tires other than going from bias ply to radial in the late 1960s.
What does this all have to do with your tires turning brown? Read on.
An antiozonant is probably something you've never heard of. Its an organic compound added to rubber materials that prevent, or at the very least, slows the deterioration caused by exposure to the elements. Antiozonants are used as an additive in almost all of the exterior rubber and plastic parts to one degree or another, but they are most prevalent in tire manufacturing. The antiozonant additive keeps plastics and rubbers from becoming dry, brittle, oxidized or cracking. It does this by preventing the surface of the material from oxidizing and keeps the material pliable.
Thanks to antiozonants in rubber compounds we have high mileage tires, performance tires, and everything in between. Without it sports cars would shred tires incredibly fast after just a few high speed turns or long track runs where the tires were heated up. Even your daily driven commuter car would need tires far more often as the sun and heat slowly rotted away the rubber compounds.
Tire rubber compounds are designed in a way that allows the antiozonant to continually work its way to the outside of the tire and as such, continually keeps the outer surface and sidewall pliable and resistant to oxidation. Once antiozonant reaches the outside of the tire and is exposed to air and moisture it oxidizes, the result being a brownish residue. The term for this ugly brownish tire look is 'tire blooming'. Just like metals left exposed to the outside world will slowly begin to rust (oxidize) as it is exposed to water and air, so does the antiozonant component of the tire rubber. Making matters worse is the use of mold releases in the manufacturing processes. These lubricant type chemicals provide a non-stick surface for the inside of a tire mold. The mold releases chemical bonds with the tire and hold antiozonants onto the surface of the tire. While some people will point to mold release as the primary and/or only source of tire blooming, it is in fact often times only a part of the problem.
Even after the removal of mold release, a tire will continue to push antiozonant to the surface allowing the brown residue to return.
Wheel cleaners used to dissolve metallic contamination, like our Wheel Cleaner, can have an accelerating effect on the oxidation of antiozonant. The reaction you see when brake dust is turned to a reddish slurry by Wheel Cleaner or a similar product is, in a very simplified way, oxidation. The chemical reacts with the metallic contamination and begins to dissolve it, allowing it to be easily rinsed away or agitated with a brush.
Tires that have not been cleaned properly before or have been left uncleaned for long periods of time will have substantial amounts of the antiozonant built up on the surface of the tire. When an active wheel cleaner comes into contact with this buildup it will accelerate the browning or blooming. Because of this it's imperative to regularly scrub tires to remove the buildup of antiozonant and 'dead' rubber - think of it almost like exfoliating your skin.
If you routinely use our Wheel Cleaner or similar color changing wheel cleaners for their ability to remove stubborn brake dust then be sure to spend an extra couple of minutes scrubbing your tires as well.
Does this necessarily mean that you should discontinue the use of Wheel Cleaner? No, but it should be used with the understanding that the tire needs deep cleaning after the wheel to remove any residue or prevent tire blooming acceleration as a result of the oxidation process. By spraying your Tire & Rubber Cleaner first during your process, it’s not only allowing the Wheel Cleaner to be diluted, but also allowing the tire to begin getting to clean rather than further browned with the Wheel Cleaner residue! Abrading the tire sidewall to remove this will prevent blooming in the first place - the reason your side walls brown, but your treads don't is that the treads are continually worn away by driving so the surface never is allowed to sit long enough to display blooming.
For years the prevailing thought has been that silicone based tire dressings are the culprit for brown tires.
Read any number of forums and the first thing most casual detailers will point to is the choice of tire shine the person with the issue uses. While silicone can be a messy and sticky solution to making your tires shine it isn't always the main culprit of the brown issue.
Most browning related to silicone will be due to the silicone holding dirt and debris on the tires surface, not the tire itself turning brown. This type of browning is very easy to remove as silicone dressings also remove with scrubbing and a citrus-based degreaser like Tire & Rubber Cleaner.
Adam’s Tire & Rubber Cleaner is the only cleaner that drastically sets your vehicle apart from the rest on the road. Tire & Rubber Cleaner cleans discoloration, oxidation, and ugly mold release agents out of your tire’s sidewall to leave a brilliant, dark, rich surface. Adam’s Tire & Rubber Cleaner strips your tires of any harsh silicone dressings, reduces scuffs, and allows for tire dressings like Tire Shine and VRT to lay evenly, and last significantly longer.
Don't think this means you should immediately start to treat your tires with tons of silicone, there are still a lot of reasons it's not an ideal way to dress your tires, but don't believe the story that your choice of tire dressing is the ONLY source for the brown residue. Silicone and water based dressings can be used and the tire can still exhibit blooming... it's the tires surfaces and/or lack of heavy cleaning more than it is anything you've treated it with.
Removing the blooming is really a simple process - the use of a good degreasing agent, like Adam’s Tire & Rubber Cleaner, and a stiff bristle Tire brush should be more than enough to remove even the worst blooming within a few treatments. Be sure to rinse the tires extremely well with clean after each cleaning to remove any chemical buildup.
Once the brown residues are removed regular cleanings with Tire & Rubber Cleaner shouldn't need to be as aggressive, but if you notice the blooming returning just scrub well.
Adam’s Tire & Rubber Cleaner is a citrus based degreasing solution that combines the power of an industrial strength degreaser with a user friendly citrus based cleaner. Adam’s Tire & Rubber Cleaner contains a unique blend of citrus solvents and surfactants to create a high sudsing formula and removes silicones, greases, wax build up, polymers, and any previously applied dressings to leave your tires looking like new. Adam’s Tire & Rubber Cleaner is an essential part of the first step in basic wash practices when cleaning your wheels and tires first before the remainder of the vehicle comes in contact with water. Adam’s Tire & Rubber Cleaner has set the standard for rubber, tire, and plastic trim cleaning products without using harsh ingredients that are harmful to you or the environment.
The application of a quality water based dressing like VRT or a dressing low in silicone content like Adam's Tire Shine will help slow the reappearance of blooming by providing a barrier between the tire surface and the environment.
Because antiozonants continue to work their way towards the outside of the tire even a car which sees very little use or doesn't have very dirty tires may experience tire blooming when eventually exposed to oxidizers due to lack of cleaning. As such it is recommended that even relatively clean tires be treated to a semi-regular scrubbing to remove the antiozonants from the outer layer of the tire sidewalls.
Each tire will have a different amount of blooming it is prone to. Some tires may bloom very slowly, while others will bloom almost before your very eyes. The amount of antiozonant and the way the tire is designed to push it to the surface will determine how fast or slow it happens. Regardless, one thing remains true - regular cleaning and dressing of your tires will prevent or at the very least minimize the appearance of brown on your tires.
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The right technology and the right detergents will help get rid of brake dust and gravel stuck in the tread, improving the safety of the car, driver and passengers.
How to wash tires we will tell in this article.
To clean the wheels from dirt, dust and oil residues, you will have to act according to the following plan:
In the final, the wheel is applied with a protector that protects the tires from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation.
To clean dried-on dirt from rims and wheels, you will need a machine that generates high-pressure water. Such installations are produced by American and European companies, so they are quite expensive, but they can be replaced with an ordinary hose and a special nozzle that accelerates the water jet to a pressure sufficient to clean the car.
To remove residual dirt, you will need a medium-hard bristle brush and a cleaning solution that is used to treat wheels and rims. This solution can be prepared from household chemicals found in the kitchen or bathroom, or bought at an automotive store. Moreover, store products are divided into universal foam cleaners and solutions based on weak acids, which can only process car rims.
By the way, if you don’t know how to wipe rubber off a car, try this solution.
To wash the wheels of cleaning products, you need the same high-pressure apparatus or a hose with a nozzle. But as a napkin that will wipe off the remaining water, you need to use only clean microfiber from the package.
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To prepare a solution that can clean dirt from tires, dilute in a small amount of water to half a standard bottle of dishwashing detergent.
Pour the resulting concentrate into a container into which it is convenient to dip a car brush. Thanks to the abundance of surfactants found in dish detergent, a homemade solution will clean tires as well as a factory cleaner.
Rules for the use of home remedies that can clean wheels are similar to the recommendations of manufacturers of commercial drugs. Before treating tires and rims with home remedies, make sure you wash the tires. Otherwise, brake dust and gravel residues will turn into abrasive particles that can scratch the tread when you scrub it off dirt with a brush or sponge. Do not try to clean the wheel with an old cloth that has been used to clean the engine compartment or bodywork - it will stain the wheel with oil or gasoline.
Article author: The Goodyear team
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You don't have to go to a car wash or a spare parts store to get your tires back to a deep black color. You can get by with improvised means, and some of them are sure to be found in almost every home.
There are several ways to blacken tires that are safe and do not affect traction. In the absence of special means for restoring color, for example, shoe polish, glycerin, silicone oil, and even laundry soap and household chemicals are used. Each substance has its pros and cons, but it should be remembered that none of them fully possesses the qualities inherent in special solutions: neither long-term effect, nor protective properties, nor ease of use.
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Blackening tires with shoe polish or other shoe care product is the first thing that comes to mind. At the same time, the processing process itself is no different, only instead of a brush it is better to use a sponge so that splashes of shoe polish do not stain the body. We simply rub the sidewall of the washed and dried tire with shoe polish and let it dry.
To be honest, the result does not look very good, even when using the product with wax: there is neither shine nor color depth. The application process itself is also inconvenient - imagine what it would be like to process four wheels. The downside is that you have to wait for the shoe polish to dry completely before driving. Otherwise, road dust will quickly stick to the treated surface, reducing all the efforts made to nothing. Of course, there are also quick-drying paint creams, but their cost is such that it will still be cheaper to buy a special product for blackening tires.
Due to its consistency, glycerin creates a stunning jet-black shiny tire effect, and the degree of "greatness" can be adjusted by diluting the product with plain water. For one procedure, only one hundred grams of glycerin and the same amount of water are enough. We mix them, taking into account the fact that the less water in the composition, the more "fat" the effect will be. But it’s better not to spare water, otherwise dust will stick to the tires, as in the case of wet shoe polish. The composition is applied with a simple sponge without rubbing. By the way, unpainted black plastic body parts can also be processed with this composition.
The advantage of this method is its low cost and the availability of glycerin in any pharmacy. The disadvantages overlap all the advantages: glycerin quickly ages rubber, causing it to crack. In addition, the composition is very well washed off with water - the very first rain or driving through a puddle will not leave a trace of glycerin.
In dry weather, tires will only stay black for a couple of days.
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Blackening tires with silicone oil is not the cheapest way because it is not sold in small containers and you will have to buy an annual supply of funds right away. This method is the simplest, most efficient and less labor-intensive than the others. It is better to use medium viscosity oil, which will also come in handy for treating tires before winter or summer storage - this is the only substance described that somehow protects rubber from cracking, drying out, ultraviolet radiation and moisture.
The effect after treatment with silicone oil is long-lasting and the tires look blacker than new. Silicone oil is also treated with door seals and trunk lids so that they do not freeze.
Laundry soap is perhaps the cheapest product suitable for blackening tires.
It can be applied with a pre-soaped brush, or by dissolving a crumb of soap in water, apply the composition with a sponge. There is no need to rinse off the soap: when it dries, the rubber will acquire a beautiful and deep black tint. Like most artisanal methods, blackening tires with laundry soap has its drawbacks. Rubber because of it, as in the case of glycerin, ages faster and may begin to crack, so we do not recommend this method of blackening.
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Household chemicals are often used in car washes. This is a cheap, effective and harmless method for rubber and its adhesion to an expensive method, which can be offered as a bonus or "gift". It is mainly used for washing glasses, as well as dishes. The first is sprayed onto the sidewall of the tire and rubbed quickly, while the second is applied with a damp sponge. It is not necessary to wash off the compositions.
Also on the forums it is advised to blacken tires with drinks. More often than others, Coca-Cola is mentioned. But because of the sugar in the composition of the cola, it creates a sticky layer, on which dust quickly settles, and is easily washed off in the first puddle.
***
All of the listed products, of course, are inferior to the special compounds sold in auto chemical departments. Their blackening effect is short-lived and does not look so beautiful. In addition, most of them can harm rubber by affecting its chemical composition and reducing its service life. Nevertheless, the described methods are in demand due to their availability and spontaneity, because most motorists do not need to blacken tires every day.
However, the safest alternatives to professional tire blackeners are silicone and household chemicals. The latter is usually also cheaper.
Photo: depositphotos.
