Ever wonder how the tires on some cars stand out looking shiny and new? The answer is Tire Dressing. Tire Dressing is a product detailing shops and car enthusiasts apply to tires in order to make them look shiny, clean, and new. There are many different formulas for tire dressings and in two major categories: Solvent-Based and Water-Based.

All dressings used to be solvent-based. Solvent-based products are sticky. They are popular with people who want a high-gloss or wet look to the tire. Most tire dressing products on the shelf at your local auto parts store are solvent-based. These products are not environmentally friendly and can be very difficult to work with because of their stickiness.

A common concern with a solvent-based tire dressing is sling getting onto the paint of the car. Sling occurs when a car is in motion and the tire dressing flies off the tire, or slings, landing on the rocker panels and rear fenders. Solvent-based products can leave a mark on the paint finish and should be removed right away before it dries or sets.

Because solvent-based tire dressings are sticky, it attracts dust and dirt and can have a tendency to gum up where overspray or excessive application has built. It’s important to always clean the tires before applying a new coat of tire dressing and you will find that solvent-based dressings are more trouble to clean off than water-based.

Water-based tire dressings, on the other hand, provide a more slick feel rather than sticky, and are Environmentally Friendly. Many water-based dressings incorporate UV filters which helps preserve the tires’ built-in sun-block that becomes depleted over time. Protecting the rubber from UV damage helps keep sidewalls supple.

Water-based tire dressings are known for the matte or satin shine it provides. While proper application prevents sling, water-based dressing won’t harm the paint job. Since this dressing isn’t sticky it doesn’t attract dust or dirt and won’t gum up, making cleaning between applications extremely easy. The application can be layered to build a glossier look and can also be applied to rubber bumpers, vinyl, window stripping and other trim making it more versatile than its solvent-based counterpart.

If you would like to try a tire dressing but are concerned about potential long-term harm, stick to water-based formulas that include UV filters and lack silicone oils. This type of dressing is safe and can even be beneficial.

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Automatic car washes are increasingly being exposed to scrutiny. With the advent of new age products meant to make car washing faster and easier as ever these giant washing machines are in the verge of extinction.

Automatic car washes have giant cloth brushes that swirl around your car to give it a good rubbing. These giant brushes get filthy as they wash more and more cars through the course of the day and the chances of getting other people’s dirt on your car is very high. In fact incidents of large sharp objects like antennas getting trapped between those brushes are not unheard of. That spells disaster to anyone who takes the next turn on that giant washing machine.

Because of water regulations, some automatic car washes are required to recycle water. This recycled water has been used to clean other cars. This can spell disaster if you happen to be last in line. Although recycled water is treated it is scary to think about all those dirt and microscopic particles going back to your car.

Like commercial dry cleaning, automatic car washes use industrial strength shampoo to make up for the less accurate way of cleaning a car. A human can visually eye which part of the car needs special attention with a mitt. A rotating giant machine however just treats the whole car the same way. These stronger chemical compounds have been blamed for faded non-metallic parts and other damages when an automatic car wash is used too often.

Automatic car washes are great if you are in a hurry or have no other place to clean your car. Sometimes people are left with no choice but to drive their cars through one but professional detailers know that it takes a lot of care to bring out the best in your car’s paint finish. They only suggest using automatic car washes only in emergency situations.

Nothing beats a good hand washing with your eye on the paint. This is how people who have show cars prepare their cars. It would be terrible to have giant swirling brushes touch a quality paint job. Professional detailers often say that the less contact the car’s surface has to cleaning devices then the longer it will hold its shine.

At worst, automatic car washes can and will damage your paint, but hand washing can take a lot of time and energy to complete. So it is up to you to choose your preferred method. But if you have a new car and you would like its shine to last for a long time then it is better for you to hand wash your vehicle.

There was a day when we all just grabbed a bottle of dish soap and went to work on our cars but those days are long gone.

Dish soap is designed to eat away grease and food oils and works great for that purpose but we need to keep all that in the kitchen! The same attributes that work so well at dissolving grease on pots and pans cause it to wreak havoc on car wax, plastic moldings and can even dry out your rubber seals!

Some of the factors that establish a great car wash shampoo are foaming ability, lubricity or slickness, ph, concentration, gentleness, and even gloss enhancers. All of these factors, and the care and skill of the manufacturer, contribute to why various car shampoos cost more than others.

Modern high quality car wash shampoos clean a car’s exterior surface and enhance the gloss as it leaves the underlying car wax, protectant or sealant intact. Cheap “no name” bulk clearance store soaps lack many of the refinements of the more “boutique” line of products. High-end car wash shampoos tend to cost a little more but they are also more concentrated, for if you do the math, you will find that you are actually getting a better deal with the higher quality car wash shampoo.