Armor All Protectant

[lino]

Will Armor All Protectant ruin my tires or can I use this product to give them a shine?

[JMH11788]

Originally Posted by lino

Will Armor All Protectant ruin my tires or can I use this product to give them a shine?

Why do you think it would ruin them? It's meant to be used for tires. I use it all the time on mine.

[lino]

I have heard from some people that Armor All can ruin tires causing cracking and such. I was looking to get some opinions from other members here and their experiences.

[JMH11788]

Originally Posted by lino

I have heard from some people that Armor All can ruin tires causing cracking and such. I was looking to get some opinions from other members here and their experiences.

Hmm I've never heard of that. If your specifcally worried about Armol All Protectant, they do make products specially for tires.

[dolebludger]

I learned something about Armorall when I bought a vinyl pickup trck bed cover seven years ago. It had a two year warranty, but the instructions said use of Armorall would void the warranty. Said to use 303 instead. Well, as I had previously been using Armorall for many purposes, I called the bed cover manufacturer and asked what was wrong wih Armorall. I was told that plastics and rubber are actually somewhat porous, despite appearances to the contrary. I was told that Armorall initially gives a "greasy" shine, but dries up rather quickly, including that in the pores. I was told that in this manner Armorall actually causes drying out and cracking of these materials. I followed the bed cover manufacturer's advice and used 303, and it looks almost like new after seven years. I discontinued use of Armorall on dashboards, vinyl interior parts, and tires. All I personaly know is the tires on the seven year old truck have no sidewall cracking either -- and I have used 303 on them. I have been told be several pro detailers to throw any Armorall I might have away. I did, and uses 303 instead. All I can say is all such surfaces look like new on my 7, 4, and 2 year old vehicles --- without all that grease that Armorall leaves.

I'd avoid it!

Thanks,
Richard

[samiam4]

Yes, I've heard it can void your tire warrentee too!

Read the policies. Bad stuff. 303 protectant is what the military uses on their expensive equipment.


Michael

[Ethan]

Michelin sells a really nice tire dressing. made by a US firm and labeled and liscened by Michelin.

Supposedly, ozone and silicone cause tire cracking. I think on the Michelin site they warn against using silicone on tires. I'll go and double check.

[Ethan]

Why should I use Michelin Tire Care instead of other 'tire shine' products? Some so-called 'protectants' actually do little to protect tires. In fact, some of the tire shine products in clear bottles contain materials called petroleum distillates or paraffinic hydrocarbons. (Federal law requires that these materials be listed on either the front or rear label, therefore it is easy to determine if a particular product contains them.) These materials are solvents and may actually harm tires or rubber trim with repeated use. Michelin Tire Care does not contain these harsh solvents and is the only tire protectant approved for use by Michelin.

[dolebludger]

Quite true, and the Michelin tire dressing is very good. I have taken to using the 303 for tire dressing as well. Not very much of a "shine", but I don't want one. Just a long lasting deep black matte finish, that will stay through many washings. And 303 does not contain any of these harmful ingrediants, either.

Thanks,
Richard

[CougarMark67XR7]

Stay away from Armorall. It will dry out your tires, dash, plastic and rubber in very short order. There are many tire/rubber/plastic dressings that can be obtained at your local auto parts store.