dealer's tire shine - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

JHZR2 · #1 03-02-2004, 11:06 PM

Hi,

Does anyone know the product that MB dealers use on the tires? Whenever I bring my car in, they give it a wash and coat the tires in this stuff... The tires dont really shine, but it brings out the black and they have somewhat of a sheen to them. The stuff slowly looses its sheen, and then the tire is back to matte black, but the tires never turn brown or anything.

Ive heard meguiars endurance is good stuff, but I dont want a shine, I just want the tires to look clean without looking glossy, like they do with most 'wet look' type tire coatings.

I do have back to black, and hear that it works pretty well, but isnt much as far as a protectant. Id just assume protect my tires while Im at it.

Any info would be great.
Thanks,

JMH

placo1 · #2 03-03-2004, 11:22 AM

Mercedes probably uses something they can buy in bulk, I'll ask my source what they typically use and if all dealerships use the same stuff.

Some suggestions for a nice satin finish:

Meguiars #40
Meguiars NXT Protectant
303 Aerospace Protectant

I'm currently using NXT protectant, it provides the protection I want without excessive shine and it doesn't sling at all. Here what it looks like if your curious.

JHZR2 · #3 03-03-2004, 11:42 AM

Thanks, Id appreciate that very much.

The shine of the NXT looks real nice. Does it cause your tires to go brown after sitting in the hot sun, etc for a while?

Thanks,

JMH

placo1 · #4 03-03-2004, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JHZR2
Does it cause your tires to go brown after sitting in the hot sun, etc for a while?

To be fair I can't answer that question since my car doesn't sit in the sun for very long nor has it seen rain (show car). I've used a few of Meguiars newer products like Endurance and their Vinyl/Rubber in a red bottle on my wifes Honda. I haven't noted any problems with browning like you're describing in the past year. Browning is typically caused by the cheaper and or very high gloss tire protectants which contain a harmful silicone.

My wifes car is due for a detailing after two weeks of rain so I'll do a test using the NXT and 303 on her front tires to determine if they brown and which of the two has better durability.

Hatterasguy · #5 03-18-2004, 02:34 PM

I have used 303 on my tires for about a year now and they havn't browned yet. My car is always out side. I like 303 because it gives the tires a nice black finish without to much shine. Seems to hold up well to, I havn't used it on my tires in about a month and under the sand and salt they are still black. This isn't the MB I am talking about btw, I would never let it get that dirty.

KenSilver · #6 03-29-2004, 06:59 AM

afshin.

Your hub and rotor in that photo look new - how did you get them so clean? Mine (SL500) suffer from rust, even though I rarely take the car out in the rain.

I'd like to know what you use!

Ken Silver
--------------
~1993 SL500, glistening triple black, xenons: http://www.kensilver.com/SL
~1999 SLK 230 Kompressor, silver /black, CD, immaculate (my wife's)

yal · #7 03-29-2004, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by KenSilver
afshin.

Your hub and rotor in that photo look new - how did you get them so clean? Mine (SL500) suffer from rust, even though I rarely take the car out in the rain.

I'd like to know what you use!

Ken Silver

I believe Afshin had his powdercoated or coated with one of the other methods. brakewarehouse for example allows you to powdercoat everything before they deliver it to you....

http://www.brakewarehouse.com/powdercoatingserv.asp

manny · #8 03-29-2004, 11:25 AM

KenSilver

Take the wheels off, clean them up real good with a wirebrush, give them a couple of good coats of Rustpaint ( Tremclad or similar ).
Works for me & lasts about 2 years.
Btw. We have tonnes of salt on the road for about 5 month.

placo1 · #9 03-29-2004, 12:24 PM

Some good suggestions already made with regards to keeping rotors looking nice.

Since I show my car I wanted to maint an OE new looking rotor so I had all of my rotors Electroless Nickel plated when new. Total cost for all rotors was $130, I found a local plater that was familiar with the process and did it for me. They look like they were freshly machined at all times which is nice. I'll post more details on this when I paint my calipers for those interested.

BTW all the plate shops I spoke to stated that Nickel plate would hold up better than CAD plate which is another more typical plating option. So far I've put nearly 600 miles on the rotors including some canyon drives and high speed stops without a problem. I'll post more details in the coming month.

placo1 · #10 03-29-2004, 12:32 PM

Forgot to update what I've learned on a few different tire products.

I tried 303 on my wifes front tire and if you like a matte appearance this is the way to go. It won't brown the tire as mentioned earlier and has proper UV protection.

I didn't use the NXT on the Honda, instead I used Meguiars Hot Shine in a spray bottle and was impressed. I just sprayed each tire and walked away. It is a high shine spray that takes about 24 hours to dry on the tire. When it dries it doesn't streak and stays black for about 2.5 weeks or until a couple of rains. It hasn't browned either which is good. The gloss isn't super shiny either, just very very black. Smells like coconut too

I will continue to use the NXT on my car since I like the look. This product needs to be sprayed on a foam applicator and rubbed on to the tire to prevent slinging and to get a satin finish. Another benefit of the product is it reblackens over time. In other words if you happen to take your car out for an enthusiastic drive and wear the dressing off the edges of the tire it will come back within a couple of days

Either way there are many good products out there, sometimes you need to experiment to find what you like best.

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