Cleaning brown off of tires

[Mark W]

I finally got the brown off the tires. I know I asked this a long time ago but it has been winter here and cleaning products don't work so well when it is below freezing.

I tried everything and many of the suggestions posted here - nothing worked. Just for the record, the brown I am talking about is not dirt, brake dust or any kind of muck. Tires are made with surfactants that keep the tire pliant over their lifetime. My tires seemed to have quite a bit of this in them and over time these surfactants migrate to the surface of the tires. It is darn near impossible to remove.

Anyway. I spoke with a number of people and used my own experience as a chemist who developed many car care products you probably use today on either your personal car or in autobody repair shops. I have even patented a few of these products and hold trade secrets on the best of them. I do know how to care for cars but thi was a stumper.

I spoke with a well versed guy at Mothers. He suggested a couple of products that did not work. He finally suggested their Back to Black Tire Cleaner product. It is a strong cleaner and there are strict instructions on how to use it. Today it was over 60 and I thought no better time than now to give it a go. I went out and used the product and was skeptical.

End result - it is the only product that cleaned this brown stuff off my tires. They came out black as new. Thrilled doesn't adequately express my joy.

I don't work for Mother's nor have any affiliation to them. i am extremely grateful for their help and advice. I also used their protectant on the tires afterwards and they look fantastic.

And tomorrow, it is all but guaranteed to rain.

if anyone else has the same problem, this worked, and it worked well. I'd recommend it to anyone.

Thanks again for all the suggestions.

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[Sandman Ranger]

Brown stuff is oil and wax in the sidewall rubber compound.
designed to bleed to the surface of the tire to help protect it from UV days and other chemicals. Will keep coming back.
So, you will need to keep cleaning. Soap water and brush good options.

 

[Mark W]

Not entirely correct.

The real cause of why tires turn brown is a process called "blooming" This blooming, or tire browning, occurs mainly because of an element added to the rubber called antiozonant. It saves tires from premature drying and cracking due to the process of oxidation

My Antiozonant is a chemical ingredient that is added to tire rubber to help prevent ozone from causing cracking, splitting, and degradation of the tire surface. Once the antiozonant comes in contact with the ozone in the air, the oxidation then turns it brown.

I am militant on keeping my truck clean but this problem was new to me. I know how to keep tires looking good and have never come across this before in 20 plus years of developing car care products. I mean I was well aware of what the cause was, I have never seen it this bad nor had a difficult time removing it before and minimizing its return. These tires were really really bad. I should have taken a picture, they were literally brown, with a little black poking through.

 

[Sandman Ranger]

Not entirely correct.

The real cause of why tires turn brown is a process called "blooming" This blooming, or tire browning, occurs mainly because of an element added to the rubber called antiozonant. It saves tires from premature drying and cracking due to the process of oxidation

My Antiozonant is a chemical ingredient that is added to tire rubber to help prevent ozone from causing cracking, splitting, and degradation of the tire surface. Once the antiozonant comes in contact with the ozone in the air, the oxidation then turns it brown.

I am militant on keeping my truck clean but this problem was new to me. I know how to keep tires looking good and have never come across this before in 20 plus years of developing car care products. I mean I was well aware of what the cause was, I have never seen it this bad nor had a difficult time removing it before and minimizing its return. These tires were really really bad. I should have taken a picture, they were literally brown, with a little black poking through.

Agree.
Last night I could not remember word bloom even though I have heard it over the years. Antiozonate is as I stated a couple forms. Oils and wax are a part of it. The wax used is also used in lip stick. Oil does bloom to surface because if you leave a tire or tire components sitting on a white table or light floor the oil will leach out and stain it. Have worked for Bridgestone for 25 years with 10 years in Banbury dept. Aware of what goes in them. Bridgestone has done well to prevent ozone cracking but I see other brands still have issues. There are other materials being used and tested that are citrus based and oils based on flowers. Will add zinc oxid which is also added to sidewall rubber. Much like it protects you nose it protects the tire from sun. Wax is an anti ozone product as the goal is to prevent O3 contact with rubber. Wax is a natural barrier. So cleaning actually removes this barrier. Products that do this are better but the more aggressive the cleaner the more actual damage one can do. So, elbow grease can help as much as harsh chemicals. Then follow with good dressing that helps with tire protection.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_cracking

 

[Mark W]

Thanks for the information. Very helpful.

I was stuck as to how to get these tires clean. Maybe desperate is a better word. I tried everything I could think of and consulted others on how to get this stuff off. My tires were literally brown.

Now that I have my tires back to black, what is your recommendation to clean them and protect them going forward? My old routine was to use Wesleys Blech White to clean and then protect with a silicon dressing of some type. Usually a Meguiars product. This served me well for many years but doesn’t work with these tires.

Thanks again.

 

[Sandman Ranger]

I may have missed it but what tire brand? Hancook? Where do you live? Salt winter area?
Green Magic is a good item. We use at work a lot. The bleach cleaner should also be with a good wheel brush. I have tried a few wheel products also but hate oily ones. The latest I used is Adam’s Tire Armor. A small bottle, but a little goes a long way.
atomizer sprayer is a fine controlled mist. Dries very well with no sling and a little shine. Seems to last a good while. After you clean tire, blow dry and wipe down with denatured alcohol or rubbing alcohol will work. Gets all stuff off rubber. Then spray tire armor. Light log wipe to smooth and spread. Let dry. Apply a second coat if you like. Let it set for a while. Maybe try this and wash every two weeks but just wash tire like you would the paint as to not remove the dressing. Post pics.

https://adamspolishes.com/collectio...m-s-tire-armor-best-long-lasting-tire-coating

I watched someone on You Tube who used tar and but removed for final cleaning in place or alcohol. I tried but did not like. A petroleum product I feel tar and but is hard on tire. But you could try on you brown tire. Test. Spray and wipe quickly. Little sit time.

 

[Mark W]

Live in MN. Lots of salt. The browning started some time back and seemed to be independent of weather.

not the best pic and the tires aren’t 100%fixed but it is a far cry from where they were a day ago

 

[Sandman Ranger]

Switched to Bridgestone’s early, and all tires brown some. Maybe Hancook is using more or a different chemical. Rubber in Japan smelled different than USA when I was fortunate to visit. I think the oil is the difference in that smell. Japan smelled like fish. Not making fun of them but it just did. Oil source might be the cause of what I noticed.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

I've tried everything under the planet...and I HATE Jerry Curl Tire Shine...Scrub tire clean with your favorite detergent and follow up with...

I did a deep clean on my Ranger and dressed my tires with this great stuff. I bought this on Sid’s testimonial and I love the look this gives my tires - a rich, matte black finish.

It’s hard to describe just how good it looks but if you don’t like shiny tires and want that dark black look, this is what you need to use.

Thanks Sid.

 

[Scottopia]

I use the 303 Tire & Rubber cleaner. Just spray it on, wait a couple minutes then I scrub with a brush and rinse.

https://www.goldeagle.com/product/303-tire-rubber-cleaner/

I used this for the first time last weekend. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed. Worked well enough on my tires, but they were not that bad and I had used the 303 Tire Balm which seemed to keep the browning to a minimum. Then used it on my wife’s Acadia, which I have admittedly neglected the tires, and it was a bitch to remove the browning. No joke, took a minimum of 5 cycles of aggressive scrubbing to get them decent. Sweat my ass off cleaning tires and was completely unprepared without a beer. I don’t even have a damper so my arms haven’t atrophied and it still sucked!! It DOES work… but have a good brush, a beer and be ready for some work. I will try a different tire cleaner next time.

I really like the matte finish of the 303 Tire Balm and tried the 303 Tire Coating & Protectant spray this time. The spray was so simple to apply and got into all the crevasses easily. Was a bit glossy at first but settled down overnight. Will use it on my tires going forward.

 

[AzScorpion]

I used this for the first time last weekend. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed. Worked well enough on my tires, but they were not that bad and I had used the 303 Tire Balm which seemed to keep the browning to a minimum. Then used it on my wife’s Acadia, which I have admittedly neglected the tires, and it was a bitch to remove the browning. No joke, took a minimum of 5 cycles of aggressive scrubbing to get them decent. Sweat my ass off cleaning tires and was completely unprepared without a beer. I don’t even have a damper so my arms haven’t atrophied and it still sucked!! It DOES work… but have a good brush, a beer and be ready for some work. I will try a different tire cleaner next time.

I really like the matte finish of the 303 Tire Balm and tried the 303 Tire Coating & Protectant spray this time. The spray was so simple to apply and got into all the crevasses easily. Was a bit glossy at first but settled down overnight. Will use it on my tires going forward.

I've never had any problems using it even with my old withered pencil arms. I do detail my truck often but once summer comes it's way to hot so it can be 4-5 weeks between details. I do use a foam cannon so what I do is foam the tires, let soak for a few minutes and rinse. Then spray the 303 tire cleaner on and let that soak for a minute or two, scrub with a tire brush and power wash off. I have all of their tire dressings and I do like the satin finish spray the best.

 

[Mark W]

Don't know if anyone is following this thread but I came across a solution this past weekend that worked great. I was at our cabin this weekend and was going to wash the truck. I brought along all my cleaners to do a good job. When I went to look for the Mothers Tire Cleaner I mentioned earlier, I didn't pack it. Considering this is where I start on detailing the truck, I wasn't happy.

I happen to have a couple of other cleaners at the cabin I never tried and thought I would give it a go not expecting any results. Turns out the product I used was great and did the job as good as the Mother's product. And it was less work to use. The product used can be purchased at Dollar General (and other places as well) and is only $1.00 for 32 ounces and it comes in a nice spray bottle. Here is the product.

https://www.dollargeneral.com/produ...demark-v2_All_US_____Ecomm_ROAS&gclsrc=aw.ds&

I was amazed at the results. And once again, this isn't for dirty tires but for the browning caused by chemical blooming. Entirely different problem.

 

[Mustang2Ranger]

Don't know if anyone is following this thread but I came across a solution this past weekend that worked great. I was at our cabin this weekend and was going to wash the truck. I brought along all my cleaners to do a good job. When I went to look for the Mothers Tire Cleaner I mentioned earlier, I didn't pack it. Considering this is where I start on detailing the truck, I wasn't happy.

I happen to have a couple of other cleaners at the cabin I never tried and thought I would give it a go not expecting any results. Turns out the product I used was great and did the job as good as the Mother's product. And it was less work to use. The product used can be purchased at Dollar General (and other places as well) and is only $1.00 for 32 ounces and it comes in a nice spray bottle. Here is the product.

https://www.dollargeneral.com/produ...demark-v2_All_US_____Ecomm_ROAS&gclsrc=aw.ds&

I was amazed at the results. And once again, this isn't for dirty tires but for the browning caused by chemical blooming. Entirely different problem.

Yea that stuff is like Simple Green's lesser known brother. Works great

 

[Mark W]

Yea that stuff is like Simple Green's lesser known brother. Works great

Yeah. Simple Green didn’t work at all. This stuff is magic for a lot of application.

 

[Msfitoy]

I did a deep clean on my Ranger and dressed my tires with this great stuff. I bought this on Sid’s testimonial and I love the look this gives my tires - a rich, matte black finish.

It’s hard to describe just how good it looks but if you don’t like shiny tires and want that dark black look, this is what you need to use.

Thanks Sid.

YW Duke...I bought a gallon of this...way more economical...

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