Ideas to get KDW2s back in black?

[GarageMahal]

I put on a set of BFG KDW2 tires this spring and really love how they perform on the MM. They were a bit dull and brownish when I got them but hoped they would brighten up after a good wash. They didn't and have continued to turn even browner.

I have not tried anything special at this point to get them back to black and thought I would ask for suggestions from the group here first.

jta

[STLR FN]

I've tried a plain ol' steel wool pad and a lot of elbow grease. Seems to work for me.

[RF Overlord]

Zaino Z-16 Perfect Tire Gloss.

Don't let the name fool you, it does not make the tires look "wet" or shiny or leave a greasy film like Armor All does, it just makes them look clean and black.

[michael ward]

Zaino Z-16 Perfect Tire Gloss.

Don't let the name fool you, it does not make the tires look "wet" or shiny or leave a greasy film like Armor All does, it just makes them look clean and black.this is great stuff zaino is the best but before you use z-16 clean your tires w/ wesleys bleech white and a scrub brush and watch all that brown and dirt fall off now hose off then dry your rims and tires..... now your ready for z-16 your tires will look newer than new :burnout:

[duhtroll]

TMF did mine yesterday with Meguiars tire stuff - forget exactly what it's called but it got my KDW2s nice and black for the cruise last night. Look for the thick purple stuff.

It's probably cheaper than Zaino knowing how expensive that can get, too.

-A

[BruteForce]

I had the same problem w/my KDW2s. Soap didn't do it. "Magic" tire cleaners had no effect. I have a shelf full of "also ran" tire cleaning/shine products. The best I've found so far is Meguiar's Insane Tire Shine. It is really durable too. It still looks good weeks after an application. And it stinks purty too. :D

[TAF]

this is great stuff zaino is the best but before you use z-16 clean your tires w/ wesleys bleech white and a scrub brush and watch all that brown and dirt fall off now hose off then dry your rims and tires..... now your ready for z-16 your tires will look newer than new :burnout:
That's what I use^^^ Wesley's Bleach White with a tire brush then Zaino...they look as good as new after 12K miles.

[TheDonk]

[Posted by duhtroll: Meguiars tire stuff - forget exactly what it's called but it got my KDW2s nice and black for the cruise last night. Look for the thick purple stuff.]

"Endurance" - good stuff!

[jgc61sr2002]

I concur Westleys Tire White is the way to go. :)

[GarageMahal]

Thanks all! Off to the store I go...

jta

[fastblackmerc]

I concur Wesleys Tire White is the way to go. :)
I also use Wesleys Bleach White and a scotchbrite pad.

[CRUZTAKER]

Like nearly everyone said, the Wesleys bleach white and a hand brush will remove all that nasty brown.

Don't let the Wesleys sit on your clear coated wheels in direct sunlight. You won't like the results.

[GarageMahal]

So is this the stuff? -->Westley's® Bleche-Wite®


That's what I use^^^ Wesley's Bleach White with a tire brush then Zaino...they look as good as new after 12K miles.

Guess I need to place another Zaino order. I am going to try the Meguire's stuff first since I can pick it locally.

... and I don't really believe your tires "look good as new" after 12K miles... well maybe the sidewalls do ;)

jta

[67435animal]

So is this the stuff? -->Westley's® Bleche-Wite®



Guess I need to place another Zaino order. I am going to try the Meguire's stuff first since I can pick it locally.

... and I don't really believe your tires "look good as new" after 12K miles... well maybe the sidewalls do ;)

jta

George, yes, Bleche White is the stuff. You can get it at most stores, including Walmart.

No offense to the Zaino group, but, there are products that work as well or better for 1/2 (or less) the price. Try Meguiar's Endurance. It goes on a little greasy but when you buff it, the tire looks natural.

[SergntMac]

Like nearly everyone said, the Wesleys bleach white and a hand brush will remove all that nasty brown. Don't let the Wesleys sit on your clear coated wheels in direct sunlight. You won't like the results.
Really...I mean, it's called "bleech-white" for a reason, ya know? Wesley's is not a tire prep, it's a cleaner. Go easy, watch your overspray.

[Shaft333]

George, yes, Bleche White is the stuff. You can get it at most stores, including Walmart.

No offense to the Zaino group, but, there are products that work as well or better for 1/2 (or less) the price. Try Meguiar's Endurance. It goes on a little greasy but when you buff it, the tire looks natural.
I fell victim to Zaino hype. A friend suggested it, long before I saw many MM members repeat the same info. Found it to be actually worse (talking about their polish not their tire stuff) than Mother's and Maguire's on my car. On my motorcycle (red) it is as good as Mother's but requires a lot more work.
They have excellent marketing. The equivalent of an infomercial without the cheesy audience going, "ooooh."
Stay away from Zaino and save your cash.

[67435animal]

I fell victim to Zaino hype. A friend suggested it, long before I saw many MM members repeat the same info. Found it to be actually worse (talking about their polish not their tire stuff) than Mother's and Maguire's on my car. On my motorcycle (red) it is as good as Mother's but requires a lot more work.
They have excellent marketing. The equivalent of an infomercial without the cheesy audience going, "ooooh."
Stay away from Zaino and save your cash.

Try Mother's Refllections. It goes on easily, dries quickly and gives excellent depth and gloss.

[metroplex]

I just wash my tires using the same stuff I wash my car with. I would care about the sidewall color if the tread lasts longer than the sidewall. Generally speaking I have to get new tires within 5 years since the tread is shot.

[mrjones]

[QUOTE=GarageMahal]I have not tried anything special at this point to get them back to black and thought I would ask for suggestions from the group here first.

A good all purpose cleaner will work great. Something like Castrol's SuperClean in the purple bottle, or even 409 will work and make the tires black again. Don't let it dry on the wheels.

[Bradley G]

I know the westleys product is fantastic at getting the tires black.

I read that the chemical can etch the wheels.
I have been afraid to use Bleech white, for fear of staining the wheels.
do you mask off the rims? wet them down first? just careful not to get any on the wheels?I heard not to apply in the direct sunlight from one of the eariler posts.What , if any, precautions do you take?
Bradley G

[67435animal]

I know the westleys product is fantastic at getting the tires black.

I read that the chemical can etch the wheels.
I have been afraid to use Bleech white, for fear of staining the wheels.
do you mask off the rims? wet them down first? just careful not to get any on the wheels?I heard not to apply in the direct sunlight from one of the eariler posts.What , if any, precautions do you take?
Bradley G

As long as you spray the tire, keeping the spray on the tire, brush and then rinse, there is no problem. I have been using Bleche White for 20 years and the only time I stained a wheel was on a 77 Corvette. The wheel cleaned up with Mother's Mag Wheel Polish.

[SergntMac]

A good all purpose cleaner will work great. Something like Castrol's SuperClean in the purple bottle
No.

Stop.

Do not use this solvent anywhere on a Marauder. It's highly aggressive towards clearcoat, paint, and aluminum in general, read the lable? It will eat through powdercoating, and jet hot ceramic coating like a hungry bear. This crap has no place among automotive cleaners and solvents, or, in your garage. IMHO, stay away, or, you'll pay.

More crap I just discovered, is Armor All wash and wax gels. Two squeeze bottles packaged together, the wash is blue, and the wax is red. Pure crapola and a big waste of time. The only thing that's true in their advertising, is that you don't need a bucket, but even that's BS. Where do you put the wash mitt when you pause for a break? What a waste of time, I'll stick to what has worked for me for over 20 years. Dawn dish soap, and rinse with vinegar.

[TooManyFords]

Dawn dish soap, and rinse with vinegar.No.

Stop.

Don't use Dawn. It has the amazing ability to do two sinks full of dishes with just a squeeze and to strip every last molecule of wax from your car on contact!

If you want sudsy soap, get something like Wizards wash concentrate (is it day-glo pink in the bottle) and then rinse with vinegar.

I learned this by working for Wheelers Autobody and Chris the paint guru explained all this to me. In fact, the local collision centers use Dawn to prep cars to get rid of any wax finishes before scuffing and priming. I too used to use Dawn, but no more.

(edit: Ooops! We're talking about tires and not the paint... This advice is only for the paint. carry on...)

Wink.

Cheers!

John

[SergntMac]

Don't use Dawn. It has the amazing ability to do two sinks full of dishes with just a squeeze and to strip every last molecule of wax from your car on contact!

If you want sudsy soap, get something like Wizards wash concentrate (is it day-glo pink in the bottle) and then rinse with vinegar.

I learned this by working for Wheelers Autobody and Chris the paint guru explained all this to me. In fact, the local collision centers use Dawn to prep cars to get rid of any wax finishes before scuffing and priming. I too used to use Dawn, but no more.
Ummm...I thought everyone knew that about Dawn, it's what I want. Old wax off, new wax on. But, you make the Wizard stuff sound interesting, I'll check it out. Thanks, John!

[67435animal]

Ummm...I thought everyone knew that about Dawn, it's what I want. Old wax off, new wax on. But, you make the Wizard stuff sound interesting, I'll check it out. Thanks, John!

Meguiar's NXT makes the best suds I have ever seen in a car wash soap. And, it won't harm your finish or wax. I've never tried Wizards.

[fastblackmerc]

Meguiar's NXT makes the best suds I have ever seen in a car wash soap. And, it won't harm your finish or wax. I've never tried Wizards.
I use the Mr. Clean system, have for over a year on my '04 which gets washed at least once a week, never had any problems with it, and I never have any water spots left after a wash (no drying needed).

[warren]

A close friend and client is the Mfg. of Forever Black.
Superb product. Works for me!!!
Gel for tires.
Cleaner and black dye for bumpers and moldings etc.
Special product for bedliners.

Forever BLACK™ Car Care Products use specially formulated dyes instead of silicone to bring back the life to faded black bumpers, trim, tires, bed liners and more! …and they hold the color much longer and help protect against environmental elements such as UV rays. What's more, Forever BLACK™ products do not pick up or attract road grime or dust!

It works like a charm, really easy to use.

Ck. out www.foreverblack.net

Warren :D

[David Morton]

Waxing is a waste of time with todays urethane clearcoat if you know how to take care of it. It was designed to eliminate the need for waxing if proper care is taken to keep the clearcoat in good shape, and the way to do that is to not scratch the hell out of it by scouring the stuff with fine sand and brake dust from your wash mitt!

USE A CAR WASHING BRUSH! A "soft-cloth" car wash is still gonna scour the clearcoat with fine sand and brake dust. "Touchless" carwashes are the only ones I'll use.

I have washed my Marauder since the day I got it with a brush and Lemon Joy. Lemon Joy that removes every last molecule of grease (and wax) as well as road oils and waxes that blow up on it from driving it around town. It stays clean longer and the water beads up on it as good as the day I got it.

And the clearcoat is immaculate and scratch free, with none of those micro-fine circular "sunburst" scratches that you see under the parking lot lights at night on those cars that guys are scouring with their wash-mitts.

Wish I had taken the same care with the wheels. I used some of those tire and wheel cleaner/shiners and they hurt the clearcoat. Not much, I noticed it in time, but I can see the damage if I look closely. Since I noticed, the wheels get the same Lemon Joy and they shine just fine. Any brand of tire dressing applied with a sponge to the rubber only and they are ready for the car show.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. :D