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Hawk, from Wisconsin, is looking for the maximum shine for the tires on his 2016 Ram 1500. He asks other Ram drivers how they apply their tire shine products. “What are you using? I bought a curved applicator from autozone; paid $4 for it. It lasted 3.5 tires before the pad ripped apart.”
Shell tells him that the applicator doesn’t need to be expensive. “Cheap microfiber towel and a paint brush for raised areas.”
Quiet says that the best results require specific products. He recommends “this tire shine: Adam's 16oz VRT Tire Dressing | Super VRT | Trim & Tire Shine,” and using “This applicator: Hex-Grip Tire Dressing Applicator | Car Detail Products.”
Goose prefers a different manufacturer. Goose likes “Mothers Speed shine, aerosol can.”
However, some of the other drivers are concerned about overspray, which could result in the coating getting on your paint.
Nitty likes yet another shine product. “Chemical Guys VRP with a curved applicator. Lasts for quite some time. No sling, has a more natural look. Not a greasy looking product and smells great.” I like the idea that the tires don’t look greasy. Some of the products look great, like the tires are brand new, but in my opinion, some do look greasy, like they are dripping wet.
Ram1 likes the Chemical Guys VRP but says that he is going to try out another product. “I have trail grappler M/T's so my treads tear up foam pads like you were saying. I’m going to order the chemical guys silk shine dressing next because the stuff looks amazing.”
Decide on the Finish You Prefer
Walker, also from Wisconsin, is concerned that some of the products can actually harm the tires. “Which tire shine products don't dry out and crack your tires?”
Hawk has already tried a couple of products. “I've got Eagle 1 at the house, plus some other aerosol can stuff. Seems ok. I don't want to sling excess all over the truck, but I don't need my tires super shiny either.”
JB says he has a product that he uses on the tires and vinyl trim on his truck. “I just use Aerospace 303, protects the rubber with SPF40, gives them that new tire black look, not greasy/slimy/shiny so there is nothing to sling off.”
Jarhead agrees that Aerospace 303 works well and is easy to apply. “On my trim items and tonneau cover I just spray it on (for small places I spray on towel) and use a soft rag to rub it in/spread it, for tires I just use a clean soft rag. Very fast and easy.”
Preparation Smoothes Out the Process
JB suggests protecting your paint if you are worried about making a mess of your wheels. “On tires, I just spray it on the sidewall then damp it around with a rag to even it out. My tires have an aggressive sidewall so it works best. On reg smooth sidewall I just spray on rag and damp it on. I like the natural look of a tire and the 303 gives it that new black look and protects it as well. If you’re worried about getting it on your wheels, cut a round piece of cardboard the diameter of the wheels outer lip and use that to mask it while spraying, helps on a windy day.” That technique would work well with most of the products.
Hemi thinks the cardboard idea is brilliant. “Cardboard idea is genius!!! Lol! Good idea. I love the aerosol Meguir’s Tire Shine but does get all over my wheels so usually a quick tire shine ends up being a rim clean too. Lol! Gonna cut something out to cover my wheels...honestly never thought of that..duh! Great tip!”
Jay is another fan of the 303. “I also agree with the comments about 303. Does an excellent job, and leaves your tires with a natural clean look instead of really shiny look. Can be sprayed on and doesn't take long to dry--so no sling. Also 303 is a good product to use on the interior of your truck.”
Ram1 believes the product isn’t the issue. “I think the majority of us have good products or know good ones, i definitely have good products. The problem is applying the product evenly over a large aggressive AT tire or in my case a large aggressive MT tire. All the side bite treads make for a very hard task of getting a product evenly coated in all those grooves without either A wasting tons of product or B having tons of sling from all the excess product in the grooves. The foam contoured tire shine applicators work flawlessly, for 2-3 tires lol then the tread chews em up.”
Marsh has yet another product that he says sprays on well! “I've been using Meguiar's Hotshine and am very pleased with it, considering it is typically available at local auto parts stores. It will be shiny at first, but not too wet looking once settled in, just a clean new look that lasts for well over a week or so. Great to spray on my nubby Nitto MT's that no applicator can live through. You do need to give it a couple hours to settle in to avoid sling, but if you are patient, it is worth it.”
If you aren’t going to use an aerosol, the longtime Ram owners seem to think that a bristled brush is the way to go. “I found that for the heavily lugged mud terrain tires a cheap paint brush works very well and can be thrown out once it gets too raunchy with buildup in it.” Another great tip is to keep your rag or brush in a zip lock so that it can be used for the next application and doesn’t have to be thoroughly cleaned every time you use it.
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