How To Dress Tires Properly (Video)

by Reece @ DI

Water based tire dressings get absorbed into your rubber and can actually nourish your rubber, keeping them soft and flexible. In this short video, James Melfi goes through the process of how to properly dress your tires.

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Video Transcription

Hey guys, James here with Detailed Image. So you have just finished up your wash process, it’s all said and done, let’s talk about how to properly apply tire dressing. So first up, you want to grab a tar remover and you want to spray the tar remover directly onto a general purpose microfiber towel and you want to work that tire with a decent amount of pressure. What that’s going to do, is pull off dirt, grime, and browning and perfectly prepare the tire for the tire dressing. Up next, the fun part. You want to take a tire dressing and you want to apply two kind of thin lines right on a DI tire applicator pad and then, you want to work that tire dressing in both directions. You want to get into all the little nooks and crannies, inside those letters and you want to get a nice even coverage. Now you want to let that tire dressing sit for about 10 minutes. After that point, you want to grab a clean microfiber towel and you want to run over that tire with that towel. What that’s going to do, is create a satin finish and also prevent sling.

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4 comments on How To Dress Tires Properly (Video)

Stephen Wines says:

February 12, 2018 at 9:51 pm

My intention with the reply is not to undermine this video but provide a little information from the tire manufacturers perspective (contact a reputable tire manufacturer and you will get the same information). Dressing tires using this method is better than using a high gloss solvent based dressing; However, if dressing tires on a vintage or classic vehicle that has tires on it older than the decade you’re in, it is important to understand the risks.

Tar remover often contains solvents and petroleum distillates which will degrade the rubber prematurely. Also, when using water-based (non-solvent, non-silicone) dressing there should be no sling effect, the vehicle should be able to be driven immediately.

Additional note: tires that are older than 7 years old should not be in service anymore, but if you have a Concours car that has period tires, or not driven a lot you will come across this. Even if the vehicle is new it is important to understand the customer’s intention with the vehicle.

Thank you for all the great write-ups and reviews!

james melfi says:

March 5, 2018 at 6:20 pm

Stephen,

Thanks so much for the information, sharing detailing knowledge is what its all about. Our intention for the video was to provide a process for most modern tires, vintage tires like you touched on would require a different procedure with preservation and safely a top priority.

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