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Grape Tire Dressing

Klasse Act

Klasse Act

I pee with gloves on!
Joined
May 28, 2000
Messages
5,115
Location
Palatine IL, USA
Just wanted to let you guys know about this product...its awesome! I ordered it from Top of the Line, a car detailing business online. You can buy 2 gallons of it for $40.00 and the only reason I bring this up is because I pay $40.00 for the under carriage spray from Griots and this stuff will not only do the same thing, but save me TONS! It gives your tires a natrual "sheen" after it dries and has seemed to last a pretty long time so far. I'm going to try it on the engine bay as well, especially since most of todays cars are plastic, rubber and vinyl under the hood. I bought the 32 oz size and I believe it was $10-15.00 w/o looking it up. They also have other products in bulk size, like quick detailer and wheel cleaner. The wheel cleaner can be diluted to a 1:1 ratio, so the 2 gallons I bought is now 4 gallons. Check this place out and let me know what you think.
 
Bummer, they won't ship to PA. :( Figures.
They say it's not VOC compliant and won't ship to:
CA, NY, PA, DE, NJ, DC, VT, CT, RI, NH, MA
 
Is this product similar to the grape smelling Meguiars tire dressing? purple in color and comes in a clear bottle. But with the Meguiars you get much less.
 
svttour said:
Is this product similar to the grape smelling Meguiars tire dressing? purple in color and comes in a clear bottle. But with the Meguiars you get much less.
Click to expand...

I have the Grape Meguires tire dressing. I love this stuff. A little goes a long way and lasts a really long time...not to mention the taste Mmmmm......i mean... smell.
 
I actually use Stoner's "More Shine Less Time" spray-on tire dressing. It really does a great job, takes 2 minutes to do all 4 tires and doesn't turn them brownish looking after a time like some do. Costs 'bout 6 bucks for a 22 oz. can. Lasts a long time.
 
Thumbs way down for silicone-based products.

Silicone-based products:
- attract and hold dirt, dust, grime, etc.
- harder to clean
- degrades rubber at an accelerated rate

Using it on tires is bad enough, but to use it on engine bay areas is not a smart thing to do.

Stick with water-based products such as Zaino Z-16, Poorboys Bold N Bright, 303 Aerospace Protectant, etc.
 
Grape dressing

Grape dressing

I was reading the bottle and this product sounds more like a major chemical than a tire dressing, but fwiw, I didn't read anything about silicone though Pete. I applied this to Hectors new tires when he was here for my Dad's funeral and even after driving it in the rain, they still had that "sheen". I'm certainly not looking to start anything, especially after what I've been through in the past week, but rather letting people know about yet another product out there thats pretty cheap and produces results.
 
Rog,
It's just an FYI about silicone-based products. Most people don't know what products contain and since it makes surfaces shiney apply it to everything. You have to know what's in the product before you apply it.

Silicone-based products will last longer than water-based - sometimes by a lot. I listed the cons above and attracting/holding dirt/grime and reducing tire/rubber life is not appealing.

I found limited info on the product online, but was lead to believe that TOL Grape is silicone-based. It's highly unlikely, but does the product have ingredients on it anywhere? The fact that it's not VOC compliant leads me to believe that it's silicone-based.
 
Grape Tire info

Grape Tire info

Its a petroleum based product and has a pretty strong smell afterwards, especially when freshly applied and the car is pulled into the garage. It seems like it just soaks into the tire, thus needing less and less over time. I use it on my beater car and its washed through a carwash about once a week and all I gotta do is wipe the tires down with my spare tire rag and they still have that "sheen".


For the price I don't think it can beat and its going to be used on not only the tires, but the wheelwells and engine bays. I hear what your saying about holding dirt/grime, but just about everything is going to hold that, especially in the engine bay.
 
I have to say I really like this stuff. Gave the tire a "natural" shine. Never liked the high gloss stuff.

As for it being silicon based or whatever.....I put too many miles on my car to care about it "supposedly" doing damage to the tire.

BTW even after the rain and the tire dries it still looks black, not brown that I have experienced with EVERY other tire dressing I have used. I should add it was applied on Saturday, drove around in the rain in the Detroit area, drove home to Chicago area, and in the rain the past couple days.:cool:
 
Hector, there is no "supposedly" about it. It's a fact.


"If you do use tire dressings, they should not contain petroleum products or alcohol."
- Dave Schumann, Director - Service, Parts, and Warranty Administration

"No product with petroleum solvents, mineral sprits, kerosene or other paraffin solvents should come into contact with tires."
- Michelin

"Visual tire inspection checklist: What to look for....Chemical damage from petroleum products."
- Goodyear

"Tires must not be allowed to come in contact with oils, greases, solvents, or other petroleum products that cause rubber to soften or deteriorate."
- Hoosier Tire

"Use caution when selecting tire-- care products, and do not use any that contain alcohol or petroleum distillates, which can actually accelerate breakdown of the tire compound."
- Subaru.com

"Petroleum distillates are harmful to rubber and vinyl, and will cause rubber and vinyl to crack."
- Hawg Wash Cycle Care

"However, many of these products contain petroleum or alcohol derivatives. You should know that both of these substances will damage your tires. Over a period of time they will cause the rubber to decompose. If you do use protectants on your tires, be sure to check the label on the can. If you're not sure whether the product is safe to use on your tires, the best advice is not to use it."
- Adam's Tire

"...petroleum distillates act as solvents, eating rubber on contact..."
- Autopia (detailing site)

"Never use anti-freeze, silicones or petroleum-base lubricants. This will damage the tire."
- General Farm Tire

"Avoid using, so called, tire treatments that contain petroleum based substances. Any tire dressing that contains alcohol or petrochemicals may, instead of protecting, actually cause and accelerate deterioration and cracking. Some silicone oils found in such products will dissolve the protective wax that protects the tire against the ozone damage. Also, petroleum based tire treatmentscontain no viable UV stabilizers at all, so the tire is left virtually stripped of any ozone protection andmust contend with UV radiation with no replenished stabilizers. Additionally, many tiremanufacturers actually inspect the tire for use of these chemicals, especially in the case of prematuresidewall structural failures in a warranty situation."
- RV Lifestyles Magazine

"Tire dressings that contain petroleum products or alcohol may cause deterioration or cracking."
- RVAdvice.com

"Oil and grease, as well as all petroleum based products, are damaging to rubber."
- White Rubber Corp.


I think that's enough to put it to rest. :p
 
Hector,

Armor All changed their formula not too long ago from a silicone-base w/ petroleums to water-base for the exact reasons stated in my post above.

The browning is due to using tire gels that are silicone-based (w/ petroleum) which promotes the browning.

From autoeducation.com:

"To protect against ozone, tire manufacturers add a wax based, sacrificial protectant. The ozone attacks the wax and depletes it. As the tire rolls, additional wax is forced to the surface of the tire. This is referred to as blooming. This blooming refreshes the surface wax protectant. A tire that has not been flexed will have the wax depleted by the ozone and thus begin to degrade and suffer dry rot. The raw silicone oil that is the main ingredient in most of the nationally advertised, auto parts store, high gloss products may actually dissolve the wax and be the cause of premature tire sidewall cracking/failure. The quality tire/rubber dressings should contain a strong UV protectant to bolster the efforts of the carbon black and not contain any raw silicone oil. Many of the nationally advertised rubber and vinyl products also contain formaldehyde. If you plan on having a funeral for your vinyl/rubber, then you may wish to use one of these products.

My personal favorite tire and exterior rubber/vinyl trim protectants are One Grand Exterior Rubber & Vinyl Dressing and 3M Rubber Treatment & Tire Dressing. These are, in my humble opinion, the best non-silicone oil based products available."

You will find similar reviews and explanations all over the web - silicone/petroleum = bad for rubber. Fact.

I personally wont touch any tire gel that contains any silicones/petroleum for the reasons stated in the previous post above.

Here are some safe brands to consider that are not silicone/petroleum based:
Forever Black w/ UV protection
Stoner's Tire Trim Shine w/ UV protection
4 Star w/ UV protection
Optimum Tire Shine w/ UV protection
Sonus Total Eclipse w/ UV protection
Chemical Guys Natural Shine w/ UV protection
Adam's VRT w/ UV protection

HTH
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the info about unsafe tire shine products, and especially for the list of safe ones. I just ordered Adam's VRT.
 
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