I wish tire shines could last forever, making me the happiest man on earth. Sadly, they don’t. Today, I’ll guide you through the typical lifespan of tire dressings.
Key Takeaways:
- Most tire shines usually last between two to four weeks.
- It depends on the quality of the product, the way of application, how much you use your car, and how often you wash it.
- Usually, you get what you paid for. Stay away from extremely cheap tire dressings.
How Long Does Tire Shine Last?
I tried plenty of tire dressings on cars, and I made a table with the longevity data for each of them. These are some averages to know what to expect from each product.
| Tire Shine Product | Average Longevity |
|---|---|
| Gyeon Q2 Tire Dressing | 3-4 weeks |
| Adam’s Tire Shine | 3-4 weeks |
| Black Magic Tire Wet Spray | 3-4 weeks |
| Meguiar’s Endurance Tire Gel | 3 weeks |
| Car Guys Tire Shine | 3 weeks |
| TriNova Tire Shine Spray | 3 weeks |
| Optimum Opti-Bond Tire Gel | 2 weeks |
| ArmorAll Extreme Tire Shine Gel | 10-15 days |
| Chemical Guys Silkshine Protectant | 1-2 weeks |
| Chemical Guys VRP | 7-10 days |
Longevity Depends On a Few Factors
The data in the table above is just an average longevity that I discovered. How long tire dressings last is largely affected by many different factors.
1. Quality of The Product
The quality of the product is the most important thing that will affect its longevity and shine in general. You can’t expect a $5 product to be the same as a $20 product (we don’t have Xiaomi in auto detailing, hehe).
I’m not saying that there are cheap but good products, but usually – you get what you paid for the truth about auto detailing products. In my opinion, the best car tire shine is Gyeon Tire Dressing.
2. Type of Tire Dressing
There are two main types of tire shines that you can get, solvent-based and water-based ones. Usually, you can expect solvent-based tire dressings to last a few days longer because they bond to the tire better, and the weather won’t wear them off so quickly.
On the other hand, water-based dressings will usually last a few days less, but they’ll give your tires a matte finish, which many people like. When using water-based tire dressings, you’ll have to apply them more frequently.
3. Way of Application
The way of application is extremely important, too. Many people make mistakes here, and the biggest mistake is that they don’t wash and dry the tires properly. That way, dressings won’t bond correctly, and they won’t last long.
If you want to increase the longevity of tire shine, let it dry for at least 10 minutes and then apply another coat of it. From my experience, that can increase the longevity for a whole week.
4. Where Do You Keep Your Car
Tire dressings protect the rubber from the Sun’s UV rays and other weather elements. So, instead of destroying the tire, those elements will slowly wear tire dressings. If you keep your car in a garage, tire dressings will last much longer since they’re not exposed to harmful elements all the time.
If you live in an apartment like me, you probably don’t have a garage, and your car stays outside most of the time, you can expect tire dressings to last a few days less.
5. Is The Car Driven Daily
If you drive your car daily, that’ll also reduce the longevity of tire dressing, especially if you live in a rainy climate (luckily, I don’t).
6. How Often You Wash Your Car
Some people tend to wash their car every few days to keep it as shiny as possible. Washing the vehicle frequently reduces the longevity of car dressings, especially if you’re using a pressure washer, APC, and brushes to clean the tires.
Washing your car every two weeks is more than enough to keep it clean, at least in my opinion (unless it gets dirty because of rain, snow, mud, etc.). For every two weeks, you can re-apply the tire dressing to bring the tire shine and protection back.
How To Increase The Longevity of Tire Dressings
Here are some things that I’ve learned that can make your car tire shine last longer.
Step 1: Thoroughly Wash and Clean Tires Before Application
The first step is always preparing the surface (tire). You’ll do it by thoroughly washing it by using a pressure washer, APC, and a detailing brush. Also, instead of APC, you can use wheel cleaners, which are even more potent than APC.
Steps for washing tires:
- Pressure wash tires and spray APC on them.
- Agitate tires with a detailing brush. You might need to repeat this process twice. As long as the foam is dirty, repeat the process.
- Rinse the tires with a pressure washer again.
- Let the tires dry. You can speed this up by using an air compressor or microfiber cloth.
Letting the tires dry is just as important as it’s to wash them properly. I see too many people making the mistake of not letting the tire dry entirely, and then the tire shine can’t bond properly and won’t last long.
If you need a full guide on washing car wheels and tires, don’t forget to check out my guide.
Step 2: Apply Two Layers of The Dressing
When the tires are ready for application, you should take your favorite tire dressing and apply it to the tires. Since there are many products, make sure to follow the instructions on the bottle to use it properly.
What I like to do to prolong the longevity of the tire dressing is to apply two layers of it. First, I applied one layer and let it dry naturally in the sunlight. The Sun will slightly heat the tire so that the dressing bonds even better.
When the first layer is completely dry, I apply another coat of tire shine, which increases the longevity a lot. Again, let it dry naturally, and it usually takes anywhere between 5-10 minutes.
In my experience, it’ll increase longevity for about a week. And that’s it. Your tire shine should last longer now. Furthermore, it’ll increase the longevity, but it’ll also improve the tire shine/matt finish, depending on the type of product you’re using.
