Detailing Your Wheels - Getting your Vechicle to look it's best!

A Dodge Dakota Quad Cab Owners Web Page.

Appearance - Getting your Dakota Pickup to look it's best!

Detailing Your Wheels

One of the last jobs that is often neglected but is required to officially "max out" the appearance of you auto is the detailing of the tires.

If your like me, your probably thinking, "I'll get it next time". Next time for me was about 4 months of brand new ownership, don't get me wrong I did make an attempt the first month, but the attempt kind of petered out after one and one half tires. It seem like a lot of effort especially in the lettered area of the tires and where the side wall and the tread meet.

Well I rethought the approach and believe I came up with the easiest way to this job in a relative short amount of time, other that paying somebody to do it.

The Right Equipment

The first thing you need to do is get the right equipment.

You'll need a small stool to make the job as comfortable as possible.Then you'll need a wheel / tire conditioning liquid/gel, a rag or paper towels and most importantly a parts cleaner type brush.

If you can find it local, you can order the stuff online from the below banner link.

The brush should be reasonably stiff with a moderate bristle. I had two parts cleaning type brushes one was stiff and synthetic and had poor flow characteristics, luckily an old parts brush that appeared to be made of hair worked fantastically.

The first tire treatment formula I tried was Meguiar's "Natural Shine" vinyl and rubber treatment, it was given as a gift, part of car car finish package from my kids. I'm not promoting this product until I see how long it lasts.

Getting Started

Before you start, it's best that the tire has been recently washed. Set your stool close and within easy reach of the tire, not so close that your inhaling the mist of the spray. Spray lightly to a section about 12 inches in width, don't attempt to do the whole tire at one time, don't over spray. Go easy on the spray, you can always add more when needed.

Take your brush and work the spray into the tire, attempt to get a moderate and uniform spread.

Continue along the circumference of the side wall.

Here's where using the brush really shines and make this job bearable.

Normally getting an even application inside of the tires lettering can be a pain in the ......... you can easily and quickly bush the treatment into the tires letters.

And the last nasty area to do, is done just as easily. Remember to bush out from the tire side wall into the groves.

When you've completed applying the treatment to all areas of the tire take a paper towel or rag and wipe off any excess and buff lightly for uniform appearance.

Now you got one sharp looking tire, and only 3 more to do.

On future updates to this section look for a report on how long a Meguiar's treatment actually lasts and I'll be trying other manufactures in search of the best tire treatment.

If you know of a product that last longer and is easier and faster to apply just let me know.

Check the front page for the last update date.

By the way, my name is Nick, you can email me by clicking this => Mail