OP
OP
DFB5.0
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #4,576
If you've followed me for a while, you'll know detailing tyres is my thing. You could have the shiniest car in the neighbourhood, but without clean tyres, you basically undo all your hard work. The same goes for exhaust tips. The key to this is regular cleaning and the occasional hard reset.
The regular cleaning bit is easy — something like Brake Buster or Wise Guy with a firm brush at each wash will do what I need. The hard reset is a little more involved and is only an occasional thing, done to properly deep clean and provide a fresh slate to work with. The reset product is usually Stoner's Tarminator, mineral spirits, or more recently, Koch-Chemie Eulex. These essentially dissolve anything remaining after a traditional scrub with a tyre cleaner, leaving a completely bare rubber surface to apply a fresh layer of dressing to.
There are three benefits to this process -
- It eliminates wasting time with repeated scrub and rinse cycles
- Is a crucial prep stage before applying long term tyre sealants such as Ghost, Darkside or Q2 Tire
- Produces a more consistent dressed tyre
Last week, a follower made an odd suggestion for this process, a product that is freely available at the local hardware store. De-Solv-it is typically found in the cleaning isle, so not necessarily intended for car cleaning.
De-Solv-it - Bunnings Australia
Being citrus-based, De-Solv-it smells and acts like CarPro TarX, which also contains citrus oil. So the concept of using De-Solv-it is no different to using Tarminator or Eulex — with that in mind, I grabbed a bottle and gave it a try.
Before starting, I'd given the tyres a scrub with Bilt Hamber Surfex, then dried them using the blower. I then went ahead as with Tarminator or Eulex, spraying De-Solv-it into a towel and rubbing the sidewall. I'm told you can also use it on wet tyres with a sponge. The end result was similar to those harsher chemicals, but it evaporates a little slower, which increases the working time.
While the Surfex left the tyres looking clean, the De-Solv-it took that to another level. I then followed with Gyeon Tire Express. The tyres look glossy here, but that's more so how they reflect back at the camera under my garage lights.
Eulex and Tarminator are more expensive and harder to find, only available from one retailer each in Australia. Price wise, it's a no brainer -
Koch Chemie Eulex - $37.40 / $3.74 per 100ml (only available in 1-litre bottles)
Stoner Tarminator - $19.95 / $7.05 per 100g (only available in 283g aerosol)
De-Solv-it is available in multiple sizes -
125ml - $5.53 ($4.42 per 100ml)
300ml - $11.99 ($4.00 per 100ml)
750ml - $19.99 ($2.67 per 100ml)
4-litre - $59.99 ($1.50 per 100ml)
De-Solv-it doesn't stink out the garage either, Eulex and Tarminator are extremely strong and would be quite nasty in a confined space. I'm also told De-Solv-it is nowhere near as aggressive as Eulex, Tarminator and mineral spirits.
With thanks to Jack from Urbanity Premium Detailing for the tip -
Home | Urbanity Premium Detailing
The regular cleaning bit is easy — something like Brake Buster or Wise Guy with a firm brush at each wash will do what I need. The hard reset is a little more involved and is only an occasional thing, done to properly deep clean and provide a fresh slate to work with. The reset product is usually Stoner's Tarminator, mineral spirits, or more recently, Koch-Chemie Eulex. These essentially dissolve anything remaining after a traditional scrub with a tyre cleaner, leaving a completely bare rubber surface to apply a fresh layer of dressing to.
There are three benefits to this process -
- It eliminates wasting time with repeated scrub and rinse cycles
- Is a crucial prep stage before applying long term tyre sealants such as Ghost, Darkside or Q2 Tire
- Produces a more consistent dressed tyre
Last week, a follower made an odd suggestion for this process, a product that is freely available at the local hardware store. De-Solv-it is typically found in the cleaning isle, so not necessarily intended for car cleaning.
De-Solv-it Multi-Purpose Cleaner 500ml
De-Solv-it - Bunnings Australia
Being citrus-based, De-Solv-it smells and acts like CarPro TarX, which also contains citrus oil. So the concept of using De-Solv-it is no different to using Tarminator or Eulex — with that in mind, I grabbed a bottle and gave it a try.
Before starting, I'd given the tyres a scrub with Bilt Hamber Surfex, then dried them using the blower. I then went ahead as with Tarminator or Eulex, spraying De-Solv-it into a towel and rubbing the sidewall. I'm told you can also use it on wet tyres with a sponge. The end result was similar to those harsher chemicals, but it evaporates a little slower, which increases the working time.
While the Surfex left the tyres looking clean, the De-Solv-it took that to another level. I then followed with Gyeon Tire Express. The tyres look glossy here, but that's more so how they reflect back at the camera under my garage lights.
Eulex and Tarminator are more expensive and harder to find, only available from one retailer each in Australia. Price wise, it's a no brainer -
Koch Chemie Eulex - $37.40 / $3.74 per 100ml (only available in 1-litre bottles)
Stoner Tarminator - $19.95 / $7.05 per 100g (only available in 283g aerosol)
De-Solv-it is available in multiple sizes -
125ml - $5.53 ($4.42 per 100ml)
300ml - $11.99 ($4.00 per 100ml)
750ml - $19.99 ($2.67 per 100ml)
4-litre - $59.99 ($1.50 per 100ml)
De-Solv-it doesn't stink out the garage either, Eulex and Tarminator are extremely strong and would be quite nasty in a confined space. I'm also told De-Solv-it is nowhere near as aggressive as Eulex, Tarminator and mineral spirits.
With thanks to Jack from Urbanity Premium Detailing for the tip -
Home | Urbanity Premium Detailing
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