Tyre Dressings

A tyre dressing is the last step of a wash: it turns faded sidewalls black again, with a finish from natural satin to wet-look gloss. The range covers gels, creams and sprays, including AutoBead Tyre Dressing, CarPro Darkside and Sonax Tyre Gloss Black Beast Effect.

How to choose

• Finish: water-based dressings generally give a satin look, with more shine from a second coat. Solvent-based ones give a deeper gloss and usually last longer in the wet.
• Gel, cream or spray: gels and creams such as Alchemy Soul Glo 2000 Tyre Gel and Deturner Cream go on with a pad and stay where you put them. A spray is quicker but mists onto the wheel and disc, so wipe off any overspray.
• Tyres and trim: Stjarnagloss Gummi, Dodo Juice Dark Matter and Duel Profile do both from one bottle.
• Fewer top-ups: CarPro Perl, also here, is a coating that cures and outlasts a dressing. For more, see Tyre Coatings.

Good to know

Dress a clean, dry tyre, sidewall only, never the tread. Buff off the excess with a spare towel before driving, or it will sling onto the paint.

How do I make my tyres shine?

Clean the tyre with a tyre cleaner and let it dry, then apply a dressing to the sidewall only with an applicator pad, never the tread. Buff off the excess before driving so it cannot sling onto the paint. A water-based dressing gives more shine with a second coat.

Related: Wheels & Tyres, Tyre Cleaners, Trim Dressings, Applicator Pads. Popular brands here: AutoBead, Sonax, CarPro, Dodo Juice.