Should I cover my tires?

cummins2014 wrote:

I too use 303 on my tires , mostly to make them look good, keeping them that nice black look , not a fan of dull looking tires on any vehicle or RV .

Tires when they come fresh out of the mold are dull black, they are not shiny. Granted they will be a deep black but it will not be shiny.

They will be the blackest they can be in the mold but the second they are ejected from the mold the rubber starts aging and will go back to less than black more of a grey black color and some may even get some browning over the life of the tire whether it is in full sun or tucked in a dark, dark cave for all it's life.

The black comes from Carbon black that is added to the natural latex and the synthetic rubbers as they mix together. Carbon black is what gives the black color but it add strength to the rubber. It also can be mixed in varying quantities to achieve specific characteristics like a harder rubber for high wear or softer rubber with high grip and low wear. Natural latex is a milky white when new but as it ages turns a narly ugly brown.

Adding things like 303 is more about making it pretty looking than anything else.

Dirt and mud happen to tires, I don't sweat that and heck over the yrs have relaxed about making sure my TT is washed before a trip.. All it takes is one summers night of driving and all that hard work you did is completely covered in bugs..

I get a kick out of seeing 50-60 yr old guys pulling into a car cruise then proceed to spend the next 4hrs of their lives wiping the dust, dirt and mud off of their vehicle at the cruise :h

I pull in and show it the way life is.