Tire Maintenance With 303 Protectants

[rkburdick]

I've been reading about the benefit of using the 303 protectants for tires.

The question is: One article suggests using 303 (30305) Marine Protectant and another said they used 303 (30313) Aerospace Protectant. The specs say they both protect rubber. Can someone tell me if one is better than the other or both work equally as well. The Marine protectant costs a little more than the aerospace. Couldn't find the manufacturer site in order to ask. Would appreciate some input on this. Thanks.

[desertdeals69]

There is pros and cons for using the product on anything. As far as I know the two are the same. When I have seen them at the trade shows the manufacturer indicated that they were the same. Maybe Tireman can comment.

[lmsooter]

I don't know if there is a difference in the two products. Fantastic Vent sent me some single use packages several years ago when they sent some repair parts. They told me to use it on the seals for the covers to stop them from sticking. I have now used it on my slide out seals for 3 years and they are looking good. Never tried it on the tires.

[johnarch]

A few years ago if you emailed or called the parent company they would send you a free sample pack (about 4 oz) of their best selling protection products. I have never used 303 on tires but have used it on many other applications with very satisfying results. They do not advertise this but an email to them under the "contact us" from the website might do the trick.

[rwilli]

I use it routinely on my cars and motor coach tires. I apply it to the tires versus covering them--tires look new after several years old. Also, 303 is a great tire dressing after washing the coach. The product is expensive--but worth every penny. I prefer the Marine version; although I do not believe there is any difference between the two labels.

[smokeater75]

I use the Aerospace protector on my tires, dash, compartment rubber and I wouldn't use anything else.

It has a spf 40 UV block and to my knowledge there is nothing in it that will harm rubber or vinyl.

I use it on all my vehicles and find that buying it by the gallon is the cheapest way to go.

Hope this helps.

Smokeater75. From the information I found there is NO petroleum distillates,No alcohol, No mineral oil.

[tireman9]

Hi all. Hope you all had Happy Holidays.

Sorry but I do not have any specific data on different versions of 303 so can't answer the question of "Aerospace" vs "Marine". It may just be marketing and packaging difference.

RE the use of any protectant:

1. NEVER use anything that contains Petroleum Distillate as those chemicals can attack the rubber molecular structure

2. I have seen tires damaged from excessive use of products advertised as "tire protectants"

3. No spray on chemical can do as good a job as a White tire cover can when it comes to keeping the tire cooler when in direct sunlight. Remember HEAT is a #1 killer of tires. Quickly through the melting of tire components or slowly through degradation of the molecular bonds.

I use white tire covers to protect my tires from heat from the Sun. I have occasionally used spray on but no wipe-on preparations. If you have to wipe something on, you are probably also removing some of the tire's chemicals that are there to protect your tires in the first place. I have found that "No-Touch" brand seems to work well and since it does wash off after a couple of weeks if there is heavy rain I know it is not a petroleum product.

When cleaning your tires the best guidance I can provide is to use the same car wash soap and soft cloth you would use on your expensive paint job. High pressure equipment can damage tires and stiff bristle brushes can leave microscopic scratches which can accelerate the attack of Ozone.

Hope this helps.

[hermanmullins]

Tireman,

Thanks for the insight on tire maintenance. However you have dispelled all of what I do to keep my tires looking clean and looking nice.

What are your thoughts on Brite-White cleaner, spray on, a soft bristle brush and coach washing soap with a sponge?

Herman

[tireman9]

Bright-White is a harsh cleaner. It appears to partially dissolve the surface rubber.

To see for yourself spray it on a scrap White Sidewall and watch the white flow off. This is rubber being removed from the tire sidewall.

I understand the desire to have your tires "look" a certain way but I stick by the soft cloth and soft soap recommendation for minimal damage to your tires.

[hermanmullins]

Ops, Thanks Happy New Year.

Herman

[desertdeals69]

Bright-White is a harsh cleaner. It appears to partially dissolve the surface rubber.

To see for yourself spray it on a scrap White Sidewall and watch the white flow off. This is rubber being removed from the tire sidewall.

I understand the desire to have your tires "look" a certain way but I stick by the soft cloth and soft soap recommendation for minimal damage to your tires.

I have always just used the carwash soap on the tires and rinse with spot free water. I prefer to polish my Alcoa wheels to a mirror shine so the attention is removed from the tires!!

[hermanmullins]

10-4 dd69,

Unfortunately my wheels are not coated. I can get them to an almost mirror finish but each wheel took about two hours each to get them that way. Since I got them to the nice finish it doesn't take that long. But the big thing now is that with bad knees I can't get down to do a very good job.

So now I will scrub them with RV soap and water then make sure they are dry.

Now if you have a little free time and are in the vicinity you could stop by and give an ole man a hand.

Herman

[tireman9]

Haven't used this protectant but you might check it out.

Also found THIS review and more info on a car performance forum

[HighwayRanger]

I am always puzzled about determining which wheels have a clear coat on them and which don't. If they are clear coated, then I presume you don't want to polish that away. So, unless I can find out what type of wheels are on my coach, I should probably stick with a mild cleaner/sealant type of product and a soft cloth, right?

Roy

[wolfe10]

Roy,

Either call your wheel manufacturer with your wheel PN (easiest to see on rear wheel) or look it up.

[five]

I've aways covered my tires with individual covers if staying in one place three days or more. Recently I guy suggested that the individual covers are not good because they hold the heat in and condensation forms on the inside of the cover. He said he had covers made that snap on to the side of the coach and hang down over the tires and lets them breathe.

Any thoughts on this idea?

[jrwitt]

Where they something like this? Don't know anything about these or the company. Just came across this website awhile ago and bookmarked it.

http://www.waderv.com/gallery.html

[wigginsjsr]

I have been reading about a product called Sun Block for Tires. Sounds good, so I ordered some from Amazon. Will use on my new Michelins when received. I could not find any down side comments other than cost.

[wolfe10]

Make sure it has no petroleum or silicone content. Both degrade rubber.

[obedb]

I ran Durabright Alcoas on my Western Star and they were never bothered by the brightener (low dose acid) used by Blue Beacon. I may be wrong but I believe that the wheel finish was an anodized coating. If you don't want it used there or any other wash service tell the guy that is in charge of the crew. No Brightener. My rims cleaned up with cars wash and a pressure washer. The rims on our Phaeton require elbow grease to keep looking nice, and you certainly don't want any cleaner with even light concentrations of acidic chemicals in it if you want to keep them shiny.

[tireman9]

I've aways covered my tires with individual covers if staying in one place three days or more. Recently I guy suggested that the individual covers are not good because they hold the heat in and condensation forms on the inside of the cover. He said he had covers made that snap on to the side of the coach and hang down over the tires and lets them breathe.

Any thoughts on this idea?

It may be easier to have the flat screen material "shields" on Class-A coaches and based on the data I collected at Redmond they seem to provide good protection from extra heat from the sun and the mesh screen allows additional air to circulate.

RE covers that go over a tire there are a number of different styles. Some seem to be like bags, others have straps and velcro and some just kind of "hook" over the top of the tire

On my Class-C the slip over the top go on & off easy

I have never noticed any condensation on hte tires. These covers are vinyl but have a fiber backing the consistency of fiberglass but seem to be made of some material like polyester so there would be some air circulation,

My main concern would be black solid vinyl covers. These might even be worse than no cover as the tire would get hot and there would be no air circulation which you would have with no cover.