Armor All Ceramic Tire Coating ruined my paint

[securityguy]

It’s been over a month and I have jumped through all of their hoops. Sent pictures of damage and actual can that I used along with 2 estimates for repair. I just sent the can in for them to test and then they are supposed to get back to me. It’s been a big pain, but it’s $600 to fix properly, so I’m doing what they ask to see what they will do. There are other people that have had the same problem and I sent a few of those posts to them as well. My advice is to do what I did and start a claim with them with the information on the can or visit the website and use the contact us information to start the conversation. It’s a pain, but worth a shot. I’ll post any new updates, sending my can in tomorrow.

You may not like my comment, but ArmorAll is shit products and has always been shit. Adams, Chemical Guys, Griots, etc. are all extremely superior products and will never give you an issue.

 

[Busa Dave]

Good lord need to go to a professional detailer who specializes in this stuff. Wish you lived near me as I have all of the products and equipment to possibly polish that out. Used to show cars and motorcycles a few years ago.

I use the Rupes equipment and I would wager that it could be polished out without the 1k grit which will remove too much clear for me. Combination of the polisher, pad and chemical which I would try a pure polish first.

I use the big polisher and the medium one. My Rupes polishers are the previous versions of the ones shown. These newer ones work the same way and the same size but are the newest model.

 

[Grinks22]

It sucks that it happened to you too, but on the bright side, after about 3-4 months of jumping through armor all’s hoops, it went away on its own. I took it to 2 body shops and 1 detail guy and no one could do anything about it. Tried laquer thinner, polished and buffing compounds, wet sanding , and nothing. My advice is to leave it alone for awhile and see if it starts to fade on its own. Armor all is going to have you get a minimum of 2 estimates for repair, so you could get those to start your claim with them. I just let it go after 3+ months of crap. I think within the first month I saw a slight improvement and from then on it kept getting better and after 3 months it was completely gone. Are your stains as big and dark as mine were?

I have tried a lot of other brands, and every one that I tried slung a little bit and did the same thing to my paint in the lower door, just below the “rock guard” paint, so I no longer use any tire shine, just Griots foaming tire cleaner and leave it at that. Hope this helps.

 

[ZR2NYC]

You may not like my comment, but ArmorAll is shit products and has always been shit. Adams, Chemical Guys, Griots, etc. are all extremely superior products and will never give you an issue.

i think armorall is like using crisco on your dash and tires. sun hits it and you now have a frying pan.

 

[Pjschevy1]

It sucks that it happened to you too, but on the bright side, after about 3-4 months of jumping through armor all’s hoops, it went away on its own. I took it to 2 body shops and 1 detail guy and no one could do anything about it. Tried laquer thinner, polished and buffing compounds, wet sanding , and nothing. My advice is to leave it alone for awhile and see if it starts to fade on its own. Armor all is going to have you get a minimum of 2 estimates for repair, so you could get those to start your claim with them. I just let it go after 3+ months of crap. I think within the first month I saw a slight improvement and from then on it kept getting better and after 3 months it was completely gone. Are your stains as big and dark as mine were?

I have tried a lot of other brands, and every one that I tried slung a little bit and did the same thing to my paint in the lower door, just below the “rock guard” paint, so I no longer use any tire shine, just Griots foaming tire cleaner and leave it at that. Hope this helps.

 

[DJ91]

So glad it worked out for you.

Been detailing for several years. I believe the market is over saturated with products. Every company is trying to outdoor the other and trying to beat other companies to get a product out 1st. Not every product delivers as advertised. Even the best companies will have minor hiccups in production and there will be bad bottles released. With the truck tires out there now days, just take your time, get in all the crooks and crannies, making sure the dressing is dried before you drive. Highly recommend to use a water based dressing for your tires. I use the Adams tire dressing applicater (Adams or Amazon) along with a detailing brush to get in and around the outer tread.

 

[Pjschevy1]

And this was applied on a Friday evening, sat in the shop drying until Sunday evening....

 

[bygrob]

I stopped at AutoZone for some towels, and my impulse went off for "ArmorAll +Ceramic Tire Coating." I sprayed the tires in the parking lot, cleaned up, and TikTok'd for 45 minutes; I sat and waited because my car was all white. I drove home 4 miles away and noticed some motion residue. I could wipe the residue off all the metallic areas, but all the non-metallic around the car was stained. The detail expert was not able to buff the stain. I collaborated with several shops nearby; under the wheel well, we tried paint-thinner, acetone, Alcohol, GooGone, Simple Green, A-Jax, Arm Hammer, Gasoline, Coke-Cola, and about 12 other things. No noticeable difference. The detailer recommended leaving it alone and that, over time, it would fade away.

 

[AXE]

I stopped at AutoZone for some towels, and my impulse went off for "ArmorAll +Ceramic Tire Coating." I sprayed the tires in the parking lot, cleaned up, and TikTok'd for 45 minutes; I sat and waited because my car was all white. I drove home 4 miles away and noticed some motion residue. I could wipe the residue off all the metallic areas, but all the non-metallic around the car was stained. The detail expert was not able to buff the stain. I collaborated with several shops nearby; under the wheel well, we tried paint-thinner, acetone, Alcohol, GooGone, Simple Green, A-Jax, Arm Hammer, Gasoline, Coke-Cola, and about 12 other things. No noticeable difference. The detailer recommended leaving it alone and that, over time, it would fade away.

I can't believe they are still selling that junk.

 

[securityguy]

I can't believe they are still selling that junk.

100%...pure crap!

 

[sardarjee]

New to the forum and just wanting to let everyone know to be very careful if you try armor all’s ceramic tire coating. I have been an faithful armor all user for decades. Really like their interior cleaner and natural finish interior Detailer. I usually use their extreme shine tire foam as well. Thought I would try the newer ceramic tire coating hoping to get a little longer shine. I followed the directions, put 2 coats on about 1 hour apart. I let it sit on the tires for about 6 hours and gave it a look. The coating was really splotchy and didn’t look too good. Decided to let it sit overnight and it looked a little better, but I blotted the little bit that didn’t dry completely and tried to get the streaks off. Looked okay, not as good as the foam. Drove to work and got out and had some sling and my truck. Grabbed my quick detailer and microfiber towel I keep with me and tried to get the sling off. It was too late, it had already stained my paint. Took it to my body shop and he tried 2 different things to remove the stains and nothing. He’s going to try to wet sand it, but is pretty sure I’m going to have to have the front door repainted. Thankfully it’s only really bad on the driver side with 2 very small stain dots on the passenger side. I contacted armor all and they are considering paying for some or all of the repair. Very disappointed, I’ve had the truck 3 weeks and had to wait over 6 months to get it. Just want everyone to be aware of the possible paint damage.

Good to know on this product. But, I am still trying to grasp on how it got to stain the vehicle door paint, even hours after tire application and I believe so bloating after that. Now that is really weird.

 

[AXE]

Good to know on this product. But, I am still trying to grasp on how it got to stain the vehicle door paint, even hours after tire application and I believe so bloating after that. Now that is really weird.

Something in the Armor All is reacting with the rubber and changing the properties and chemically etching into clear coat.

 

[Grinks22]

Unfortunately it’s not just the armor all ceramic that will stain. I had the same thing happen when I used Griot’s garage black shine tire coating. A little of that product slung off and stained the paint the same way. That product stain came off most of the way with laquer thinner and disappeared completely on its own in a few weeks. I still use Griots foaming tire cleaner, but now use water base only dressing, currently chemical guys tire kicker and a brush to get in all the nooks. I also get the tire off the ground so there is no product under the tire that doesn’t cure and sling.

There must be something in the products that is similar, I just didn’t look into it. I have used armor all foaming tire dressing in the past and never had the staining issue, but I don’t think I’m going down the armor all road again. I think it’s when a person applies the aerosol sprays and a little “pools” on the ground and gets in the tread and never completely dries or cures is where the sling issue arises. That’s why I jack the tire up. Seems a bit much, bit I’m a little gun shy of the stains again.

 

[TexOffroader]

Spend around $200 to $250 for an arsenal of Chemical Guys products to use on the various surfaces and you’ll never have any issues like this. Armor All and Turtle Wax are not quality products that can be trusted.

 

[AJP402]

New to the forum and just wanting to let everyone know to be very careful if you try armor all’s ceramic tire coating. I have been an faithful armor all user for decades. Really like their interior cleaner and natural finish interior Detailer. I usually use their extreme shine tire foam as well. Thought I would try the newer ceramic tire coating hoping to get a little longer shine. I followed the directions, put 2 coats on about 1 hour apart. I let it sit on the tires for about 6 hours and gave it a look. The coating was really splotchy and didn’t look too good. Decided to let it sit overnight and it looked a little better, but I blotted the little bit that didn’t dry completely and tried to get the streaks off. Looked okay, not as good as the foam. Drove to work and got out and had some sling and my truck. Grabbed my quick detailer and microfiber towel I keep with me and tried to get the sling off. It was too late, it had already stained my paint. Took it to my body shop and he tried 2 different things to remove the stains and nothing. He’s going to try to wet sand it, but is pretty sure I’m going to have to have the front door repainted. Thankfully it’s only really bad on the driver side with 2 very small stain dots on the passenger side. I contacted armor all and they are considering paying for some or all of the repair. Very disappointed, I’ve had the truck 3 weeks and had to wait over 6 months to get it. Just want everyone to be aware of the possible paint damage.

Hello there - I see this thread is a little bit older, but this very thing with this very product, just happened to me... Did you ever have success removing the stains? I thought I saw a response where someone said it eventually just came off. I was able to remove like 80% of the staining with an orbital, orange correcting pad, and Meguires Ultimate Compound...though only god knows what I did to my clear coat, because it was running the orbital over the area for like fifteen minutes...

 

[Grinks22]

I’m glad you were able to get most of the stain off. I would put a coat of carnuba wax on the area, not a paint sealant or ceramic coating yet and let the stain go away on its own. Then,once the stain is gone, you can seal or ceramic coat the entire truck. Switch to a water based tire coating. I’ve had really good luck with chemical guys tire kicker. There are a lot of good options that guys have posted on the forum as well. I use a foam tire applicator on the sidewall and a 2-3 inch paint brush to get in the areas on the outer edge of the tire. I definitely don’t think I would do anymore paint correcting on that area. There is only so much clear coat and it’s pretty well known that it’s soft and thin. Good luck and I hope the stain disappears for you as well. Might take a little while so be patient.

 

[AJP402]

I’m glad you were able to get most of the stain off. I would put a coat of carnuba wax on the area, not a paint sealant or ceramic coating yet and let the stain go away on its own. Then,once the stain is gone, you can seal or ceramic coat the entire truck. Switch to a water based tire coating. I’ve had really good luck with chemical guys tire kicker. There are a lot of good options that guys have posted on the forum as well. I use a foam tire applicator on the sidewall and a 2-3 inch paint brush to get in the areas on the outer edge of the tire. I definitely don’t think I would do anymore paint correcting on that area. There is only so much clear coat and it’s pretty well known that it’s soft and thin. Good luck and I hope the stain disappears for you as well. Might take a little while so be patient

I’m glad you were able to get most of the stain off. I would put a coat of carnuba wax on the area, not a paint sealant or ceramic coating yet and let the stain go away on its own. Then,once the stain is gone, you can seal or ceramic coat the entire truck. Switch to a water based tire coating. I’ve had really good luck with chemical guys tire kicker. There are a lot of good options that guys have posted on the forum as well. I use a foam tire applicator on the sidewall and a 2-3 inch paint brush to get in the areas on the outer edge of the tire. I definitely don’t think I would do anymore paint correcting on that area. There is only so much clear coat and it’s pretty well known that it’s soft and thin. Good luck and I hope the stain disappears for you as well. Might take a little while so be patient.

Hey hey - thank you for the prompt reply. I'll hit the truck with some carnuba...hopefully the stain DOES go away.... I won't work the area anymore. Once the stain started to fade, I just stayed at it until it was gone...hopefully I didn't degrade the clear coat too badly. I have never had this happen with a tire product before, and I have used Armor All foam, that black magic stuff, Meguires, etc....

 

[Nmass94]

Armor all has definitely turned to shit in the last decade or so. That being said, some of this might be to do with the atrocious paint quality on these trucks. It's thin, fragile and porus- so it doesn't shock me that a compound like tire shine could do this.

 

[securityguy]

Armor all has definitely turned to shit in the last decade or so. That being said, some of this might be to do with the atrocious paint quality on these trucks. It's thin, fragile and porus- so it doesn't shock me that a compound like tire shine could do this.

Nope...it's just the Armor All shit that's the issue.

 

[AXE]

Except it's also the shitty porous clear coat. That's what allowed the stain to enter below the surface, which is why it don't buff out.