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Blooming, Not The Fried Onion Version

By Christine Atkinson

Last weekend I was enjoying a blooming onion at Outback Steakhouse, and as I ate way too many of those fried, greasy, but darn good, onions, I started thinking about the importance of blooming on freshly detailed tires.

As any good detail novice knows, tires cleaned with silicone not only look great, but help to extend the life of the tires. The silicone gives the tires a great shine and helps keep them rejuvenated and soft, extending the tires ability to handle wear and tear. In fact, simple silicone is designed to release itself into the surface of the tire as it rotates and flexes, causing the tire to swell slightly. This is the cosmic phenomenon known as ‘blooming.'

Blooming is actually very important to the tire because if they just sit and do not rotate, they can become dry, crack and may eventually rot because the silicone has not been moved up to the surface.

Obviously this poses a huge safety and financial risk – we all know tires aren't cheap and it is not fun when your tire blows out going 70mph on the freeway. Be sure you apply silicone dressing such as Diamond Professional Dress All to your tires regularly– whether it is your 1966 Shelby Mustang or your brand new BMW X5 to maintain your tires inside and out. Well, folks, I am back to my onion – of the blooming variety of course. So have a great month, bloom on with your bad self and show your car some love!!

For More Information:

For all you detail gurus out there, some of these tips and stories may seem obvious, but it never hurts to reiterate some of the particulars or to come up with a fact or lesser known term. If you or anyone of your car geek friends has a suggestion for a future column or something they think would be beneficial to other detailing novices, you can e-mail me at (christine@christinescorner.com). So check back monthly for new tips and learn how to show your car some love!