It’s time to give your tires that summer time shine!
July 15, 2008
Tundra Solutions reviews the lastest High-Performance tire dressings.
I initially learned that there is a long line-up of tire dressings available to the consumer. Each reviewed here was a pleasure to use - some more than others. This detailing nut put these five products to the test in my summertime review to see which one worked best. You can buy any of these products at most auto parts retailer chains, with prices ranging from $5 to $7 each.
It was a weekday morning, partly sunny and 80 degrees outside. I washed the tires beforehand with car soap and a tire brush to remove any existing dressing and dirt. I then dried each tire by dabbing it with a soft terry cloth towel. The heat of the day helped me somewhat because by the time I reached the third tire to dry it is was already nearly dry. All dressings were applied by spraying the product directly on the tire until the entire sidewall was covered. Some products generate more overspray than others and whenever applicable I would dab the tire to remove any remaining or damp product. None of the products seemed to attract any unusual amount of dust or dirt and each has lasted for at least a few weeks past several washings.
The ArmorAll Tire Foam protectant is a 20oz foam spray dressing that produces an awesome looking, long-lasting shine. A small amount of overspray was easily buffed off my chrome wheels with no effort. The product does not run or sling off when applied, and it is a no-CFC, environmentally-friendly product and will dry completely untouched. On the back of the Tire Foam they have illustrated a shine meter, which shows consumers what level of shine their tire dressing products can produce. Tire Form was shown to be the lowest on the meter in terms of producing shine. Similar products from ArmorAll include Fierce Shine Tire Foam, Extreme Tire Shine Spray, Extreme Tire Shine Aerosol, and Extreme Tire Shine Gel. Overall, this was my second favorite tire dressing and perhaps would have been my favorite if it had a sweeter smell.
The Black Magic Tire Wet Form is a 18oz tire dressing product that produced a deep black long-lasting shine. This wonderful smelling tire dressing dried almost instantly when applied. I even went back to apply more dressing thinking I didnʼt apply enough product, but in fact I had. A small amount of overspray was easily buffed off my chrome wheels with no effort. I then realized this product simply produces a deep black finish more than a glowing shiny finish. In terms of just having a clean black side-wall this product rocks, and did better than any of the other products tested. If youʼre more into a clean black finish then the Black Magic Tire Wet Foam will please you immensely. Overall this product was my third favorite in this review but easily wins for being the best smelling product.
Meguiar’s Hot Shine Tire Coating is a 15oz non-CFC environmentally friendly aerosol spray with a unique adjustable spray nozzle. This is the only product in this review that allows you to set the width of the actual spray. So for instance, if you have small sidewalls, this product would be ideal to apply dressing. This product sticks like glue, does not run or sling and so far has lasted more than 3 weeks without washing off. The product smells sweet, not a good as Black Magic, but close. A small amount of overspray required the most effort to buff off my chrome wheels than any of the other products tested. Overall, the Hot Shine tire dressing is my favorite and will knock your socks off by producing a long-lasting high-gloss deep black tire shine that you typically see on show cars. If you must have the wettest deep-black shine then Meguiarʼs Hot Shine Tire Coating is for your only
The Turtle Wax Wet-n-Black Ultra Wet Tire Shine is a non-CFC environmentally friendly 15oz dressing that produced a deep-black shine. Similar in many ways to Black Magicʼs product, the dressing was deep-black and produced the cleanest finish of all the products tested. Seriously, this product does not run, drip or sling off at all, but took the longest to dry even in direct sun. Any overspray was easily polished off my chrome wheels in an instant. In fact, this product shines the chrome the best and leaves a nice coating on wheels, again with no effort. Overall the Turtle Wax Wet-n-Black Wet Tire Shine came in fourth largely in part because it took the longest to dry and ultimately I had to use a towel to dry the tire.
Stoner More Shine Long Lasting Tire Finish is a 22oz liquid tire dressing. This dressing produced a very clean-black finish and dried in a few moments after being applied. It does not run, sling, and overspray was quickly buffed from the chrome wheels with little effort. This was the only liquid I tested and felt it did well against the foams, which typically have a better shine. Stoner is famous for one of my favorite products - Invisible Glass, however More Shine was last of my list. Liquids just donʼt do that well as tire dressings against foams and gels. On the plus side the product does give you descent results and you get more for your money.
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