Product Reviews: Tire/Engine Dressings

Well since I'm here on vacation at the beach and its raining today I figured I would catch up on some product reviews. I have used a lot of new products lately and will be doing several reviews of the products. I'll start off with the new Tire/Wheel Well/Engine dressings that I have been trying/using.

Megs Hyper Dressing - I have been using this stuff for a little while now since I got it in a trade with a few folks on here. I really love the ability to dilute it in various mixtures from 1:1 for a decent shine to 4:1 for a very matte shine. For tires I dilute it 1:1 but will be switching to 2:1 to get less shine as I use it for a base coat because it seems to be pretty durable for a water based dressing (which is all I will use on tires). On well maintained tires like on my cars you could use it 1:1 as a stand alone dressing and get a really nice look.

I had been wanting to try it as an engine dressing as well and was having very little success. Then I pm'd sheerspeed about his method and it has worked out tremedously for me. I wash the engine as I normally would and blow off the majority of water with my leaf blower. Then I spray the engine down with Megs HD at 3:1 and shut the hood and crank the car up. I let it run while I clean the tires and wheels. After that the engine bay looks great and only needs a few wipes with a MF to even out any stray dressing. I will stick to this method from now on with my engine details as its much more cost effective than using Stoners Trim Shine.

I have used it as an exterior trim dressing and its ok but nothing fantastic. Not bad just not great either. I will probably use it more as it is a truely economical product. I need to use it on some of my cars to check the longevity of it as an exterior dressing. I did try it on wheel wells but I do not like a product on wells that I have to wipe. Thats why I like Bare Bones and Adams Undercarriage Spray so much. So for now it won't be used as a wheel well dressing. That's about the only con I have on it and would recommend it to everyone.

Megs All Season Dressing - This to me is a much cheaper version of Bare Bones and Adams Undercarriage Spray. I have used it only on wheel wells and it performed very well. It looked and covered just like the BB and Adams. When my bare bones and Adams runs out this will be my wheel well dressing from now on. Don't really have any cons on this product as it did exactly what I wanted it to do. I don't plan on using it on exterior trim or tires so not sure how it performs on those.

Duragloss #253 Tire and Mat dressing - I really like this product as a stand alone dressing. I have used it on tires and it gives a nice look, not too shiny and not too matte. I have mainly used it as a rubber mat dressing though. I found that spraying the mats down and putting them in the hot NC sun and it just bakes in and makes the mats look better than brand new. The only thing is don't get too carried away with spraying it as you will have a lot to wipe off. A little goes a long ways and the mats won't be slippery. You will need to do a final wipedown before you put the mats back in but it will even out the shine and really make them look better than brand new. I used it on a Honda Odyssey like richy did and the first thing the owner commented on when he opened the door was the floor mats! I knew then that this product was a keeper. Now the con on this would be the price as DG's dressing seem to be a little on the pricey side when compared to others. I would recommend getting some because unlike other dressings it won't leave the mats slippery and its durability is very good.

Swissvax Pneu - This is a great tire dressing and probably my favorite. It has the perfect look and the double action pump sprayer is really nice. The major con with this is of course price. At $18 for about 8.5 oz it is expensive. I plan to use this just for very special clients and details (and my wife's car as she has been spoiled by having the very best in detailing products on her car for a little while now, LOL). If this is for personal use or like me and for your best clients its worth it if not you might want to look to something a little more cost efficient.

 

I appreciate your insight on these products! I thought i would share my experience with Meg's Hyperdressing...i only use it for the wheel wells...i cut it 4:1 coat the entire wheel well and literally walk away..it evens out on its own and i have never ever once had to wipe it...it also depends on the type of plastic you are working with in the well...my plastic is porous and so it really does its job...on "shiny" plastic i can see where you might want to...i absolutely love HD, 33 dollars for a gallon and that is 4 gallons of wheel well dressing for me...very economical...i think a lot of people on MOL have success with ASD on the tires, you might just give it a shot because it is very economical...but you said you only use water based dressings, which i understand, i on the other hand only use solvent based dressings because of their longevity over water based dressings in my experience....great write up!

 

Nice write up.

I like Hyper Dressing a lot, I use it almost exclusively in the wells. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I just don't see what the big deal is about wiping down wheel wells, it literally takes 2 minutes or less for all four wells. But hey, if your current process works great for you, then it's all that matters.

 

Problem I have is that with so many cars having very large wheels there is very little room to get in the well and maneuver around to get complete coverage with a wipedown. Granted on SUVs and such with plenty of room its not an issue but so many cars today have very tight areas around the wheel. I know most will say that if there isn't that much room you can't really see in there anyway but if I squat down I can see it just like I clean the underside of the side mirrors. Most can never see it but if you squat down you can and last thing I want a client doing is squatting down and seeing something unprofessional. Sprays like Bare Bones and Adams and Megs All Season just make it so easy to spray and never have to wipe, thats really where my affinity for those come in.

 

This is very true, these cars are just a problem for me because i dont ever take off the wheels when detailing a person's car...so it is not only hard to dress them but to clean them as well! I thought about putting HD in one of those pump sprayers but that would make it worse because of the space issue

 

More nice reviews. I love product reviews.

I have been eyeing up the HD myself, as $7 a can for CD2 eats up money quick, cause I use it for engines and wheel wells.

 

What is it about the Pneu dressing that makes it your fave?? How does it compare to Surf CIty Tire Pro??

Thanks for the reviews... sucks that the weather didn't work for you on your vacation!

 

I know you told me after I sent you the Megs ASD but what kind of sprayer are you using to apply it?? Because the standard megs sprayer didn't really atomize it enough for good coverage.

 

JL have you tried Zaino 's tire dressing?

 

Thanks for the reviews, all but the Swissvax are items I planned on ordering soon.

 

Thanks and I know what you mean about aerosol dressings eating up the $$ I was using Stoners Trim Shine but you go through so much that it just is not as cost effective as the Megs HD. Just have to find a method to get the exact same look and I found that method.

It gives just a little bit more shine than SC which makes it a little more liked by clients. Not all like the matte look you get from SC like you and I do. Pneu gives it just a little more without looking greasy shiny.

I use a high volume sprayer for the Megs ASD just like I do for Bare Bones or Adams. You are right a regular sprayer just doesn't cut it but the high volume one does a great job.

Yes I have and it is good but reminds me of SC Beyond Black.

All of them were very good products and I'm glad I have them.

 

^^ gotcha!:thumb:

 

So you like Pneu better. What other water based dressing do you like
? I am trying to find a cost effective alternative to Zaino. Maybe optimum.

 

The products I use right now and in order of my favorites would be:

1. SV Pneu
2. CGs VRP
3. Optimum Tire Shine
4. Megs HD @ 1:1
5. SC Beyond Black
6. Optimum Opti-Bond (the only gel that I like and the shiniest dressing that I will use. I only use this for customers that really want some shine and prefer the look of a solvent based dressing)

Now for my cars the list would look like this because I maintain my tires regularly so these give the exact look I'm looking for:

1. SV Pneu
2. Megs HD @ 1:1
3. CGs VRP (this ranks 3rd because thats what my wife wants on her's Megs HD topped with VRP)
4. SC Beyond Black

I don't use any of the others on my own vehicles.

 

JL, how is the sling factor on these dressings, this is why optimum gel is my favorite, it doesn't sling down the side of my vette and has a nice look. You and Phil have me getting Pneu but just wanted some info on sling.

 

No sling on any of them! That's one of the reasons along with shine factor that I use them. That is also the reason that Optimum Tire Bond is the only gel I like because it doesn't sling. It gives more shine than any of the others but doesn't sling. But any dressings you see me use you can rest assured it doesn't sling because if it does I never use it again.

 

Thank you sir, enjoying the beach?

 

Thanks for the reviews JL!! Can't optibond be diluted also? I have read of people spraying it through paintguns. Have you tried it diluted?

 

Thanks for the reviews. I love ASD. It's my fav tire dressing. Just the right look. Not to shiny or matte.

 

Yes much better weather today. Only one day of rain so far!

I think it can be diluted if you use the paintgun. In fact I think Optimum sells a gun specifically for it. I apply by applicator so I haven't diluted it.

No problem glad I finally got some time to do the reviews. I have a few more coming.