I am often late to the game when it comes to new products.` The “flavor of the month” is too often the dust collector on the shelf the following month.` When I first heard about Black Pearl Tire Shine I was skeptical to say the least.` The claims sounded much like so many other similar products that disappoint.
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I was sent a sample to test.` I am a harsh critic and thorough in my reviews.` To answer the question right up front; Black Pearl is the real deal.`
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Black Pearl is no more difficult to apply than any other tire dressing.` Preparing the tire is the important part and care should be taken to do this step right or the durability can be compromised.` This step has been covered extensively in other reviews so I will spare the long description.
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Tire cleaned using the included Omni Clean:
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I applied one coat to just one half the tire.
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At 5 weeks the Black Pearl began to appear to have faded slightly.` Matthew Kelly, of Black Pearl, had stated that the shine can be restored by a quick cleaning.` So I sprayed a little Omni Clean on it, gave a quick scrub with a gentle brush and rinsed.` Most long lasting tire dressings have a tendency to be greasy/oily and attract and hold dirt.` There is definitely a different feeling that can be noticed just by how the brush passes over. `On bare rubber the bristles grab and drag.` On the coating they passed as though over plastic.` I decided to test the dirt attraction.` On the right was the bare, just cleaned rubber.` On the left was the Black Pearl side.` Had I scrubbed a little more that might have come out completely clean but this was a satisfactory indicator that Black Pearl does not attract dirt. (Video include to confirm equality.)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEdsMvfBBdE
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Over two months in (9 weeks) this is how it is looking:
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Looking the way it does at 2 months, 6 months is definitely a reasonable expectation.`
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One of the issues I anticipated with applying Black Pearl is getting into the tight groove adjacent to the wheel.` I inquired about this to Matthew Kelly.` He recommended using an old foam polishing pad cut into a wedge.` Black Pearl can be easily wiped off painted surfaces with a damp towel when done promptly before it starts to dry.`
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The idea struck me to apply Black Pearl by airbrush.` I again contact Matthew Kelly to inquire about this and how the product should be thinned, if necessary.` He told me he was not aware of anyone applying by airbrush to tires but that no thinning should be necessary.` I experimented a little and finally came up with the following:
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The wheel was taped off and covered to prevent overspray.` This is not entirely necessary.` I have found it easier to simply use a flexible piece of plastic and holding it along the wheel lip.` I simply did this to facilitate the demo.`
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On the left side I applied Black Pearl by airbrush.` On the left I used the supplied roller.` The lower was left with one coat while the top received a second coat using the respective methods.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=949wRl0ezio
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In the sun:
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One of the advantages of applying Black Pearl by airbrush is the ability to get a thicker layer in one shot rather than having to wait and apply a second coat via roller.` As you will see as you scroll, the single coat applied by roller has the least amount of gloss.` The single coat applied by airbrush is noticeably glossier.`` This could be adjusted with a little practice for lower gloss.` The section with 2 coats by roller is slightly glossier than the one coat applied by airbrush, but they are darn close and would probably not be evident if not on the same tire.` The highest gloss was the airbrushed 2 coats.` I have included many photos to show this.` The look in person is slightly different (more wet than shiny) than what appears on camera.`
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As you can see from the photos below, even though I had the tire up on a 2 X 4 I still did not get complete coverage at the bottom, which is why I included the above photos.
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This vehicle doesn’t see a lot of miles and the tires are about due to be replaced so I’m not sure this will be a good test for the durability but I’ll report back anything significant if I can.
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