Re: TLC Auto Detail:Wolfgang Exterior Trim Sealant vs. Ultima Tire and Trim Guard

[Flannigan]

So I know a couple people have done reviews on this product, but I had some free time today, so I figured I would ad my thoughts. I think they are pretty much in line with what others have said, but it has my own little spin.

I will break this review/grudge match into three sections. First will be a very textured piece of trim that is almost white it`s faded so badly. Then we have a cowl panel that has a very little texture to it, and is almost brand new. Finally we have a chrome grill, since both products say they can be used on chrome as well as trim. You might be wondering why I didn`t do any testing on tires, but there was a storm quickly approaching and I didn`t want to run out of time. If it clears up this weekend I will add some tire testing to this review. On to the review.

Here are the products, along with their applicators.

Product: Ultima Tire and Trim Guard (UTTG from here on)
Price: $31.99 for 12oz
Price per oz: $2.67

Product: Wolfgang Exterior Trim Sealant (ETS from here on)
Price: $14.99 4oz /$24.99 8oz/$39.99 16oz (These are "Sale" prices at time of review)
Price per oz: $3.75/$3.12/$2.50



First we have the rear trim panel on my wife`s 2006 Ford Expolorer. Before I came along this vehicle was not well cared for, and most of the exterior trim is pretty faded, almost white like this piece. I broke this piece up into two section with a small control spot in the middle. Before the testing the panel was cleaned once with Optimum PowerClean, and then again with 50/50 IPA mix to make sure it was as clean as possible. For application a few drops were put on each applicator and it was worked into the trim. The ETS required a few more drops, but neither product required additional buffing after application. On to the pics...

This is just to show what product is used on what side.


Here is the piece of trim all clean. It`s very faded, and full of scratches, thanks to our dog climbing in and out of the truck on a regular basis.
Entire Piece Before


ETS Side Before


UTTG Side Before


These pictures are right after application. Both products go on looking very similar. they look very shiny at first, which I like because it`s easy to tell where you have gotten full coverage. Obviously on a faded piece like this it`s easy to tell where you have been, but on a well maintained piece of trim it would be harder to tell if it wasn`t shiny to begin with.

Also the application is the first difference I noticed between these two products. While both require only a small amount of product, I found that the UTTG goes farther than the ETS. I needed several more drops of the ETS to get full coverage, while the UTTG only required 3 drops to get full coverage.

ETS Right After Application


UTTG Right After Application


Close up of ETS vs. Undressed trim


Close up of UTTG vs. Undressed Trim


50/50...or I guess 33/33/33...ETS vs. Undressed vs. UTTG






Now the top of the trim wasn`t as faded since the sun can`t hit it with the rear hatch closed. This is just to show what the two products look like compared to a better maintained piece of textured trim.


ETS only close up


UTTG only close up


ETS Macro


UTTG Macro



Here are some pictures of beading. Both look pretty identical. Beading doesn`t really matter, well the size/look doesn`t at least, but I don`t think I`m alone when I say I LOVE looking at beading pictures...so here you go...








Final thoughts on faded, heavily textured trim. In some of the pictures (and when I was looking at it with my own eyes) the ETS seems like it might be SLIGHTLY darker. BUT remember I did have to use slightly more ETS to get full coverage, so that may have something to do with it. So while it does look a little darker on this faded trim, I don`t think it`s enough to say ETS "wins" this part. Now when it comes to the part of the trim that isn`t faded as badly both products look identical to me. Since we don`t know the durability of the ETS yet this means a clear winner cannot be declared. IF ETS proves it lasts as long or longer than UTTG then they would still be fairly identical products in my mind.


Next round we have the cowl of my Nissan Cube. It`s been well cared for since it was new, so I can confidently call it "like new". Just like the last piece of trim, the cowl was cleaned once with Optimum PowerClean, and then again with 50/50 IPA to make sure it was perfectly clean. As far as application a few drop were put on each applicator and it was worked into the cowl. No further buffing was required to get a smooth finish. In this case it did NOT seem like more ETS was required to get total coverage.

This just shows what product goes on what side.


Both products applied to the cowl, with an undressed section in the middle.


Close up


Beading






Sorry, not as many pics on this since it was obvious a storm was headed my way quickly. But I think you can still get the point.

Now this trim has a slight amount of texture, but nowhere near as much as the trim on the Explorer. In this round I can clearly say that the UTTG left not only a darker finish, but also a slight shinier finish. I can`t speak for everyone, but I like this look better on my trim. It`s not greasy at all, but it is nice and dark, with just a hint of shine. Both products do dry to the touch however, so neither is greasy at all. I`m going to give this round to UTTG since I like the look better. Thats not to say the ETS looked bad, or I won`t use it, but I do prefer the look of the UTTG here.

[Flannigan]

Final thoughts

Both of these products are obviously quality products, we aren`t dealing with Armor All or Turtle Wax here. That being said I think a lot of people will decide which product to use based on price, or just which company they like better. So I`m just going to list the few differences that I noticed while using both products.

-UTTG comes with it`s own applicator. I`m sure some won`t care, but I really enjoy using this applicator on trim, as long as the trim isn`t too small. The applicator has a built in grip so it`s hard, if not impossible to drop it while using the product. Also it can be cleaned and reused.
-UTTG has amazing durability. Thats not to say that ETS doesn`t, but we already KNOW the durability of UTTG, where the ETS has yet to be seen.
-On heavily textured trim ETS required just slightly more product to get full coverage.

So thats about it I think. If you feel I missed something, or made any mistakes please let me know, and thanks for reading!!!

[Flannigan]

So it has been a little over a month since I started my ETS vs. UTTG test/review. I figured this was a good time to make an update.

First up the cared for/new trim. The UTTG is on the left, and the ETS is on the right. Honestly it`s hard to tell which one is doing better at this point. they are both still going very strong, and look almost as good as the day they were applied.

I want to note one thing. Both of these product hold dust/pollen like I`ve never seen before! It wipes right off, but as you will see in the first to pics, the protected sections had move dust/pollen on them than the undressed stripe in the middle. This really surprised me!!





Again I don`t think it`s a huge deal since it wipes right off, but it is worth noting. here is another picture after the trim was wiped down with just distilled water.



And here is a closer view of them. Both still look AWESOME IMO. From these pictures there is no real way to pick one over the other.


Now we move on to the faded/abused trim. Again in the first picture you will notice how much dirtier the dressed parts are than the undressed part. As with the cared for trim, it does wipe right off.



And here they are after being wiped down with water. In this case, I think you can see a distinction between the two products. Both are still there, but I feel that the ETS looks a little darker than the UTTG at this point. So I would venture to say that, at least on faded trim, the ETS is staying dark longer. I would assume that this means the ETS will last longer, but only time will tell. Sorry the flash threw off the colors in the first picture a little bit.





Here is a quick picture showing both products are still beading strong.



And one final picture of both products all clean.


Hope you all enjoyed this little update! I will make another one in a few weeks, or if I notice one product failing. Thanks for looking!!!

[Todd@RUPES]

Awesome comparison!!!!!!!!! Seriously top-notch!!!

[DealerDetailer]

Outstanding write up so far! I`ll be following this one and look foward to your next post!

[Harleyguy]

Awesome write up Dave thanks so much for sharing . I also own a Ford Sport Trac they have some much of the black plastic cladding they make the perfect test bed for products like UTTG and Wolfgang ETS

[Flannigan]

Awesome comparison!!!!!!!!! Seriously top-notch!!!

Thank you Todd!!

Outstanding write up so far! I`ll be following this one and look foward to your next post!

Thanks! I`m hoping this will be a long thread, meaning that they both last a good long while. We will see!

Awesome write up Dave thanks so much for sharing . I also own a Ford Sport Trac they have some much of the black plastic cladding they make the perfect test bed for products like UTTG and Wolfgang ETS

Thanks Adam! The wife gets a little annoyed when she finally notices that there are "stripes" of undressed trim all over her vehicle...lol

[Bill D]

I`ve been looking for a product that is easy to use and LASTS a long time for my wheel wells so I don`t have to constantly redress them after every time it rains/ at each wash. ETS/UTTG seems to be the best type of product available so far. I`ll have to see which to get. Seems like the ETS is a slightly better value but I`ll be keeping my ear to ground a little while longer.

[Flannigan]

Got a little update for you guys. This isn`t based on a timeframe or anything, but i noticed that UTTG was starting to look a little faded.

First here is a picture of both dressings before being wiped down with water. I must admit I`m still slightly annoyed that both of these products are dust/dirt magnets! Nothing a quick wipe won`t fix, but other products out there don`t suffer from this problem IME.



All cleaned up, here is the first picture that we can really see how much darker ETS looks now. They have both faded, but the UTTG is fading quite a bit more than the ETS. It`s still there, but getting lighter by the day.



Here is a close up of both dressings. Again you can clearly see that the ETS is darker.



Here is a close up of the ETS, still looking pretty good compared to the undressed trim.



and here is the picture that truly shows how much the UTTG has faded. It was so hard to see that the UTTG was still there that I had to add a red line to show where the dressing started.



Now I`m not actually disappointed in either of these products. This trim was very faded, and hadn`t been cared for in the early years of this vehicle. This was a true test of trim restoration, and not trim protection. That being said I don`t think there is another dressing (not coating) on the market that would last as long as either of these products. In total it has been 53 days since these dressings were applied. Consider both are still there, thats pretty good in my book. I would assume by the next update the UTTG will be gone completely, but I have high hopes for the ETS.

Thanks for looking, and I look forward to your comments!

[Todd@RUPES]

Thanks for the update Flannigan. It looks like Wolfgang ETS is going to outlast Ultima. This should be a template on how to do open and honest comparisons!.

[ca.detailchick]

Thanks Flannigan for the reveiws and updates .

To be honest UTTG has failed me every time Ive tried to use it to restore exterior trim . It never darkened it like it did for you .I stopped trying to use it for restoring .I do not think it was actually meant to restore(?)

On the other hand Ive used it on my own trim (2010)and it hasnt come off in Id say 7 months . I am very gentle with washing too. So im happy with it for my own vehicle and it hides these defective marks from the factory quite well.

Please keep us posted !

[TroyScherer]

Thanks for the update Dave. I am surprised the ETS has outlast the Champ UTTG. This has me rethinking buying some UTTG over ETS.