**Tire Dressing TEST**

P

P1et

New member
Hoi,



Since I have searched high and low for the best tire dressing, I've accumulated quite a few over the years. Why not put my four favorites head to head?



1) Tropi-Care Tire & Trim Dressing ($9.95 for 16 oz.)

2) Optimum Opti-Bond Tire Dressing ($15.95 for 32 oz.)

3) Adam's VRT ($14.95 for 16 oz.)

4) Zaino Z-16 ($12.95 for 16 oz)



Notes:

- Tires were all washed and scrubbed w/ an APC

- New applicators were used for each tires/dressing



UNDRESSED:

========

Tire 1, undressed w/ Tropi-Care:

Dressing9.jpg




Tire 2, undressed w/ Optimum:

Dressing10.jpg




Tire 3, undressed w/ Adam's

Dressing11.jpg




Tire 4, undressed w/ Zaino

Dressing12.jpg




1st LAYER:

=======

Tire 1, one layer w/ Tropi-Care:

Dressing13.jpg




Tire 2, one layer w/ Optimum:

Dressing14.jpg




Tire 3, one layer w/ Adam's:

Dressing15.jpg




Tire 4, one layer w/ Zaino:

Dressing8.jpg




2nd LAYER:

========

Tire 1, two layers w/ Tropi-Care:

Dressing16.jpg




Tire 2, two layers w/ Optimum:

Dressing17.jpg




Tire 3, two layers w/ Adam's:

Dressing18.jpg




Tire 4, two layers w/ Zaino:

Dressing19.jpg




Tropi-Care on the front, Optimum in the back:



Dressing21.jpg




OBSERVATIONS:

===========



- I found that all tire dressings looked blotchy and uneven upon first layer

- The second layer after 5 minutes removed any uneven application

- The Zaino smells amazing!

- I found the Optimum to be too thick, and difficult to apply

- Easiest to apply was the Tropi-Care, as it's cheap enough to put in a Viton spray bottle and apply away.

- I was amazed how little Zaino was required.



I will be updating everyone upon my next wash to test durability.



Stay tuned!
 
I use Zaino and like the look the best. Good shine but doesn't look goopy. I just wish it lasted a bit longer. Although cleaning the tires is much easier before re-applying.
 
P1et, interesting thread...thanks for doing it.



Can you add an additional element? That would be "throw" over the next week as you drive the vehicle. That's become a high priority for me - - I hate seeing that stuff splattered all over the sides of my vehicle.
 
Wow looks great. Its a bit hard to tell from the pics but which dressing were you the most impressed with?
 
craigdt said:
Wow looks great. Its a bit hard to tell from the pics but which dressing were you the most impressed with?
Click to expand...



At this point:



1) Tropi-Care

2) Zaino

3) Adam's

4) Optimum
 
how do you like the VRT? also, i love those clear 16oz bottles with the chemical resistant sprayers (love the fine mist it sprays and how practical and small the bottle is), they work great on using them anywhere from window cleaners, QD's, spray wax's, etc...
 
Good comparison. Optimum Opti-Bond is thick however you can dilute it 4:1 and it is meant to be used in a pneumatic spray gun or a cordless paint sprayer. It works well when used this way. I like the look, however the longevity of Optimum Opti-Bond is still up in the air for me. It seeems to only last for a week. :(
 
Affer using Opti-Bond applied with a a cordless paint sprayer for about a year now. I've recently gone back and tried some old favorites. I was really surprised how much I still like the Z-16. And FK1 TopKote. CG VRT is a bit messy to apply. And I still hate the Megs Endurance dressings...very messy.



I'm thinking about buying a few more canisters for my Wagner cordless paint sprayer so I can try shooting Z-16 and the FK1 TopKote out of it.
 
tom p. said:
P1et, interesting thread...thanks for doing it.



Can you add an additional element? That would be "throw" over the next week as you drive the vehicle. That's become a high priority for me - - I hate seeing that stuff splattered all over the sides of my vehicle.
Click to expand...



I can tell you right now that after driving for 150 miles at 70 mph that I have seen zero throw from any of the tire dressings!



craigdt said:
Wow looks great. Its a bit hard to tell from the pics but which dressing were you the most impressed with?
Click to expand...



Tropi-Care!



BigAl3 said:
how do you like the VRT? also, i love those clear 16oz bottles with the chemical resistant sprayers (love the fine mist it sprays and how practical and small the bottle is), they work great on using them anywhere from window cleaners, QD's, spray wax's, etc...
Click to expand...



As a creat tire dressing, I prefer is over Opti-Bond as it's not as thick. Easier to apply evenly. Yes, the Viton sprayers and the 16 oz bottles are fantastic. I bought about 10 of them last time, and have even rebottled the products I use to clean my hardwood floors with them. The fine mist they spray is better than anything else I've seen.



backwoods_lex said:
Those were some clean tires. Wow.



I think the Tropi-Care had the best look to it from the pics.
Click to expand...



:woot2:



howareb said:
Good comparison. Optimum Opti-Bond is thick however you can dilute it 4:1 and it is meant to be used in a pneumatic spray gun or a cordless paint sprayer. It works well when used this way. I like the look, however the longevity of Optimum Opti-Bond is still up in the air for me. It seeems to only last for a week. :(
Click to expand...



Even though you are probably correct, I'm not going to hook up a sprayer just to do my tires. I want a product that works well straight out of the "box", not something I need to modify twice.



DJBAILEY said:
Affer using Opti-Bond applied with a a cordless paint sprayer for about a year now. I've recently gone back and tried some old favorites. I was really surprised how much I still like the Z-16. And FK1 TopKote. CG VRT is a bit messy to apply. And I still hate the Megs Endurance dressings...very messy.



I'm thinking about buying a few more canisters for my Wagner cordless paint sprayer so I can try shooting Z-16 and the FK1 TopKote out of it.
Click to expand...



I agree with you on the Megs Endurance dressings, that's what made me look for something better to start off with! Messiest dressing so far!
 
Great thread! How long did you wait until applying the second coat?



It would be interesting to extend this test to different types of tires, as soft compound tires react differently than hard compound tires.



Your wheel wells are cleaner than most people's paint! Do you use a power washer every time you drive to get it like that?
 
Nice work on the documentation, though these things don't seem to translate so well across even my new monitor. The "clean factor" of your tires/wheels/undercarriage came across in all caps though! :bigups My favorite is not included, but interesting results thus far. That Tropi-Care product is different from the one I used some years back called Premium Tire & Rubber Dressing. I liked the look, but fell out of touch when I stopped attending some of the local car shows.



I missed where you had purchased the sprayers.
 
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