On my Jeep I have found that cleaning the tire before the dressing is crucial. When I returned from Jeeptoberfest I had to clean the tires three times to get them to take the dressing. After trying TW jet black tire coating on my work vehicle, I will be using that on the Jeep from now on. It dries to the touch, washes easy and has a deep black look while keeping the dirt out of the rubber much better than the conventional greasy dressings. When I have used this bottle I will be trying some of the other similar type dressings here on AG. From now on, coatings that dry to the touch and place a barrier on the tire is all I will be using.
I used the foam applicator that came with the kit on my work truck tires but used a tapered foam paint brush for the tread.
The only con with the coating that I have found is that it can be scraped of if you scrub a curb so off road trips with sand, mud or rocks may require a reapplication. I will post some pics of mine shortly to describe this.