davey g-force
New member
- Aug 18, 2009
- 1,225
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See the below post from Michael Stoops of Meguiars:
Michael Stoops on MOL said:I posted the following in the thread that fenderpicks started with his review of UBTC. He seemed to have some issues with application of the product and I think the following will help clarify some things.
As crazy as this might sound, I finally had a chance to play with this product a bit over the weekend.
Personally, my preferred method to apply any tire dressing (trigger spray, aerosol, gel) is to apply it to a tire brush and then wipe it onto the tire. M40, Hyperdressing, Hot Shine, Endurance.... I always spray or pour onto a brush and then apply to the tire. But Ultimate Black Tire Coating is not a dressing. As the name implies it is truly a coating, and as such the way it was developed means it really must be sprayed on, and sprayed on pretty lightly at that. Now, for all of you who have the same application preference that I do, stay with me here, because UBTC is far easier to use than even I anticipated, provided you adjust your technique a bit.
First off, spraying onto a brush or foam applicator will not give you the results you're looking for with this product, nor maximize this products potential. I tried using both a brand new tire brush, and a brand new foam applicator. In both cases there was every little, if any, product transferred to the tire. And that's because this product comes out of the can in a fairly tight cone pattern and in a very fine spray. It's much closer to the atomizing effect you get with a good rattle can spray paint than it is to any aerosol tire dressing you've ever used. So application is best when you spray on in a sweeping motion and really minimize the amount of product you apply. Going heavy with this product will lead to overspray, runs, and no more gloss or coverage than you get with a light application.
This is the tire sidewall after scrubbing it clean with APC and a stiff tire brush. This tire previously had Hot Shine trigger spray on it that was barely a week old, so a thorough scrubbing ensured it was all gone.
This is immediately after applying UBTC via direct spray, and I'll freely admit that I was a bit heavy handed here. This is the very first spot, out of all four tires, where I put the product so it's a bit heavier than everywhere else. So what you're looking at here is my personal "worst case scenario".
Same area on the same tire, but this is after applying to all four tires. This tire has been "drying" for maybe 5 minutes at the most, and I'm wiping my bare hand across the surface.
Virtually nothing on my fingers, and remember, this is the "worst case" spot from all four tires.
I even sprayed UBTC on the tires in my driveway rather than in my garage, specifically to check for overspray. With a proper light spray there was virtually nothing to speak of. I did a quick wipe down of the wheels following application and there just wasn't anything to speak of regarding streaking or smearing on the wheel surface. I have not tried this on our other cars with black wheels, and if anything is going to show overspray it's going to be those black wheels (they show everything!).
So, the key points to applying this product: less is more, bottom line. Treat application of this exactly as you would if you spray painting something with a rattle can. That means keep the can moving, don't dwell on an area, and apply it lightly. There is no need to wipe the sidewall down after application, and doing so will actually cause more problems than it solves. If you feel you need to wipe off excess product, you've simply used waaaay too much. It's not hard at all to apply, don't get me wrong. It's actually quite easy, but it takes a bit of a technique adjustment if you're used to just unloading with other spray dressings. Because this is NOT a dressing; it's a coating.
