Tire coating

[Calendyr]

Hello guys, hope you are all doing well!

I have not been on the forum for quite some time, will have to change that

I have been using McKee's Tire Coating for quite a while, probably 3 or 4 years now. Yesterday when I opened my new bottle to do the tires on my clients car, I had the bad surprise of seeing the product had completelly crystalized.
I had a bottle of snow instead of liquid

I think now is the time to see if something new, and maybe better came out since I started using this product.

Any suggestions? I like McKee's Tire coating. It's easy to apply and I know it will last at least 6 months. Since we are in an area where we use winter tires for 5 months and summer tires for 7 months, that is good enough for me and my
clients. The one complaint I have received is that the tires don't look glossy with this product. For me that is good, but for some client it is not. So if you know a coating that would also give a wet look, that would be interesting to me.

Looking forward to reading your suggestions.

Daniel

 

[dgage]

I’ve used two coatings and I felt they were more similar than different; Tuf Shine Tire Coating and Pinnacle Tire Coating. In my experience the first step to shine is making sure the tires are Uber clean. Tarminator is a good initial cleaner that reduces the number of cleaning passes with a normal tire clean such as Tuf Shine, Shine Supply Wise Guy, or 303 Tire and Rubber. Then after cleaning if you want gloss, put a couple extra coats and it will look WAY too glossy but I find that calms down in a few days to leave a nice shine. May be worth a try with the McKee’s.

Haven’t heard of anything new in the tire coating world except for CarPro Blackout but not sure it is much different.

 

[The Guz]

You could try the current version of the McKee’s tire coating.

Cquartz BlackOut was a dud. I was not impressed with it.

 

[Calendyr]

You could try the current version of the McKee’s tire coating.

Cquartz BlackOut was a dud. I was not impressed with it.

That is what I am using. This bottle was ordered a month ago so unless my retailer (Carzilla) had old products, it should be the latest version.

So far I like that product. I still wish Turtle Wax had kept making their amazing tire coating... still sad about that

 

[Calendyr]

I’ve used two coatings and I felt they were more similar than different; Tuf Shine Tire Coating and Pinnacle Tire Coating. In my experience the first step to shine is making sure the tires are Uber clean. Tarminator is a good initial cleaner that reduces the number of cleaning passes with a normal tire clean such as Tuf Shine, Shine Supply Wise Guy, or 303 Tire and Rubber. Then after cleaning if you want gloss, put a couple extra coats and it will look WAY too glossy but I find that calms down in a few days to leave a nice shine. May be worth a try with the McKee’s.

Haven’t heard of anything new in the tire coating world except for CarPro Blackout but not sure it is much different.

I do a 3 step cleaning:
1. Aggressive cleaning of the tire using a stiff brush and tire cleaner (Usually P&S Breakbuster or Meguiars Non-Acid Wheel and tire cleaner)
2. Normal wash of the vehicle including foam bath with a degreaser on the tires.
3. Invisible glass to do a final cleaning.

When I am done tires are prefectly clean and grease free.

I could probably layer the products but that would take too much time and I don't want to have to charge for 1 or 2 hour of work just for tires. Right now I charge 30 mins of work to use a coating on the tires due to the extra time and steps. That works for both me and my clients (well, those who want a coating).

Otherwise I am still partial to Meguiars all-season dressing for the normal package.

 

[dgage]

I do a 3 step cleaning:
1. Aggressive cleaning of the tire using a stiff brush and tire cleaner (Usually P&S Breakbuster or Meguiars Non-Acid Wheel and tire cleaner)
2. Normal wash of the vehicle including foam bath with a degreaser on the tires.
3. Invisible glass to do a final cleaning.

When I am done tires are prefectly clean and grease free.

I could probably layer the products but that would take too much time and I don't want to have to charge for 1 or 2 hour of work just for tires. Right now I charge 30 mins of work to use a coating on the tires due to the extra time and steps. That works for both me and my clients (well, those who want a coating).

Otherwise I am still partial to Meguiars all-season dressing for the normal package.

No offense but I wonder if you do enough cleaning for a TIRE COATING. I was always under the impression that the tires had to be cleaned like nothing else for a tire coating to last and look it’s best for longest. And that often means 7 washes with a tire brush and a strong tire cleaner. You can tell when the tires aren’t clean as they’ll brown with a tire cleaner. Eventually, they’ll stay white and you know the tires are clean enough though some new tires will need two passes like that a couple weeks apart since the tires are still off gassing production chemicals. This is why I’ve started my cleaning regiment with Tarminator as that can take 6-7 rounds of cleaning down to 3-4. But I also don’t use the tire coatings as much as I used to, primarily because of the prep effort involved.

You can look at what I say as being crazy but then that maybe why you’re asking if you could get more out of the coating. My guess is that you’re not doing enough prep to get the full capability out of a tire coating. And you may also decide, like many others, that a tire coating isn’t worth the effort, especially when a tire scrape so easily marrs an otherwise beautiful tire.

Ultimately do what is best for you and your customers but I don’t think switching products is the issue.

 

[dgage]

But I’d also suggest for the customers that want a glossier tire to add a couple additional coats of tire coating. You’ll think it’s looks WAY too glossy but that gloss knocks down nicely after about 2 days and leaves a nice glossy shine for several months before dropping in sheen again.

 

[The Guz]

That is what I am using. This bottle was ordered a month ago so unless my retailer (Carzilla) had old products, it should be the latest version.

So far I like that product. I still wish Turtle Wax had kept making their amazing tire coating... still sad about that

If it says SiO2 ceramic series then it is the newest version.

 

[Calendyr]

No offense but I wonder if you do enough cleaning for a TIRE COATING. I was always under the impression that the tires had to be cleaned like nothing else for a tire coating to last and look it’s best for longest. And that often means 7 washes with a tire brush and a strong tire cleaner. You can tell when the tires aren’t clean as they’ll brown with a tire cleaner. Eventually, they’ll stay white and you know the tires are clean enough though some new tires will need two passes like that a couple weeks apart since the tires are still off gassing production chemicals. This is why I’ve started my cleaning regiment with Tarminator as that can take 6-7 rounds of cleaning down to 3-4. But I also don’t use the tire coatings as much as I used to, primarily because of the prep effort involved.

You can look at what I say as being crazy but then that maybe why you’re asking if you could get more out of the coating. My guess is that you’re not doing enough prep to get the full capability out of a tire coating. And you may also decide, like many others, that a tire coating isn’t worth the effort, especially when a tire scrape so easily marrs an otherwise beautiful tire.

Ultimately do what is best for you and your customers but I don’t think switching products is the issue.

I have not asked how I can get out more of the coating I asked if there were any newer products that might be better than what I was using.

Ask for cleaninest, what I am doing have worked well for me. I run a business, if I am to clean them times like you are doing and assuming that would make a big improvement over what I am doing, I would have to charge the client for that extra time and it would not make it commercially viable. As an enthousiast, you can sprend a lot of time doing anything because you are enjoying the process and that is a hobby for you. Me, I am trying to be as efficient as possible as to offer the lower price I can while making a good profit. So right now I charge 10$ per tire to coat them. That is 80$ per hour minus expenses. If I tripple my workload to prep the tire and it takes 90 minutes instead of 30, I would have to charge 120$, and I don't think people would be willing to pay that.

On my own vehicle, the coating lasts for the roughly 6 months it needs to. I do it every spring when I re-install the summer wheels and do the same for my client who prefer the coating over a simple dressing. So the durability is good enough. As for the gloss, again if it can't be done with a single layer, I don't want to have to do multiple layers with drying time in between. If the option was there for a glossier product, I would take it, if not, no problem.

 

[dgage]

I have not asked how I can get out more of the coating I asked if there were any newer products that might be better than what I was using.

Ask for cleaninest, what I am doing have worked well for me. I run a business, if I am to clean them times like you are doing and assuming that would make a big improvement over what I am doing, I would have to charge the client for that extra time and it would not make it commercially viable. As an enthousiast, you can sprend a lot of time doing anything because you are enjoying the process and that is a hobby for you. Me, I am trying to be as efficient as possible as to offer the lower price I can while making a good profit. So right now I charge 10$ per tire to coat them. That is 80$ per hour minus expenses. If I tripple my workload to prep the tire and it takes 90 minutes instead of 30, I would have to charge 120$, and I don't think people would be willing to pay that.

On my own vehicle, the coating lasts for the roughly 6 months it needs to. I do it every spring when I re-install the summer wheels and do the same for my client who prefer the coating over a simple dressing. So the durability is good enough. As for the gloss, again if it can't be done with a single layer, I don't want to have to do multiple layers with drying time in between. If the option was there for a glossier product, I would take it, if not, no problem.

I expected that answer and don’t disagree with it. I’ve only worked with a few tire coatings and the only way I’ve been able to get more gloss out of them is with extra coats. I really didn’t notice any real differences between the tire coatings I’ve used, they all seem to be similar products.

 

[Calendyr]

I expected that answer and don’t disagree with it. I’ve only worked with a few tire coatings and the only way I’ve been able to get more gloss out of them is with extra coats. I really didn’t notice any real differences between the tire coatings I’ve used, they all seem to be similar products.

Well... there are some differences The first one I used was Turtle Wax, can't remember what they called it. That stuff was awesome! It had a black dye in the coating, was really easy to apply and lasted a long time. For some reason they removed that product from the market ;(

Then I tried Optimum's Tire Coating. It was ok but working it a little made it felt like you were spreading a light glue / or tacky syrup. I really did not like the application but it did last a long time so it did it's job.

The one I settled on was McKee's 37 Tire coating and I have been happy with it so far.

Thanks to The Guz I was made aware of a new formulation. So I ordered a bottle today. Curious to see if it will be better

 

[Eldorado2k]

Well... there are some differences The first one I used was Turtle Wax, can't remember what they called it. That stuff was awesome! It had a black dye in the coating, was really easy to apply and lasted a long time. For some reason they removed that product from the market ;(

You’re talking about this.

Thanks to the generosity of this forum I still have a bottle. The good thing about it is that as long as the base layer is the tire coating, the trim coating can be used to top it off and I’ve got like 5 bottles of the trim coating. Lol.

I used to use this stuff on alot of peoples cars back then.. I wish I would’ve saved it but then again who would’ve thought Turtle Wax would be so stupid to discontinue it.

 

[Calendyr]

You’re talking about this.

Thanks to the generosity of this forum I still have a bottle. The good thing about it is that as long as the base layer is the tire coating, the trim coating can be used to top it off and I’ve got like 5 bottles of the trim coating. Lol.

I used to use this stuff on alot of peoples cars back then.. I wish I would’ve saved it but then again who would’ve thought Turtle Wax would be so stupid to discontinue it.

Yes exactly the stuff I was talking about! I still have the trim coating but it's nowhere as good as Solution Finish so I never use it.

 

[Paul A.]

For my customers opting for a tire coating it's clean several times with APC and a drill brush. Then 1 x OPT Tire Coating. I'm getting an average of 4 months for several customers. Some go 2-3 months and some go about 7 months.

I think it varies a bit due to rubber compond. It certainly varies with driving behavior.

 

[Coatingsarecrack]

The Tirw coating game has seem to get stagnant and Mckee’s, TufShine and Optimum seem to be the one’s still around. Stick with the Mckee’s.


For cleaning I would use something other than BB. Whatever else you mentioned has got to be better or even an APC.

I like 303 T&R and TufShine cleaner.

And if just giving the tire one hood cleaning I would look into a drill brush.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Calendyr]

The Tirw coating game has seem to get stagnant and Mckee’s, TufShine and Optimum seem to be the one’s still around. Stick with the Mckee’s.


For cleaning I would use something other than BB. Whatever else you mentioned has got to be better or even an APC.

I like 303 T&R and TufShine cleaner.

And if just giving the tire one hood cleaning I would look into a drill brush.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Did you have bad experiences with Break Buster? I have not used it in a while because Meg's non-acid wheel cleaner is usually cheaper but my experience with BB has been awesome. I dilute it 3:1 and it pulls the browning from the tires like crazy. I have tried APCs, my default product is Super Clean but even at 2:1, it won't clean as well as BB or NAWC.

Never tried 303 T&R, might have to give that a try next time I order.

 

[Calendyr]

For my customers opting for a tire coating it's clean several times with APC and a drill brush. Then 1 x OPT Tire Coating. I'm getting an average of 4 months for several customers. Some go 2-3 months and some go about 7 months.

I think it varies a bit due to rubber compond. It certainly varies with driving behavior.

2 months is really not a long time for a coating. You are getting in great dressing territory. Maybe you should try McKee's next time you order. I know that for me, it was a great improvement over Optimum's.

 

[Coatingsarecrack]

Did you have bad experiences with Break Buster? I have not used it in a while because Meg's non-acid wheel cleaner is usually cheaper but my experience with BB has been awesome. I dilute it 3:1 and it pulls the browning from the tires like crazy. I have tried APCs, my default product is Super Clean but even at 2:1, it won't clean as well as BB or NAWC.

Never tried 303 T&R, might have to give that a try next time I order.

I like BB a lot for maintenance washes but not to strip tires for coatings. I washed and scrubbed 3 times with TufShine tire brush till only white foam showed up.

Decided to follow with 303 and got a good amount of browsing to come up. Did it on another tire same conclusion.

With a drill brush I can do one good deep pass and tires are good.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BudgetPlan1]

TuffShine is the one thing I tried when i first started this detailing stuff that i never looked to 'improve'. Initial cleaning/application is a bit of a chore but very, very minimal effort after that.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

 

[Rsurfer]

TuffShine is the one thing I tried when i first started this detailing stuff that i never looked to 'improve'. Initial cleaning/application is a bit of a chore but very, very minimal effort after that.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

Been a fan of Tuff Shine until I got some new Michelin Pilot Sport 4S's. No matter how well I cleaned (drill brush) or no matter what I used to clean, the tires would not take the coating evenly. And yes I ran it for a couple of months before deep cleaning and coating. Tires are like paint in many ways, some will take a product well and others just looks like crap.