Tire Dressing Face Off - Griots Black Satin, McKee's 37 Gloss Tire Gel, 303 Tire Balm

FrankS

FrankS

Active member
Joined
Jul 7, 2013
Messages
1,560
Reaction score
0
Here's a quick review on the following tire dressings:

Griots Garage Black Satin Tire Coating
McKee's 37 Gloss Tire Gel
303 Tire Balm & Protectant

This is not an in-depth review, just some quick thoughts and observations. Also, please excuse the quality of my iPhone camera pictures, I thought they would come out better than they did.

I'm looking for something that will give good results in one single application since I want to keep my detailing time to a minimum when working on client's cars.

All the tires were thoroughly cleaned and dried before applying the dressings.

First up is Griots Garage Black Satin Tire Coating - This is an aerosol spray. I like the look but I don't like the overspray that gets on the wheels and some of the body panels, even though I used it on an afternoon with little wind. There were some wet spots left on the tire after spraying and I had to wipe it down with a MF towel to even it out. I think this dressing would work good on big knobby tires.

800_IMG_3850.JPG


Next up is McKee's 37 Tire Gloss Gel - This is one of my favorite tire dressings, seems to perform well on different tire manufacturers, usually just the right amount of gloss for my liking. I want to see how it compares with the others in terms of longevity. I also applied it with the new McKee's Dual Action Trim & Tire Applicator Sponges.

800_IMG_3852.JPG


Next up is 303 Tire Balm & Protectant - I already used it before on these same tires and it didn't last very long, a day or two later I could hardly tell anything was applied. I want to give this dressing the benefit of the doubt and try it again. This dressing is on the liquidy side. I like the look when it first goes on. Perhaps on some tires you need a second application but I'm looking for a "Once and Done" type of dressing. It may be great for the enthusiast who has more time to spend on his car. This dressing was applied with the Speed Master Tire Dressing Applicator.

800_IMG_3854.JPG


We've been getting a lot of rain lately here in south FL so I thought this would be a good time to test these dressings out.

I'll be giving some updates in the next few days.
 
Subscribed. I am a big fan of the GG satin spray mainly because it does work great on my Nitto Trail Grapplers. I do also like the McKee’s a lot as well. I’m usually using PERL at 1:1 or McKee’s, just depends on how I’m feeling any given day.
 
fly07sti said:
Subscribed. I am a big fan of the GG satin spray mainly because it does work great on my Nitto Trail Grapplers. I do also like the McKee’s a lot as well. I’m usually using PERL at 1:1 or McKee’s, just depends on how I’m feeling any given day.
Click to expand...

Yep, GG Black Satin would work good on your tires. Same here with PERL & McKee's, it depends on what I want to use on that day.
 
You might like DG 253 Tire and Rubber Dressing. One application just makes them look like new tires. 2+ increases the shine. I havent found anything that lasts as long as 253. It's not greasy. It's dry. Doesn't sling. Dust doesn't adhere. A+ in my book. I'll probably never try anything else (and I've tried many) because I find 253 to be perfect for me.

if it doesn't get wet, it'll last weeks. If it does get wet... it'll last through a few rains.
 
Meguiars Endurance Gel is a pretty good 1 and done tire gel with better than decent lasting ability.

The only thing is it might be a bit on the high gloss side for people who prefer more of a matte black look.
 
Excellent. Will be watching to see what holds up. I keep going back to Duragloss 253. Cheap and works well. I seem to get ~3 months out of it. Happy to switch is something does better and is economical.
 
I have been playing with the 303 Tire Balm. I recently mixed some 303 Tire Balm and some undiluted PERL at about a 2:1 ratio. Still had a very nice sheen to it and seems to be lasting longer so far, but its been dry around here up until today. The tires were definitely beading water when I got to work this morning. I remember when PERL came out that it was revealed that PERL was using similar plasticizers as 303 spray was using, just more of it with the additional SiO2. So I wanted to see what the mix would do. On our minivan I have 1 tire that I used the 303 spray on first. Just a light coat that practically totally absorbed into the rubber. Then I applied the 303 Balm on top to see if will last longer with the 303 spray acting as a primer. I was assuming that the Tire Balm was using similar chemistry as the spray.
 
I like the GG Satin Tire spray too. Really do not like their glossy one. I've been using the satin one on knobby truck tires also.
 
Another fan of Griots Black Satin Tire Coating here. I find it takes the least amount of time for me to apply, even accounting for wiping any overspray off of wheels. And unlike a lot of the foaming aerosol tire dressings, this can is good to the last drop and remains easy to control. The look is just slightly glossier than I like initially, but soon becomes just right. I want to like things like Opti-Bond and PERL but for me it takes longer than I like to get an even application, whether using a brush applicator, sponge applicator, or MF towel.
 
This is what the tires look like the day after the dressings were applied.

We had some rain, sometimes heavy rain, overnight and the car has not been driven since the dressings were applied.

The sky was overcast when these pictures were taken, no sun.

Here's the tire with 303 Tire Balm - the initial sheen is gone and has more of a natural look with a slight sheen.

800_IMG_3857.JPG


800_IMG_3858.JPG


Here's the tire with McKee's Gloss Tire Gel - looks about the same as the 303 Tire Balm, has more of a natural look with a slight sheen. Normally the gloss last longer than this with the McKee's. Sometimes you get different results with different tires.

800_IMG_3860.JPG


800_IMG_3863.JPG


Here's the tire with the GG Black Satin - looks about the same as the other tires but this tire has a little more sheen than the other two. I would say that this tire looks the best but only slightly.

800_IMG_3864.JPG


800_IMG_3866.JPG
 
Continental tires are hard to keep dressing on based on my experience,and many others I've read about. Great tires though.

303 Tire Balm is the next product I am going to try. Have 2 bottles of it! Bought one,and then they were practically being given away on Autodesk.

Duragloss makes a great aerosol tire shine. Better than th3 store bought stuff. Would like to try the Griot's spray also though.
 
FrankS said:
I think you’re correct!
Click to expand...

I forgot to mention that this was a great write-up as well.

I've had better luck with my Conti DWS tires here lately,but when I first got them nothing would stick to them. After many scrubbings and some time for outgassing to take place,they're doing better. Heavier rain will sometimes wash dressings off,but not always. We've had the tires on my wife's car for a year now.

I would say the Griot's is the winner in this comparo. The 303 looks good in the picture from the front in the day after pics,but not so much in the side pic from the same set. The McKees looks almost done to me already. I had better luck than that with the same product,but sometimes it would was off as well. Looked AWESOME when I first applied it though.
 
This was a interesting and well thought out test. Thanks again for doing this. Myself, I have just been converted to Duragloss #253. Amazing product. :props:
 
RippyD said:
Excellent. Will be watching to see what holds up. I keep going back to Duragloss 253. Cheap and works well. I seem to get ~3 months out of it. Happy to switch is something does better and is economical.
Click to expand...

Three months?! Wow. What is your secret? I've been using 253 for years now and like it, but only see 2~3 weeks depending on the weather.

I've also noticed the durability is starting to drop off now that the bottle I own is around 4~5 years old. Not sure if the stuff looses it's potency as it ages or not.
 
I do have a question on the Griots. No sling off? Any aerosol product I have used in the past on tires, has ended up on the body panels after driving.
 
pro 4x said:
I do have a question on the Griots. No sling off? Any aerosol product I have used in the past on tires, has ended up on the body panels after driving.
Click to expand...

The car was finally driven yesterday in rainy weather, about 4 days after the initial application, and there was no sling-off, but of course the dressing had plenty of time to dry out.

I did wipe the tire with a MF towel after applying the Griots Black Satin just to even out the dressing. I'm sure that helped to dry it out quicker. I would think that as long as you give it some time to dry out, you shouldn't have any problem with sling-off.

This was the first time using this dressing, perhaps someone else will chime in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top