Opti-Bond Tire Gel

Mr. Gloss

Mr. Gloss

New member
I am having a tough time to get this product to give uniform coverage. The tire appearance varies from rich black to matte to dull on all four tires.

Tires: Michelin Pilot
Mileage 7,500

Other tire dressings used prior to this: Mothers Reflections; Endurance Gel; which give a uniform finish when dry.

Cleaning procedure: APC+ 4-1, soak & dwell 3 minutes, scrub with soapy brush, rinse.
Blow dry and wipe away remaining moisture.
Dress with a Tire Dressing Brush.

CRD93045.jpg



Any suggestions? Do I need to build up a base? Apply more? Buff it?
 
I have used Opti-Bond several times. I always use Carrand foam application (foam with a blue molded handle). I apply to the foam then spread. It saw no issues with uniformity.
I see a deep black sheen...not quite matte like Mothers..on Michelin MXV4 tires.
 
It looks like the issue here is yoir applicator. Opti bond is good stuff, but not very glossy.try the Eagle One tire swipes to apply. They are great. Best of luck.
 
You're using a quality product that I wouldn't expect would be a problem. Just a thought here. It certainly could be the applicator but I wonder if you have a tire or more that is exhibiting blooming. This can vary from tire to tire and even be present on one side of the vehicle more than the other depending upon how the vehicle spends its days in the sun. If the tires look uniformly clean once dried this probably isn't the culprit. Do you see any brown color to the tire even though it has been cleaned?
 
Yes. There is a slight brown tint after a thorough cleaning, but the Cooper CS4's on the wife's car also show brown after cleaning. I've not used Opti on the Cooper tires yet, just Endurance and Mother's, and the Cooper tires always look rich.

I'll try the foam applicator and work it in more.

Thanks!
 
Mr. Gloss said:
Yes. There is a slight brown tint after a thorough cleaning, but the Cooper CS4's on the wife's car also show brown after cleaning. I've not used Opti on the Cooper tires yet, just Endurance and Mother's, and the Cooper tires always look rich.

I'll try the foam applicator and work it in more.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

The brown color that remains on an otherwise properly cleaned tire is most assuredly blooming. If that's the case, it can be difficult to remove. Tires that are blooming are releasing UV protection. In other words the tires are designed to do this. Some tires seem to be much worse than others, even within the same brand, model or set. The tires do this to prohibit cracking under constant UV rays.

Tire browning will dramatically affect how the various tire gels and sprays look once applied. There is a fairly cheep product on the market that I've found to work well in removing browning it's called Westley's Bleache White. It's actually designed to make white walls/white letters stand out but cleans the black tire quite well also. You can find it at most Auto Supply stores. It's a product you want to be careful with. You don't want to breathe the fumes, simple precautions are sufficient.
 
As Gearhead suggested Westleys Bleach Wite is good for removing browning.
Another product that I have had great success with is LA's Totally Awsome.
You can get it at Dollar General very cheap and not the fumes. It's a good degreaser too.
 
Thank for the tips.

I have LA Totally Awesome and Westley's Bleache White products.

I'll give them a try.

As for UV, I park in the garage at home and in the garage at work.
 
The absolute best tire/rubber cleaner I've come across is the Top-of-the-Line tire cleaner.
I have the Westleys too and after it plateaued out, the TOTL product took the cleaning to another level. Brown carbon just oozed off the tire.
The product is incredibly cheap too, what a bonus.

I must say though, the tires (Michelins too!) on the old driver with the blooming issue never really looked as good as normal tires. I guess once the floodgates of blooming started, everything I did was only a temporary fix really. They looked good for a short while then the blooming kept reappearing.
Just a thought, how old are the tires? Check the month/year code to get the real answer, don't go by the year of the car.
 
I had the wife's car to clean today. It's equipped with Cooper CS4 tires.

The Bleache White cleaner totally stripped them bare. I soaked each tire and let it dwell for 3 minutes, then scrubbed. Brown slime was pooling on the floor beneath each tire. I rinsed each tire with hot water, dried with blow dryer and toweled away remaining water.

The clean tires were black again.

Applied the Opti Bond with a foam applicator, working it into the tire and finishing with two circular wipes.

They look marvelous!

Tomorrow I will tackle the Michelin's.

The car was purchased new in July 2010. The tires are stamped 5/10.
 
Looks like the other members have fixed you up. I was just reading the thread to see if you still needed help but it seems you have found a solution. Good job from a great community!


Sent from my ViP4 viaTapatalk
 
Glad everyone was able to put their heads together for this one.

I just purchased some new tires for the Mazdaspeed, but we took the girlfriends car last night for dinner and i noticed she's got some serious browning! It made me think of this thread, and now I have a surefire way to clean them up..:yourrock
 
Just one thing I forgot. DO NOT use Bleache Wite on uncoated aluminum rims it will leave a mark! I haven't tested LA's on any wheels yet I use a rag with it applied directly to the tires. Just a note.
 
I've got painted/clear wheels on my cars.

The Michelin tires cleaned up nice after several scrubs and rinses. They were black when dry.

I applied an even coat of Opti Bond with the foam applicator, worked it in and smoothed it out.

Looks awesome!

Thanks for the help!
 
Mr. Gloss said:
I've got painted/clear wheels on my cars.

The Michelin tires cleaned up nice after several scrubs and rinses. They were black when dry.

I applied an even coat of Opti Bond with the foam applicator, worked it in and smoothed it out.

Looks awesome!

Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...

Glad to hear. I've delt with the "blooming" on the show cars. They sit in the sun all day and one side all the sudden does it.
I wanted to mention the uncoated wheels in case someone who reads this had them.
Someone can test by using a fine cloth and fine polish. If you get black they are uncoated.(clean the area first)
 
Bunky said:
I have used Opti-Bond several times. I always use Carrand foam application (foam with a blue molded handle). I apply to the foam then spread. It saw no issues with uniformity.
I see a deep black sheen...not quite matte like Mothers..on Michelin MXV4 tires.
Click to expand...

+1

I don't use Optimum much anymore, but still follow the same technique as mentioned above without any problem with uniform coverage.
 
I your looking for great tire/wheel cleaner I would recommend Brown Royal from Flashwax. The video for the product do not do justice. It has no acid in it what so ever it will clean the dirtiest rim and tire. The price is very reasonable for a gallon so you can make your own bottle of brown royal or you can buy it in a spray bottle. I have personally used this product and do to this day and its the best tire/rim cleaner i have ever used. But i will test opti gel in the future to see its result.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top