tire and wheel COATING thread! What works what doesnt.

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estcstm3

New member
Hi All,

With the emergence of more and more tire coatings i figure i would create a newer thread to allow folks to comment on which ones are legitimate and a good value. I have not used one before and would like to start getting some real world opinions

What are the best tire and rim coatings dollar for dollar

Example Tire Coatings
Optimum 15.99
Tufshine Clearcoat 24.99
Tac tire coatings 23.99
mckees tire coatings 49.99 (bundled with cleaner applicators)

Example Wheel Coatings
Gyeon Rim
Gtechnic C5
Cquartz DLUX


what do you guys think works the best? Like most folks i dont enjoy cleaning wheels and tires like i do the rest of my car.
 
Tuff shine works pretty well. It has looked fresh for maybe 2 months depending on driving conditions. Wheel coatings and coatings in general for me have been a pain. Dlux is the only thing I`ve used that hasn`t resulted in nasty water spots, though it didn`t last terribly long on wheels (4-5 months) . If it`s for personal use, you can`t beath Hydro2. I`ve had zero water spotting issues with it, it takes seconds to apply and it lasts around 3 months on wheels for me.
 
For a while there were concerns that Tire Coatings might not be good for the tires...are those concerns now discounted?

The only Wheel Coatings I`ve used so far were the early versions of Optimum`s stuff (OptiCoat, GlossCoat). They did last longer than just FK1000P, but I`m not sure they were sufficiently superior to justify going that route (at least not for me).

I bought some 22ple VM1, but so far it`s just sat on the shelf as I don`t have the time/interest to invest in going through the whole process and the wheels in question are doing fine without such stuff. Yeah...Buyer`s Remorse does come to mind :o
 
I haven`t seen any ill effects of tire coatings for me. I think they are the bees knees. I even disagree with Mike Phillips on this. He made the statement that tire coatings aren`t worth it on lower profile tires. I love the stuff. My favorite tire coating hasn`t been on the market for like 3 years now though.
 
estcstm3 said:
Hi All,

With the emergence of more and more tire coatings i figure i would create a newer thread to allow folks to comment on which ones are legitimate and a good value. I have not used one before and would like to start getting some real world opinions

What are the best tire and rim coatings dollar for dollar

Example Tire Coatings
Optimum 15.99
Tufshine Clearcoat 24.99
Tac tire coatings 23.99
mckees tire coatings 49.99 (bundled with cleaner applicators)

Example Wheel Coatings
Gyeon Rim
Gtechnic C5
Cquartz DLUX


what do you guys think works the best? Like most folks i dont enjoy cleaning wheels and tires like i do the rest of my car.
Click to expand...

The key thing with either of these is proper prep.

If you are going the tire coating, take it from personal experience, but clean those tires weekly for a few weeks if you have been using a tire dressing of some sort. If not then you will have issues with the tire coating bonding and it takes time to remove a fresh coat and reapply.

With that said, from the tire coatings you have listed I have not tried the new Optimum tire Coating and probably won`t. These are my thoughts on durability ranked highest to lowest

McKee`s 37 - 1 year for me in southern california. Car is daily driven and sees rain whenever we get it.

Tuf Shine - 3-4 months. Loses its look after a month.

Tac Tire Coat - 6 weeks before it needs a refresher

As far as these wheel coating, they all perform the same. About a year out of each of them. Gyeon is the easiest to apply but struggled to make it a year for me. DLUX performs slightly better than the other two.

top189h said:
Tuff shine works pretty well. It has looked fresh for maybe 2 months depending on driving conditions. Wheel coatings and coatings in general for me have been a pain. Dlux is the only thing I`ve used that hasn`t resulted in nasty water spots, though it didn`t last terribly long on wheels (4-5 months) . If it`s for personal use, you can`t beath Hydro2. I`ve had zero water spotting issues with it, it takes seconds to apply and it lasts around 3 months on wheels for me.
Click to expand...

The only issue I have seen with hydro2 is that it tends to hold on to dirt more than an actual wheel coating.
 
Tuf-Shine, since they first came out with it almost 10 years ago (?)

Before them, I tried - Everything - including Zaino, Optimum, some custom mixed products, etc., All of them...

Again, as has been said above, Preparation is the key, as it is with Everything related to this craft...

The Tuf-shine Tire Cleaner - absolutely the best in my experiences for preparing the tires for the Coating..

I have had this tire coating on for Years and it has caused no damage, discoloration, etc., to any of the tires it has been on..

Once you prepare really well, and apply a couple of layers, perhaps 1 more if you need it or want it, and then allow it to dry and cure, your tires now stay much cleaner between washes, and always retain that beautiful shade of black.. No oily, greasy, etc., look, nothing rubs off black on anything..

All I ever do at car wash time, is at the end of the wash, or in a separate bucket with the equally awesome, Tuf-Shine Tire Brush, using car wash soap only, go over the tires, and since they are coated, they also repel a lot of gunk, just wash them up, and they dry very nicely.. If I want to perhaps use the perfect, orange, rectangular, Tuf-Shine, applicator sponge, apply 1 tire coating layer quickly, it is all done...

To me, since I was a child, I recognized that if the wheels and especially the Tires are not really clean and dark again, the vehicle is not really -Detailed-, and looking its best..
It takes perhaps what - 2 minutes to load the perfect orange sponge, go around all 4 tires and done!!!

Almost 10 Years later, the tires all gone several thousand miles (usually 4 thousand plus miles at 1 shot), and only beautiful, black, rubber sidewalls, no damage, nothing harmful happened to any of them..

I don`t know the people who produced any of this product line, I have never communicated with them in any manner; I just know all of their few products for tires, really work great !!! I hope they never go out of business..

Wheel coating - I have only used Optimum Paint Coatings, the first few, and they still look great, repel everything very easily, and my inner wheels still look spotless all the time, after the normal car wash process..

It is a little bit of work to jack up the vehicle, remove all the wheels, properly prepare them, then coat them, and re-install them all with proper lug nut torque values, etc..
I personally do not want to have to do this even once a year. Applying a few layers of vehicle coating on them, I have gone years never having to repeat this process..

Dan F
 
Stokdgs - how long are you getting from tuf stuff tire coating?

When you are talking about optimum for wheel coating which product specifically are you referring too?

If Mckees gets 1 year that piquing my interest now.
 
estcstm3 said:
Stokdgs - how long are you getting from tuf stuff tire coating?

When you are talking about optimum for wheel coating which product specifically are you referring too?

If Mckees gets 1 year that piquing my interest now.
Click to expand...

Estcstm3--
When I was driving back and forth to Texas a lot, staying there for months at a time, without all my Detail stuff, I went over a year with Tuf-Shine and it was still on there, my tires all looked evenly black, no issues, etc.. I only wash it off with car wash soap, never needed anything stronger. The coating, like most coatings, prevents stuff from adhering as good to the surface so they really stay a lot cleaner than with nothing on them..

The last Optimum Paint Coating I used on all my wheels was from way back when Optimum 2.0 was available.. I had a couple of syringes of it and they finally started going bad from years of storage..
This old Paint Coating has been on all my wheels for years and it still keeps the inside and outside really nice..

I believe the only available Optimum coating for non professionals is Optimum Gloss-Coat.. I suppose if you put a few layers of it correctly, it should do a great job..Again, Preparation - is everything.. If you don`t do it really good, no coating will ever do really good either...

Wheel and Tire maintenance is never more than a quick wash with only car wash soap, and I am good to go.. I have never needed to go back and re-coat the wheels, for years..
Dan F
 
Tuff Shine + Kamikaze Stance has been working well for me in NE Ohio, currently at 23 months, 40k miles.

Give the tires a quick scrub and reapply TuffShine each Spring. Wheels about ready for a re-do.

Every once in a while will hit wheels with Polish Angel SuperSport just for fun.

Just maintain with whatever soap left in bucket after wash, quick wipe and rinse.

Don`t really dig high shine tires so only a coat or 2 of TuffShine each Spring, just right.
 
I like the tac tire coat for what it is. About 6 weeks when I reapplied and has a good clean tire look. I don’t need months or years as maintaining tires don’t bother me and will be on a monthly regimen. For me it’s all about looks as most tire shines are too glossy or whet for me.


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I just applied my first coat of OPT tire coating. We shall see how long it lasts but I am happy so far. One coat gives a really nice, black tire look without much shine. More rich than a bare tire but certainly not a glossy tire. I think two coats would give some more shine if needed.
 
thanks all im torn between the tuffshine and the optimum (something about mckees is hard for me to get behind...not sure why) for tires. Sounds like if i go through with coating the wheels they are all a wash, but i think im leaning towards gyeon (maybe the kamikaze stance).
 
estcstm3 said:
thanks all im torn between the tuffshine and the optimum (something about mckees is hard for me to get behind...not sure why) for tires. Sounds like if i go through with coating the wheels they are all a wash, but i think im leaning towards gyeon (maybe the kamikaze stance).
Click to expand...
Coating wheels and tires is THE single biggest time saver for me when maintaining car. Gyeon Rim is good as well, worked very well. Kami just a bit tougher and way easy to apply. You`ll be happy with Gyeon as well methinks.
 
0013088233eec6d2a192bcf759e3e614.jpg


New coat of tac systems. Friend uses tuff shine I think both look similar.... a clean new tire with a light sheen. Wasn’t I love with either after a month as I like the look of PERL. If you like that look then I’d say tuff shine if durability important. I’m more into the looks and tac is cheaper so I can apply monthly coatings. The Guz really seems to like the McKee’s and got up to a year I think. They all look similar IMO


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I like Tuff Shine, but it`s the only coating type product I have tried. Others have mentioned good/better options. But as mentioned, prep is the key, without it you are literally wasting time and money. Clean tires and wheels are a must for me or else the car just doesn`t look right. But it`s also the job that is very time consuming that`s why I prefer coatings over dressings.
 
thanks all i think im going with gyeon for wheels, and tuf shine for tires! I currently use PERL so i do like a some satin shine. There was an optimum thread that scared me over at AG.
 
estcstm3 said:
thanks all i think im going with gyeon for wheels, and tuf shine for tires! I currently use PERL so i do like a some satin shine. There was an optimum thread that scared me over at AG.
Click to expand...

Gyeon posted this on their Instagram page the other day

821dfca913cdc884fdf533b5bd5e2034.jpg
 
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