Finally coated the tires about a week ago, maintenance wash today, pic is after wash
Pretty happy with the look, more matte than glossy, cleaning today was a breeze, will see about durability.
Could I top the tire coating with opti tire gel? Or reapply coating as needed?
Which tire coating? Usually if you apply another coat of a tire coating such as Tuff Shine, it will add some more gloss. But as has been mentioned, you would have needed to clean the tire really well ahead of time for the coating to last.
You’re really not supposed to apply anything on top of it. If it’s a coating it’s supposed to look good and last a long time. I’ve never tried the Optimum Tire Coating though.
I applied it last week, just wondering what I should apply after a maintenance wash, if anything
Tire coatings are a different beast, similar to ceramic coatings and spray sealants or waxes. Tire coatings form a (acrylic) film on the surface of the tire and usually last 6+ months assuming you don’t scrape your tire on a curb.
Prior to applying the coating you need to CLEAN the tires. And when I say CLEAN I mean special cleansers and many passes. Tuf Shine has a strong tire cleaner since they have a coating. 303 Tire & Rubber is supposed to be a strong tire cleaner. Tarminator is a good initial cleaner before using one of the aforementioned tire cleaners, which can reduce the number of cleaning passes required. And then with the special tire cleaners, keep cleaning the tire until it no longer turns brown, which could take 5 or more cleaning passes. Then let the tires dry and they’re ready for a coating. Well, scratch that, if they are new tires, you may want to wait a month or so before cleaning again and finally applying the coating as the new tires are still leaching chemicals, release agents, etc out of the tire.
When you apply the tire coating, make sure it is an even coat. I’d recommend at least 2 coats and maybe 3 coats if you want a glossier look and of course wait the suggested drying time between coats. With 3 coats the tire coating may look very shiny and glossy but I’ve found with Tuf Shine and Pinnacle Tire Coating that the look calms down after a few days to be a nice glossy tire.
Since you’ve already applied the coating, I’d recommend cleaning the tire with a good wheel or tire cleaner and then apply another coat or two of the tire coating. This will hopefully give you the level of gloss you’re looking for.
I will say that when I first saw your tire, I didn’t think you applied a coating as tire coatings are normally glossier and more pronounced than that. But it also depends on the tires as some may soak in more product than other tires. And it also could be that you didn’t clean the tires well enough before applying the coating. Hoepefully you’ll be able to address to your satisfaction without much effort. You may also want to reach out to Optimum to see what they recommend.
I applied it last week, just wondering what I should apply after a maintenance wash, if anything
In theory washing with your car wash soap is all you need to do.
I pretty much stick to rinseless washes (i.e. no hose), so a quick wipe of my coated tires with an SiO2 waterless wash product (I like TAC Aqua or Xtreme Solutions Jersey Devil) cleans off the majority of the road grime and freshens up the protection and looks.
Works well for me.
Al Schmidt
"Adventure, is a car called Riviera..."
Thanks: 
Likes: 
Dislikes: 
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by jlindyman
Bookmarks