Mike Phillips
11-23-2009, 02:34 PM
Wolfgang Black Diamond Tire Gel - Review and How-to (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/product-reviews/21925-wolfgang-black-diamond-tire-gel-review-how.html)
http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/autogeek_2079_20674048
Most people fall into one of three camps when it comes to their car's tires,
High Gloss
Semi-Gloss
Matte
Wolfgang Black Diamond Tire Gel falls into the semi-gloss category which looks great on most tires. It creates a deep, dark black satin finish with just enough shine or gloss to make them stand out from a matte finish but not so shiny to look like wet black paint which is how most high gloss tire dressings make tires look.
The semi-gloss flattens out after a wash or two or with time so it's still a good choice for those are in the Matte Camp too.
Wolfgang Black Diamond Tire Gel has a thin consistency somewhat like a quality maple syrup which makes it spread out smoothly and evenly when using a Cobra Flex Foam Tire Swipe (http://www.autogeek.net/tire-applicator.html) like you see in the pictures.
The end-results of any tire dressing depends upon starting with a clean surface to start with, in this case we cleaned both the tires and the wheels using Wolfgang Tire and Wheel Cleaner (http://www.autogeek.net/wg4600.html).
This left the rubber sidewall clean but also dull and lifeless but at the same time, perfectly prepared for application of a tire dressing. Like a lot of tire designs today, these tires have serrated lines across the sidewall and this makes applying a tire dressing a challenge because you need to get enough of the dressing into each of the lines or grooves evenly for an even appearance and protection, yet you need to remove any excess so that it doesn't sling out as you drive the car.
The thin consistency of Wolfgang Wolfgang Black Diamond Tire Gel lends itself well into getting into places like this and other irregular surfaces common to tire sidewalls. Getting the tire dressing onto the tire is usually the easy part, insuring you don't leave excess tire dressing on the tires is usually the tricky part and that's where the open cell foam design of the Cobra Flex Foam Tire Swipe draws most of any excess tire dressing back into itself to help prevent sling.
Here's our test tire, both the wheel and tire have been thoroughly washed using Wolfgang Tire and Wheel Cleaner (http://www.autogeek.net/wg4600.html) and then dried to prevent water spotting on the wheel.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire002.jpg
Here's a close up of the tire and you can see it has a dull, lifeless appearance. You can also see the serrated lines or grooves in the sidewall that make applying and removing most tire dressing difficult.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire003.jpg
To see the difference the Wolfgang Black Diamond Tire Gel will make I've taped the tire off in half and will treat just one half of the tire and then take pictures of the results.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire004.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire005.jpg
Here's a close-up of the dark, black semi-gloss appearance the treated side has after one application of Wolfgang Black Diamond Tire Gel.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire006.jpg
I've removed the tape and taken a far shot to show the contrast.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire007.jpg
Here's some close-ups of the before and after side.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire008.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire009.jpg
Here's some close-ups after treating the before side to match the after side.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire010.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire011.jpg
The rubber now has a rich, dark appearance that makes the tire look brand new, even better than new.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire012.jpg
And the final results...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire013.jpg
Here's a sequence of close-up shots showing before, half & half and end results...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTireSEQ1.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTireSEQ2.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTireSEQ3.jpg
How-to
To dress your tires using Wolfgang Black Diamond Tire Gel use a Cobra Flex Foam Tire Swipe (http://www.autogeek.net/tire-applicator.html) like you see in the pictures
Simply pour some Wolfgang Black Diamond Tire Gel onto the face of the foam applicator pad...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WolfgangBlackDiamondTireGel001.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WolfgangBlackDiamondTireGel002.jpg
And then apply and work into the tire sidewall.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WolfgangBlackDiamondTireGel006.jpg
To get the sidewall surrounding the outer lip of the rim, simply apply some tire gel to the edge of one side of the tire swipe like this,
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WolfgangBlackDiamondTireGel003.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WolfgangBlackDiamondTireGel004.jpg
And then run the edge of the tire swipe around the tire hugging the edge of the rim.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WolfgangBlackDiamondTireGel005.jpg
Be careful not to overuse any tire dressing and if you get too much then gently pat off any excess using a terry cloth towel or a microfiber towel and this will prevent any product sling from getting onto your the lower panels of your car.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/patting.jpg
And the end results are a deep, dark semi-gloss satin black finish.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire013.jpg
Products Used
Wolfgang Black Diamond Tire Gel (http://www.autogeek.net/wg4700.html)
Cobra Flex Foam Tire Dressing Applicators 3 Pack (http://www.autogeek.net/tire-applicator.html)
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif
http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/autogeek_2079_20674048
Most people fall into one of three camps when it comes to their car's tires,
High Gloss
Semi-Gloss
Matte
Wolfgang Black Diamond Tire Gel falls into the semi-gloss category which looks great on most tires. It creates a deep, dark black satin finish with just enough shine or gloss to make them stand out from a matte finish but not so shiny to look like wet black paint which is how most high gloss tire dressings make tires look.
The semi-gloss flattens out after a wash or two or with time so it's still a good choice for those are in the Matte Camp too.
Wolfgang Black Diamond Tire Gel has a thin consistency somewhat like a quality maple syrup which makes it spread out smoothly and evenly when using a Cobra Flex Foam Tire Swipe (http://www.autogeek.net/tire-applicator.html) like you see in the pictures.
The end-results of any tire dressing depends upon starting with a clean surface to start with, in this case we cleaned both the tires and the wheels using Wolfgang Tire and Wheel Cleaner (http://www.autogeek.net/wg4600.html).
This left the rubber sidewall clean but also dull and lifeless but at the same time, perfectly prepared for application of a tire dressing. Like a lot of tire designs today, these tires have serrated lines across the sidewall and this makes applying a tire dressing a challenge because you need to get enough of the dressing into each of the lines or grooves evenly for an even appearance and protection, yet you need to remove any excess so that it doesn't sling out as you drive the car.
The thin consistency of Wolfgang Wolfgang Black Diamond Tire Gel lends itself well into getting into places like this and other irregular surfaces common to tire sidewalls. Getting the tire dressing onto the tire is usually the easy part, insuring you don't leave excess tire dressing on the tires is usually the tricky part and that's where the open cell foam design of the Cobra Flex Foam Tire Swipe draws most of any excess tire dressing back into itself to help prevent sling.
Here's our test tire, both the wheel and tire have been thoroughly washed using Wolfgang Tire and Wheel Cleaner (http://www.autogeek.net/wg4600.html) and then dried to prevent water spotting on the wheel.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire002.jpg
Here's a close up of the tire and you can see it has a dull, lifeless appearance. You can also see the serrated lines or grooves in the sidewall that make applying and removing most tire dressing difficult.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire003.jpg
To see the difference the Wolfgang Black Diamond Tire Gel will make I've taped the tire off in half and will treat just one half of the tire and then take pictures of the results.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire004.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire005.jpg
Here's a close-up of the dark, black semi-gloss appearance the treated side has after one application of Wolfgang Black Diamond Tire Gel.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire006.jpg
I've removed the tape and taken a far shot to show the contrast.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire007.jpg
Here's some close-ups of the before and after side.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire008.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire009.jpg
Here's some close-ups after treating the before side to match the after side.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire010.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire011.jpg
The rubber now has a rich, dark appearance that makes the tire look brand new, even better than new.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire012.jpg
And the final results...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire013.jpg
Here's a sequence of close-up shots showing before, half & half and end results...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTireSEQ1.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTireSEQ2.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTireSEQ3.jpg
How-to
To dress your tires using Wolfgang Black Diamond Tire Gel use a Cobra Flex Foam Tire Swipe (http://www.autogeek.net/tire-applicator.html) like you see in the pictures
Simply pour some Wolfgang Black Diamond Tire Gel onto the face of the foam applicator pad...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WolfgangBlackDiamondTireGel001.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WolfgangBlackDiamondTireGel002.jpg
And then apply and work into the tire sidewall.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WolfgangBlackDiamondTireGel006.jpg
To get the sidewall surrounding the outer lip of the rim, simply apply some tire gel to the edge of one side of the tire swipe like this,
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WolfgangBlackDiamondTireGel003.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WolfgangBlackDiamondTireGel004.jpg
And then run the edge of the tire swipe around the tire hugging the edge of the rim.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WolfgangBlackDiamondTireGel005.jpg
Be careful not to overuse any tire dressing and if you get too much then gently pat off any excess using a terry cloth towel or a microfiber towel and this will prevent any product sling from getting onto your the lower panels of your car.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/patting.jpg
And the end results are a deep, dark semi-gloss satin black finish.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/767/WGTire013.jpg
Products Used
Wolfgang Black Diamond Tire Gel (http://www.autogeek.net/wg4700.html)
Cobra Flex Foam Tire Dressing Applicators 3 Pack (http://www.autogeek.net/tire-applicator.html)
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif