Optimum Opti-Bond Tire Gel

[Dubbin1]

Optimum Opti-Bond Tire Gel (http://www.autogeek.net/optimum-opti-bond-tire-gel-32oz.html)

From all the great things I have read about this product I may be the only one that is not pleased with it.

Hard to apply, bottle should have a squeeze type cap, does not leave a "high gloss shine" like advertised, takes a lot of product and leaves the tires splotchy looking. Oh and I followed the directions to a T (what does that mean anyway, to a T?).

I bought it for tires only but I guess its will now be trim dressing until it runs out.

For $15.99 I really expected more.

[rwright]

One coat gives a matte finish, two coats gives it a glossy finish, and so on. I don't understand your comment about it being difficult to use though. Does the cap appear to be broken or something?

If you are not happy with it, I will gladly trade you a 3/4 bottle of Meguiar's Hot Shine tire gel for your Opti-Bond.

[Dubbin1]

One coat gives a matte finish, two coats gives it a glossy finish, and so on. I don't understand your comment about it being difficult to use though. Does the cap appear to be broken or something?

I have 2 coats on it and I'm not going to try a 3rd as I don't feel we should have to go over each tire that many times and use that much more product just to do one car. Too time consuming.

The cap IMHO should be like the cap on most paste waxes or polish bottles. As it is now it just globs out with no real control on how much you want on the sponge.

[rwright]

That's very odd to me. I just used mine again last night and depending on how hard I squeeze the bottle determines the amount of product that comes out onto my applicator pad. Did you dilute the gel by chance? I could see that causing a problem with flow control. :dunno: It's not as durable as I would like. I'm going to pick up a bottle of Ultima Tire & Trim Guard Plus after seeing it in use at Detail Fest. That stuff was pretty amazing!

[Dubbin1]

Nope I didn't dilute at all.

[rwright]

Sorry man, I'm not sure now. I wish I had the Ultima Tire & Trim guard so that I could send you a sample. I believe it was Sam at Detail Fest who introduced me to this stuff. It's expensive though. He applied it to Max's Corvette, wow! Dry to the touch yet it looked like it was straight out of the bottle. A little bit of sand stuck to the tires and he just used a rag to lightly wipe it off, still shiny with no residue. Pretty amazing actually.

[A4 1.8tqm]

I put my Opti-bond in a small pump spray bottle and diluted a little less than 1:1. It doesn't mist, but you can control how much you use, 1 pump, 2 pumps etc. Maybe try cleaning your tires a little more, Megs APC+ ~6:1 and a stiff tire brush works for me. Wipe the tire dry before you apply. I don't go for the super glossy tire look so I haven't tried to get more than the new tire look. I love Opti-bond though, the next couple washes after applying water beads on the tire and it rinses to look clean and new with out even touching it, or just light agitation with a soft wheel brush and car soap. I think you'll like it after getting it right, I applied it on a friends car and he too was disappointed, he's a glossy tire guy. After a wash and reapply, it looked good to him. My $0.02 :xyxthumbs:

[Dubbin1]

I put my Opti-bond in a small pump spray bottle and diluted a little less than 1:1. It doesn't mist, but you can control how much you use, 1 pump, 2 pumps etc. Maybe try cleaning your tires a little more, Megs APC+ ~6:1 and a stiff tire brush works for me. Wipe the tire dry before you apply. I don't go for the super glossy tire look so I haven't tried to get more than the new tire look. I love Opti-bond though, the next couple washes after applying water beads on the tire and it rinses to look clean and new with out even touching it, or just light agitation with a soft wheel brush and car soap. I think you'll like it after getting it right, I applied it on a friends car and he too was disappointed, he's a glossy tire guy. After a wash and reapply, it looked good to him. My $0.02 :xyxthumbs:

Already scrubbed them with APC+ at 4:1 ;)

[A4 1.8tqm]

Already scrubbed them with APC+ at 4:1 ;)

Figures, don't give up on it yet though. Try again after your next wash, maybe your tires are absorbing a lot of the Opti-bond causing the splotchy look. A few initial applications my be in order, it should give an even, new tire look. If you still don't like it I know it won't be too hard to get rid of. :xyxthumbs:

[ScottB]

It is a thick lotion and I find it best to apply with a foam wax applicator. You need to shake it very well at first and its hard to regulate not using too much at first. It doesnt have a high gloss look to me, but more of a high matte look. Its rather durable and lasts till next washing which is nice for a water based dressing. If you find it too thick, try their spray version but also more matte.

For gloss try Poorboys Bright/Bold.

[Dubbin1]

It is a thick lotion and I find it best to apply with a foam wax applicator. You need to shake it very well at first and its hard to regulate not using too much at first. It doesnt have a high gloss look to me, but more of a high matte look. Its rather durable and lasts till next washing which is nice for a water based dressing. If you find it too thick, try their spray version but also more matte.

For gloss try Poorboys Bright/Bold.

Maybe the description of "high gloss shine" needs to be changed as that's what I was going off of.

[Dubbin1]

Okay so I gave it a try on a car that I just finished detailing and it seemed to work much better.

[richy]

For high gloss and pretty reasonable durability, my favourite for a few years has been the DP gloss tire gel. I got some on a BOGO sale and am waiting for it to go on sale again!

[christian900se]

If you were looking for a glossy finish, you got the wrong Optimum product. Optimum Tire Shine is their glossy dressing where as Opti-bond leaves more of a matte finish although I still find it to be pretty satin on most tires. I do agree with you on the point about dispensing out of the 32oz bottle as it can glob out if you aren't careful but I have never had an issue with ease of use or the finish it leaves after using it on so many different cars.

[Dubbin1]

If you were looking for a glossy finish, you got the wrong Optimum product. Optimum Tire Shine is their glossy dressing where as Opti-bond leaves more of a matte finish although I still find it to be pretty satin on most tires. I do agree with you on the point about dispensing out of the 32oz bottle as it can glob out if you aren't careful but I have never had an issue with ease of use or the finish it leaves after using it on so many different cars.

If that's the case then they shouldn't say that it has a high gloss shine. I'm really not happy with this product. IMHO it is hard to apply and does not have the high gloss shine that they advertise. For a $16 tire gel I would expect much better results.