Ultima Tire and Trim Guard Plus vs Wolfgang Exterior Trim Sealant?

**yakky** · 04-29-2013, 04:36 PM

I have the Wolfgang stuff, seems to work pretty well on trim in great shape, but I'm underwhelmed on older surfaces. I keep hearing good stuff about the Ultima. Has anyone used both?

**FFguy808** · 04-29-2013, 06:07 PM

I personally never tried Wolfgang trim sealant but i have tried UTTG, UTTG and CarPro Dlux are my favorite trim product. Dlux provides a great durability but then again, its not permanent like Gtechniq C4(i have yet to try this to see if its really permanent).

**poweraid** · 04-29-2013, 06:19 PM

I've been using ultima the most . I really like it . wg to me is pretty similar and I'll use that up on other vehicles . I just used solution finish on my wiper cowl , will see how that holds up . first impression - I like it . I recently used c4 on all my ext trim on my 4x4 but the wiper cowl . initial impression on that Wow! it's pricey though . I got a lot of trim with the flare side bed . but I f'd it up and had to remove it so then I just used ultima . I even did try a piece with opticoat , didn't like that . I'll wait till next year now but I'll get c4 again

**yakky** · 04-30-2013, 07:57 PM

Thanks guys. Seems like neither is the silver bullet. I've got a 95 Wrangler with some pretty old trim. Seems like the Wolfgang has no effect on it, just soaks in and back to faded. I did have good luck using Collinite 845. I guess I'll just end up using that.

**cardaddy** · 05-01-2013, 12:19 AM

I have similar results with it WG V&R Protectant on GOOD trim versus dry and brittle trim. Also have UTTG, 303, PERL, Megs Hyper Dressing, Megs Trim Detailer and Griot's Vinyl & Rubber Dressing (plus some others I'm sure).

Depends solely on the condition of the trim, as well as whether it's rubber, extruded vinyl or hard plastic. (fender trim is more likely vinyl than plastic) And of course some of the above are water based while others are solvent based. Take UTTG, I can't stand the way it smells, and go out of my way to not use it.

My least favorite would be the Griot's on rubber window trim. Doesn't leave a smooth satin finish. Tends to be more of a squeaky clean even tacky to the touch sometimes sort of 'I just scrubbed all the stuff of this rubber' type finish. Different though on hard vinyl and plastic. Still don't like it on cowling either though.

Running board steps for instance... vinyl (although not particularly porous) yet reacts fairly well to 303. Although I'm going to try PERL on them next time around.

Speaking of PERL, here's a mini-review (hopefully not a hijack).
I keep 3 bottles mixed, 1:1, 1:3, and 1:5. The first one works really well on porous rubber and will actually leave a hard, shiny, almost glossy shell of protection. When I first tried it I took an old doughnut spare, unused that had been sitting in the trunk since 99 and put all three of the above dilutions on it. Without any prep what-so-ever, just spraying it straight on and leaving it to dry overnight... at 1:5 it left a coating that was very slightly different than the untouched part but obviously sealed, albeit you had to look to know it was there. Then at 1:3 it was very noticeable, with a satin sheen and you could actually 'feel' the change not only with your fingers but with your fingernails as it is actually harder than the untreated rubber. Then finally at 1:1 it was as mentioned above, shiny, almost glossy with a definite glassy look to it. Were I to treat tires, it'd be the 1:3 dilution as it just looks more natural without a overly hard/candy coating look to it.

Where I've found that it REALLY shines, (well not shines, but does exceptionally well) is in neglected tonneau covers. I recently had a customer with a 09 Tacoma work truck that has a reinforced rollup tonneau cover. He hadn't really done anything with it, other than OTC junk (probably Armor All) and it was fairly dry and faded. We spent a good 30 minutes scrubbing, rinsing, and scrubbing again on it. Then we let it dry well and started applying PERL @ 1:3 on it. After letting it sit for a few minutes we would take a MF towel and even it out, letting it soak in. We did that for about 45 minutes, going over it, spraying, wiping, waiting every 15 minutes. Were it sitting in more sun at the time I think it'd accelerated the process a bit faster. But we work with what we have.

Fast forward, delivered it to the customer that evening and he liked it, head and tails above where it started actually. Myself otoh wasn't as pleased as I could have been. What I did was drop back by his place the next day, after it'd sat all day in the sun and spray/n/soak it a bit more. Only took one good 'go-over' and it was magical! It drastically changed the look, and even the texture of the old porous, almost chalky vinyl. It had been faded and soft and turned out crisp with a 'snap' to it. (Likely from the glass silica that soaked into the pores.)

Of course the rest of the trim along the bed was done with the same dilution, as well as all the huge fender extensions (4WD truck). All in all it's a totally different 'feel' than other water based products. Not greasy or oily either. Just different.

Depending on how hard the surface, (especially how porous) it actually changes the texture. Which I don't think is a bad thing actually. But.... that's just me.