Review: DP Wheel Coating

[Marc08EX]

Product Review: DP Wheel Coating
DP Wheel Coating



Description: (Taken from AG's website)

Keep your wheels looking clean and dust-free!

Detailer’s Wheel Coating is a nano-glass ceramic coating that provides your wheels with unparalleled protection against brake dust, dirt, road grime, oil and tar. Formulated using nano-glass ceramic particles, Detailer’s Wheel Coating blankets your wheels in a durable, high-gloss protective barrier that resists brake-dust build up, keeping your wheels clean and protected in between regular washes. A single application lasts up to 1 year!

Think about how many times you hit the brake pedal each time you drive your vehicle. When the brake pedal is depressed, friction is created by the brake pads clamping the brake rotor. This friction creates an immense amount of heat and with it comes brake dust. Brake dust is comprised of dust from the pads and metal filings from the rotor. This ferrous mixture eats away at the protective coating on your wheels and will actually pit the metal over time, hindering the shine and luster of the painted, polished or machined finish.

Detailer’s Wheel Coating resists the effects of brake dust and keeps your wheels protected. The nano-glass ceramic coating created by Detailer’s Wheel Coating can withstand the rigorous abuse that wheels are exposed to every time your vehicle is driven.

Detailer’s Wheel Coating will keep your wheels cleaner in between regular washes. The surface tension created by Detailer’s Wheel Coating is so immense that brake dust, dirt, grime, oil, and tar will simply rinse off.

Wheel cleaning is not a fun task! Make it easier by applying a coat of Detailer’s Wheel Coating to your wheels. You’ll be amazed at how effortlessly brake dust is removed, even on brake-dust ridden German sports sedans. Detailer’s Wheel Coating makes laborious wheel cleaning a thing of the past, allowing you to spend more time applying your favorite tire gel or polishing your exhaust tips to a mirror shine.

Detailer’s Wheel Coating protects and enhances the appearance of all types of wheels, including clear coated, painted, polished aluminum and chrome. The coating dries crystal clear and only takes seconds to apply. Treated wheels will be protected for up to 1 year!

Aftermarket wheels are expensive. By applying a coat of Detailer’s Wheel Coating once a year you ensure they retain the appearance the caught your attention in the first place. Detailer’s Wheel Coating is hyper-concentrated so a single 4 ounce bottle will last years!

Price:

$49.99 for 4oz

Introduction:

Note: This review is long overdue so please excuse me. Life and work just got in the way and detailing was put aside. I haven't even polished my car at all and it was only waxed once last year. Without further adieu, let's get on to the review.


Don't you hate it when your wheels look filthy because it's covered with brake dust? What makes it worse is how much effort it takes to clean it up especially when you let the brake dust build up longer and longer. Out comes DP wheel coating. This product has intrigued me ever since it came out and I've always wondered how it would perform.


Prep And Application Procedure:

I washed the car and wheels a day prior to this. So there was very little brake dust. But to ensure that it's clean, I cleaned the wheels again using Meguiar's D114 (Rinse Free Express Wash). To ensure that the surface is thoroughly clean and stripped, I used a much stronger dilution. I tripled the suggestion dilution ratio and did a rinseless wash on all my wheels.



After cleaning the wheels, I used Eraser to ensure a surgically clean surface. I normally use Eraser to prep the surface whenever I use Opti-coat so I think it's also appropriate to do the same for the DP wheel coating.



For this review. Not only am I doing a review and test for the DP wheel coating but I'm also doing a comparison with Opti-coat 2.0. I remember the first time Opti-coat first hit the market and it was such a big hit. In addition, it works really well. My car produces extreme amounts of brake dust so I said this is a perfect vehicle to test the coatings. As a reward, it will help me clean my wheels a whole lot easier.

Now here are the contenders:



For both products, I used more than I normally would. I also used a fresh and clean foam applicator pad for this review. Each product got a new applicator pad to avoid cross contamination.

Here's a picture of the Opti-coat 2.0 being added to the foam applicator pad:



Opti-coat 2.0 being applied to the passenger side front wheel:



Here's a picture the DP Wheel Coating being added to the foam applicator pad. I sprayed 2 or 3 times worth of product on the applicator pad:



DP Wheel Coating being applied to the driver side front wheel:



I let the coatings cure by themselves. I didn't use a microfiber towel to wipe off any high spots after application. High spots couldn't really be seen in the wheel anyway.

Here are some pictures of the wheels under testing after the coatings have been applied:

Passenger Side Front Wheel sporting Opti-coat 2.0:



Driver Side Front Wheel sporting DP Wheel Coating:



Testing:

The entire test lasted 5 weeks. I didn't wash the car for 5 weeks just to let the brake dust accumulate. The things we do for science. It was painful to watch my wheels get that dirty but hopefully, the coating helped protect them.

Here are the wheels after 2 weeks: (About 75 miles since application)

Passenger Side Front Wheel (OC2.0):


Driver Side Front Wheel (DP):


Here are the wheels after 4 weeks: (About 200 miles since application)

Passenger Side Front Wheel (OC2.0):


Driver Side Front Wheel (DP):



Here are the wheels after 5 weeks: (About 240 miles since application)

Passenger Side Front Wheel (OC2.0):


Driver Side Front Wheel (DP):


Wheel Cleaning:

At the fifth week, I had time to clean the car so I concluded the testing for these coatings. I couldn't stand how dirty my car was already LOL!

I took some videos to show you guys how effective the coatings really are. The coatings easily release the brake dust away from the surface with just water!

Passenger Side Front Wheel (OC2.0) during initial rinse:


Driver Side Front Wheel (DP) during initial rinse:


Here are some still pictures of the wheels after the initial rinse. Majority of the brake dust has already been removed from the wheel making wheel cleaning a whole lot easier!

Passenger Side Front Wheel (OC2.0) after initial rinse:


Driver Side Front Wheel (DP) after initial rinse:


After, I used Meguiar's Deep Crystal car wash diluted in a bucket to wash my wheels. This is the soap I normally use to wash my wheels because it's very inexpensive and readily available.

Passenger Side Front Wheel (OC2.0) being washed with car soap:


Passenger Side Front Wheel (OC2.0) after washing:


Passenger Side Front Wheel (OC2.0) water reaction after washing:


Driver Side Front Wheel (DP) being washed with car soap:


Driver Side Front Wheel (DP) after washing:


Driver Side Front Wheel (DP) water reaction after washing:


Next, I tested the coatings' chemical resistance. I used a strong wheel cleaner (IMO), which is the Meguiar's Hot Wheels Wheel and Tire Cleaner. Please pardon me because the amount of dwell time wasn't close between the two test subjects. I didn't have a stop watch at the time I was doing this.

I picked a small portion of the wheel where it was beading great. Then, I sprayed the wheel cleaner and let it dwell for a little while. I then rinsed it off afterwards. I was checking whether the strong wheel cleaner was eating up the coating and causing a reduction in beading.

Passenger Side Front Wheel (OC2.0) chemical resistance testing:


Driver Side Front Wheel (DP) chemical resistance testing:

At the end, the wheels were dried up and here are the results:

Passenger Side Front Wheel (OC2.0) after cleaning and drying:


Driver Side Front Wheel (DP) after cleaning and drying:



Opinions and Observations:

During testing, I noticed from the get-go that the wheels are accumulating brake dust at a much slower rate compared to when I didn't have any coatings installed at all. So that's a great thing. I've also noticed that the wheel sporting DP wheel coating has a slightly more brake dust accumulation than the wheel sporting Opti-coat 2.0. But this is very marginal IMO. You can look at the wheel pictures in the testing section and let me know what you think.

During the initial rinse, both coatings shed off the brake dust like crazy. My exact words were "HOLY $#it!!!". I've never seen a product release that much dirt, especially on wheels. The wheel was pretty much clean after the initial rinse. I just soaped it down just to see if it affected the coatings. I don't know why I waited this long to coat my wheels. I couldn't wait to polish my paint and coat it as well.

The wheels beaded water very well during and after the initial rinse. However, I've noticed a slight reduction in beading on the wheel with the DP wheel coating after I washed it with car soap. It was only in some areas and not the whole wheel. I didn't understand this because the wheel cleaner didn't really reduce the beading on the test spot I used. Oh well. Just want to point that out.

I did a review before where I used wax on the wheels and see if it would protect it in any way. Here's the review I'm talking about:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...w-testing.html
At the time, wax didn't really do anything. The wheel with didn't even bead any water during the initial rinse and after washing the wheel. The high temperatures emitted by the car's braking system probably killed whatever wax is on the surface. I don't have any wheel wax so I'm not sure if a dedicated wheel wax will perform differently. Based on this, I would say that the DP wheel coating works very well. Even after 5 weeks of driving in the AZ summer, the wheels were still beading water like crazy. So the DP wheel coating withstood the hot temperatures.

Now I want to compare the 2 coatings. Yes, the wheel with opti-coat beads water better than the wheel with DP wheel coating. Let's say the opti coated wheel scored a 10/10. The DP wheel coating probably scored an 8.5/10 in terms of beading. Both wheels shed the dirt equally well. Let's say the opti coated wheel scored a 10/10. The DP wheel coating probably scored a 9.75/10 in terms of shedding dirt.

I will continue to monitor the durability of both products and report back in the future if there's anything significant to report. Autogeek says that the DP wheel coating should last about a year and I totally believe that. If the product didn't really work as a coating and only worked as a wax, the product would have been gone by now. But the fact that the wheel is still beading water and shedding dirt very effectively shows that the coating is still strongly present. Just because of that, I would say that IT WORKS!!!

Now let's talk about cost. I don't have money growing on trees in my backyard so the cost of any product I buy influences my decision. The Opti coat 2.0 costs $79.99 for 20cc of product. 20cc is equivalent to 0.676 oz. The unit cost of the Opti-coat 2.0 is $118.32/oz. The DP wheel coating on the other hand, costs $49.99 for 4oz. The unit cost for this product is $12.50/oz. That's just crazy!!! Let's just say that opti-coat 2.0 lasts 3-4x longer than DP wheel coating. Who cares?! You can re-apply the wheel coating every 2 months and it will still come out cheaper. I think that speaks volumes on how well this product is positioned from a price stand point.

Conclusion:

I don't know why I waited this long to coat my wheels. Yes there are a lot of coatings out there and I'm sure all of them work very well. But you can't go wrong with DP Wheel Coating especially on how cheap it is per oz. It works extremely well in shedding dirt like crazy and it lasts long. Even with extreme heat, the product stays there making it a real "coating". What are you waiting for?! Order your DP wheel coating now and coat your wheels! I guarantee you won't regret it.

[CM8 6MT]

Very thorough review as usual Marc! You know I trust and value what you have to say. Ive been very pleased with several DP products, which work well compared to alot of the over-hyped PBMG products. Outstanding job Marc. Maybe you can help me pick out some stuff for the GT-R

[Tato]

Great review! Very well planned and executed, your opinions are very interesting to read.

I use Pinnacle Black Label wheel coating and I may say it works like you described about DP.

In some cases (depending on car), break dust may not rinse like others, however, cleaning is way easier than if not coated, and the 'after' results shows a 'just waxed'-look on surface.

It goes back to the state you've left it after coating.

In fact, I apply wheel coating to ALL my customers, since majority may come back at least monthly for maintenance wash. That said, coated wheels makes my job much more 'easy' and enjoyable, and the final results are always top notch.

Your price considerations about DP coating are really straight forward, I tend to do the same calculation with the Pinnacle BL Surface Coating.

$99 (when discounted) for 8oz of Surface coating which may be used on paint, glass wheels (and trim, I use!), can't be beaten. Even if you reapply it often, can't be beaten.

I heavily recommend you to coat your vehicle, you'll look forward washing it more often restoring it's aspect to what you left after polishing and coating.

However, don't feel compelled to think coated surfaces will not need maintenance. Dirt and Grime may be embedded with time (more or less depending on vehicle's usage), requiring a new cleansing process like using a cleansing polish.

Another Winner regarding PBMG coatings for me is the Coating Booster. Although it may work as standalone product (durability claimed of 6 months - beads water reasonably), it intensifies the water beading (a lot) when applied over previously coated surfaces.

That said, even agreeing with 'reapplication' like you said above, cleansing surface over again and applying the Booster is even more cost effective.

Also, this is my basic maintenance regimen on coated cars (like doing AIO reapplication or wax/sealant application after x months) - Cleansing and Boosting.

Again, thanks for this review, enjoyed reading it.

Best Wishes.

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Wow, what a very nice in depth review Marc! That review was very well documented and written. Nice job buddy.

BTW, what better way to review a wheel coating than on a dirty set of BMW wheels?

[Chris@AutoCleanse]

That is one hell of a review. Step by step documentation along with pictures and video tutorials was right on. Thanks for taking the time to do this and share it.

[The Guz]

Nice review. I think I will pick up some DP to coat my new wheels.

[Bunky]

Great review!!

[Caleb@ImpeccableImage]

Awesome review Marc! You're the king of reviews :-)

[Dan K]

I used the DP wheel coating on 2 sets of wheels last year, and have been impressed with the durability and ease of cleanup.

[Evan.J]

Dang talk about coming back with a bang!!!!!!!

Nice write up Marc!