Britemax Rubber Max - Review

[Angus]

For this review, I’m going to share my experience using Britemax Rubber Max:



From Britemax's product page over on Autopia:

“Britemax Rubber Max Rubber & Trim Conditioner is a deep-penetrating, water-based conditioner and protectant for all of your vehicle’s exterior rubber and plastic trim. Featuring an easy-to-apply gel formulation, you’ll never have to worry about overspray or sling off. Britemax Rubber Max Rubber & Trim Conditioner restores the look and feel of your plastic and rubber surfaces.”

Prior to application my tires were thoroughly cleaned with Four Star’s Ultimate Tire Cleaner Gel.



Directions:

1. Shake well. Always work on a clean, dry surface that is cool to the touch. - Check

Right off the bat, I like how Britemax used this little red plug to prevent the product from leaking out:



Kudos Britemax!

2. Apply a small amount of product onto a microfiber or foam applicator. - Check

Since this is a brand new product for me, I decided to use both a Flex foam applicator and my trusty Carrand tire dressing brush to see which one works best for applying Britemax Rubber Max.

3. Rub evenly onto the surface being treated and allow to dwell . - Check

Rubber Max is the thickest tire dressing I’ve ever seen! It’s overall appearance and consistency reminds me of hair conditioner.

Immediately the tire dressing brush wins as exactly the right tool for applying Rubber Max because I can spread it further and more easily than using the Flex foam applicator. In-fact the first Flex foam swipe across the tire I ended with ½ the amount of Rubber Max landing on the garage floor:



Oops!

IMHO, the Flex foam applicator is GREAT tire dressing with thinner consistencies due to it’s closed cell design keeping products on the surface and thus preventing them from sinking in/ wasted. But at the same time it’s not idea for thick heavy “gel” type products like Rubber Max were you need a little give in order to spread. Regardless of tool used, application still required extra effort in order to spread the product evenly across the tires surface.

4. Reapply until the surface is evenly treated with no dry spots. - Check

(Notice how thick the product appears after evenly spreading with a tire brush?)

5. If lower gloss sheen is desired, buff with a clean, dry microfiber towel. - Check

To make things more interesting, I decide to vary how I dress each of the 4 tires.

Front driver’s side - 1 coat - buffed:



Rear driver’s side - 1 coat - not buffed:



The front passenger’s side - 2 coats - not buffed:



Rear passenger’s side - 2 coats - buffed:



A short time later, all the tires have dried to the touch:

The front drivers side buffed tire has a very low matte to the point of not appearing dressed at all:



Where as the driver side rear unbuffed tire has a nice dark low sheen:



On the passengers side, the front passengers side unbuffed tire with has added gloss from the second Rubber Max application:



With the rear passengers side buffed tire, looks closer in appearance to the drivers side unbuffed tire:


Conclusion

Overall I like Rubber Max. It left my tires looking nice and dark without an excessive amount of shine. Even with a second application the front drivers side tire had only a slight gloss. In the future I'm not going to bother buffing the tires. For my taste, 1 coating was the perfect balance of matte darkness with just a hit of sheen.

For this application, I used ~1oz of product or $1 worth of product. And at $15.99 for 16oz / $1 per oz Rubber Max is competitively priced against other “tire gels”. Added in the fact that since Rubber Max is a water based dressing, you can dilute it with water creating a spray application.

True to it’s claim, Rubber Max did not sling at all following the 100 mile round trip drive I took in the car later that day.

I also found it interesting both my father and father in-law commented separately on how nice the drivers side rear (unbuffed) tire look while loading my 4month old son into his car seat. Neither knew I was testing out Rubber Max, nor did I specifically point out it out them for their feedback.

I’ll make sure and report back on durability after the car has gone through a rain storm or two.

As always, I hope you enjoyed reading this review. If you're looking for a new tire dressing, Rubber Max is worth checking out

[The Guz]

Nice review. In before someone mentions that this is not sold through the geek lol.

[Angus]

Thanks, Guz! And yeah, for now only Autogeek's sister site Autopia is carrying the BriteMax line, including Rubber Max:

Britemax Rubber Max Rubber & Trim Conditioner

[Ron Atchison]

Very nice review, well done.

[tenblade2001]

thanks! always looking for a good tire dressing

[Angus]

Very nice review, well done.

Thank you, Sir!

thanks! always looking for a good tire dressing

Cool, happy to hear it. Check out Rubber Max!

[Angus]

*4 Week Update*

Overall the tires still look good. However the un-buffed tires still have a nice sheen vs the flat black of the buffed tires:

Front Drivers side (1 coat, buffed)



Rear Drivers Side (1 coat, not buffed)




Front Passengers side (2 coats, not buffed - the sheen is higher in person then appears in the photo below)



Rear Passengers side (2 coats, buffed)



For those interested, I'll keep an eye on the tires to see when they'll need re-coating and be sure to update this thread.

[Ricorocks]

Good Job Angus!!!!

[Sicoupe]

Looks great! Thanks for sharing buddy!

[Angus]

Good Job Angus!!!!

Thank you, Sir!

Looks great! Thanks for sharing buddy!

Thanks, I'm always happy to share brother!