[JLs Detailing]

Well since I'm here on vacation at the beach and its raining today I figured I would catch up on some product reviews. I have used a lot of new products lately and will be doing several reviews of the products. I'll start off with the new Tire/Wheel Well/Engine dressings that I have been trying/using.

Megs Hyper Dressing - I have been using this stuff for a little while now since I got it in a trade with a few folks on here. I really love the ability to dilute it in various mixtures from 1:1 for a decent shine to 4:1 for a very matte shine. For tires I dilute it 1:1 but will be switching to 2:1 to get less shine as I use it for a base coat because it seems to be pretty durable for a water based dressing (which is all I will use on tires). On well maintained tires like on my cars you could use it 1:1 as a stand alone dressing and get a really nice look.

I had been wanting to try it as an engine dressing as well and was having very little success. Then I pm'd sheerspeed about his method and it has worked out tremedously for me. I wash the engine as I normally would and blow off the majority of water with my leaf blower. Then I spray the engine down with Megs HD at 3:1 and shut the hood and crank the car up. I let it run while I clean the tires and wheels. After that the engine bay looks great and only needs a few wipes with a MF to even out any stray dressing. I will stick to this method from now on with my engine details as its much more cost effective than using Stoners Trim Shine.

I have used it as an exterior trim dressing and its ok but nothing fantastic. Not bad just not great either. I will probably use it more as it is a truely economical product. I need to use it on some of my cars to check the longevity of it as an exterior dressing. I did try it on wheel wells but I do not like a product on wells that I have to wipe. Thats why I like Bare Bones and Adams Undercarriage Spray so much. So for now it won't be used as a wheel well dressing. That's about the only con I have on it and would recommend it to everyone.

Megs All Season Dressing - This to me is a much cheaper version of Bare Bones and Adams Undercarriage Spray. I have used it only on wheel wells and it performed very well. It looked and covered just like the BB and Adams. When my bare bones and Adams runs out this will be my wheel well dressing from now on. Don't really have any cons on this product as it did exactly what I wanted it to do. I don't plan on using it on exterior trim or tires so not sure how it performs on those.

Duragloss #253 Tire and Mat dressing - I really like this product as a stand alone dressing. I have used it on tires and it gives a nice look, not too shiny and not too matte. I have mainly used it as a rubber mat dressing though. I found that spraying the mats down and putting them in the hot NC sun and it just bakes in and makes the mats look better than brand new. The only thing is don't get too carried away with spraying it as you will have a lot to wipe off. A little goes a long ways and the mats won't be slippery. You will need to do a final wipedown before you put the mats back in but it will even out the shine and really make them look better than brand new. I used it on a Honda Odyssey like richy did and the first thing the owner commented on when he opened the door was the floor mats! I knew then that this product was a keeper. Now the con on this would be the price as DG's dressing seem to be a little on the pricey side when compared to others. I would recommend getting some because unlike other dressings it won't leave the mats slippery and its durability is very good.

Swissvax Pneu - This is a great tire dressing and probably my favorite. It has the perfect look and the double action pump sprayer is really nice. The major con with this is of course price. At $18 for about 8.5 oz it is expensive. I plan to use this just for very special clients and details (and my wife's car as she has been spoiled by having the very best in detailing products on her car for a little while now, LOL). If this is for personal use or like me and for your best clients its worth it if not you might want to look to something a little more cost efficient.

[J BELL]

I appreciate your insight on these products! I thought i would share my experience with Meg's Hyperdressing...i only use it for the wheel wells...i cut it 4:1 coat the entire wheel well and literally walk away..it evens out on its own and i have never ever once had to wipe it...it also depends on the type of plastic you are working with in the well...my plastic is porous and so it really does its job...on "shiny" plastic i can see where you might want to...i absolutely love HD, 33 dollars for a gallon and that is 4 gallons of wheel well dressing for me...very economical...i think a lot of people on MOL have success with ASD on the tires, you might just give it a shot because it is very economical...but you said you only use water based dressings, which i understand, i on the other hand only use solvent based dressings because of their longevity over water based dressings in my experience....great write up!

[bigpoppa]

Nice write up.

I like Hyper Dressing a lot, I use it almost exclusively in the wells. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I just don't see what the big deal is about wiping down wheel wells, it literally takes 2 minutes or less for all four wells. But hey, if your current process works great for you, then it's all that matters.

[JLs Detailing]

Originally Posted by bigpoppa

Nice write up.

I like Hyper Dressing a lot, I use it almost exclusively in the wells. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I just don't see what the big deal is about wiping down wheel wells, it literally takes 2 minutes or less for all four wells. But hey, if your current process works great for you, then it's all that matters.

Problem I have is that with so many cars having very large wheels there is very little room to get in the well and maneuver around to get complete coverage with a wipedown. Granted on SUVs and such with plenty of room its not an issue but so many cars today have very tight areas around the wheel. I know most will say that if there isn't that much room you can't really see in there anyway but if I squat down I can see it just like I clean the underside of the side mirrors. Most can never see it but if you squat down you can and last thing I want a client doing is squatting down and seeing something unprofessional. Sprays like Bare Bones and Adams and Megs All Season just make it so easy to spray and never have to wipe, thats really where my affinity for those come in.

[J BELL]

Originally Posted by JLs Detailing

Problem I have is that with so many cars having very large wheels there is very little room to get in the well and maneuver around to get complete coverage with a wipedown. Granted on SUVs and such with plenty of room its not an issue but so many cars today have very tight areas around the wheel. I know most will say that if there isn't that much room you can't really see in there anyway but if I squat down I can see it just like I clean the underside of the side mirrors. Most can never see it but if you squat down you can and last thing I want a client doing is squatting down and seeing something unprofessional. Sprays like Bare Bones and Adams and Megs All Season just make it so easy to spray and never have to wipe, thats really where my affinity for those come in.

This is very true, these cars are just a problem for me because i dont ever take off the wheels when detailing a person's car...so it is not only hard to dress them but to clean them as well! I thought about putting HD in one of those pump sprayers but that would make it worse because of the space issue

[slanguage]

More nice reviews. I love product reviews.

I have been eyeing up the HD myself, as $7 a can for CD2 eats up money quick, cause I use it for engines and wheel wells.

[Deep Gloss Auto Salon]

What is it about the Pneu dressing that makes it your fave?? How does it compare to Surf CIty Tire Pro??

Thanks for the reviews... sucks that the weather didn't work for you on your vacation!

[Gemini13]

I know you told me after I sent you the Megs ASD but what kind of sprayer are you using to apply it?? Because the standard megs sprayer didn't really atomize it enough for good coverage.

[yukonon22]

JL have you tried Zaino 's tire dressing?

[sal329]

Thanks for the reviews, all but the Swissvax are items I planned on ordering soon.