Doing my own test of Jay Leno's Tire and Trim Care vs. Surf City Garage Beyond Black

[bigoldthor]

Here are the contenders. Why these?

1. Jay Leno, because of good online reviews, and because I practically stole it from our local Pep Boys, which is closing, so everything was marked way down. I think I got it for like $3.
2. Surf City Garage, also because of good online reviews, and because I got it for 25% discount online, also from Pep Boys. (No, I don't work for Pep Boys.)
3. Because I'm not YET looking for a more permanent (or significantly longer-lasting) solution, like a tire coating/sealant/restoration product. Just wanted to try something relatively easy to apply and that will provide a low-gloss, natural, new-tire look that will last hopefully 2-3 weeks. And doing so without breaking the bank or taking a long time to prep and apply.
   • If I do go with something more substantial, I'll probably use this or something similar, if it exists: Renew Protect Dash, Blak, Gloz, Satn

Process:

1. Prepped both tires by stripping off everything using a drill brush pad and some degreaser. Would have used a 50% ammonia solution but didn't have any at hand and didn't have the time to mess with it.
2. Dried by hand and allowed to air dry.
3. Wiped down one more time to remove any lingering dust or contaminants from the above cleaning process.
4. Applied both products generously using separate applicator sponges.
5. I'm going for the matte look, not shiny or wet, so I polished them up (i.e. wiped them down good) after the product was applied, then let them sit overnight.

I will take some pictures this morning (now that I've driven to work) to show how they look now. Will follow up with pictures after a few days and then after we have some rain (expected this weekend). Then we'll just see how they do over the next 2-3 weeks and I will report back with photos and observations.

Stay tuned (if you're interested).

 

[bigoldthor]

After twelve hours, no rain and no direct sunlight:

1. Front tire (Jay Leno)


2. Rear tire (Surf City)

 

[MG99]

Pictures look pretty close. Surf City slightly better, maybe. What’s your opinion so far?

 

[bigoldthor]

Pictures look pretty close. Surf City slightly better, maybe. What’s your opinion so far?

It's very early, but so far I agree with you. The Surf City has a bit more "pop" without being too wet or shiny. Curious to see how they look after driving in rain and washing them off again.

 

[MG99]

Following

 

[Nails]

great write up, and thank you. I’ll be keeping a eye on this. Keep up the good work

 

[bigoldthor]

great write up, and thank you. I’ll be keeping a eye on this. Keep up the good work

Thanks!

 

[2020blckout]

Use dura dressing and forget about it
Last over 6 months it’s an amazing product for 40 dlls I believe

 

[bigoldthor]

Sorry guys...had to start over due to "life events". The good kind, not the bad kind.

Anyway, I just cleaned and treated all four tires this time instead of just two. This way, there is no bias from front to rear tires.

Here they are today, right after treatment.

• Jay Leno on the passenger side tires. Just applied moderately using a microfiber coated sponge with no follow-up wipe down. Initially, looks more natural, less shiny but very nice.
• Surf City on the driver side tires. Just sprayed on liberally and let it sit and soak in, also with no follow-up wipe down. Initially, this is more shiny but not like some of the extreme shine products I've seen. If I had wiped it down, it would've knocked that down a bit (like I did the first time). But for this test, I'm leaving it as applied.

Passenger front (Jay Leno):

Passenger rear (Jay Leno):

Driver front (Surf City):

Driver rear (Surf City):

 

[Jtr]

Looks like you can't go wrong either way. Leno looks a bit more matte, but like you said, you didn't touch the tire with an applicator with surf city so there's definitely more gloss.

 

[bigoldthor]

Looks like you can't go wrong either way. Leno looks a bit more matte, but like you said, you didn't touch the tire with an applicator with surf city so there's definitely more gloss.

Yes, and it's nice to know you could go either way. What I'm most interested in now is how they hold up over time, with and without rain, snow, etc. Stay tuned!

 

[Danny_TheHouseCook]

Pictures look pretty close. Surf City slightly better, maybe. What’s your opinion so far?

At first Surf City but leaning more toward Leno now due to its more matte.