CarPlan Wonder Tyres  200ml – £4.75

Having tested this product thoroughly and to the instructions we came to the conclusion that it is truly rubbish. The best thing about it is the sponge applicator which makes it easier to apply the product neatly and with no excess. You gently squeeze the bottle and apply slight pressure to the sponge which has a release valve inside and allows the liquid to come out neatly. However, used as a tyre shine this really is appalling. Sure, it’s easily applied but that’s where the positives stop. It didn’t leave a very good shine and after using it for around 20 – 30 miles in the rain it had worn off. Even in sunny weather this product will only last a day or two at the most, and it did in fact, leave the tyres looking worse than originally. A real waste of time.

3/10 This product truly sucks and lasts virtually no time at all. Avoid.

Buy Tire Shine from Amazon (USA)
Buy CarPlan Tyre Shine from Amazon (UK)

Mer Long Life Tyre and Rubber Dressing 500 ml – £7.09

A Pump action spray. This tyre dressing gave a nice wet look to the tyres. We found it easy to apply and totally non-fussy. No rubbing in or spreading around of the tyre shine is needed. At first the product looks streaky and patchy on the tyres, after around 3 hours all that will have disappeared, leaving an even and deep shine. A couple of negatives are that the tyres have to be very clean and dry otherwise the look of the shine won’t be anywhere near as good as it should be. The tyres were left feeling quite greasy even a week after application. Another point is that the tyre shine will go all over your wheels as you spray it and there’s no getting around it save going the whole hog and taping a cover in place over the wheel itself. A big plus is that this Mer Tyre Dressing lasts a good while and will still be there even after washing the car 5 or 6 times.

8/10 Left a deep and long lasting shine. Slightly pricey and drying time can be a pain.

Buy Tire Shine from Amazon (USA)
Buy Mer Long Life Car Tyre And Rubber Dressing from Amazon (UK)

CarPlan Tyre Slik 500 ml – £4.99

An aerosol spray. First of all the positive points. After cleaning the tyres thoroughly, we applied a layer of the Tyre Slik. The finish was nice and gave them a silky look and whilst driving, won’t flick off onto the bodywork either. We noticed that leaving it for a couple of hours after gave the best results. The more negative points are that it didn’t last too well (only a couple of washes) and that if there’s even a slight breeze when applying it, the spray will easily get onto the paintwork and leave greasy marks which then need to be polished off afterwards. Quite a bit is needed before you can get a really good look on the tyre walls, meaning the can will be used up quickly.

6/10 Leaves a nice silky finish to the tyres but leaves greasy marks on bodywork too easily.

Buy Tire Shine from Amazon (USA)
Buy CarPlan Tyre Shine from Amazon (UK)

CarPlan Tyre Shine Foam Cleaner 500 ml – £3.87

An aerosol spray foam. This stuff works well! Simply spray on and leave to dry. Zero fuss, maximum effect. Don’t worry about the overspray onto wheels as it will evaporate anyway. Doesn’t flick off onto the tyres once it’s dry either. Lasts well and leaves a deep shine plus it cleans off any light dirt on the tyres too. As good as the nearest competition but cheaper in price.

8/10 An excellent tyre shine, lasts pretty well and is very well priced too.

Buy Tire Shine from Amazon (USA)
Buy Tyre Shine from Amazon (UK)

Armor All Tire Foam 500 ml – £4.99 / 16oz – $5.99

A spray foam. A nice and easy product to use. Simply spray it on (it comes out as a foam), leave it for around 10 or 15 minutes to dry and hey presto – one cleaned and shiny tyre wall. We liked the fact that there’s no mess at all with this. Sure, it does overspray onto the wheel, but it simply evaporates or dries up, leaving no mess at all. It dries fine but we noticed there was quite a bit of streaking on the tyre walls, but this was gone by the next morning. The Tire Foam didn’t flick off the tyres onto the bodywork either as it dries quickly and to a non-sticky finish. You do need to clean off the tyres any excess mud etc first before applying it , but it does clean off stains and marks pretty well. The finish it left was more of a silky look rather than pure shine, but it still looked great. Price is good as not a lot is needed.

8/10 Worked well in cleaning and shining the tyres, but left a slightly streaky finish for around 24 hours.

Buy Armor All Tire Foam from Amazon (USA)
Buy Armor All Tire Foam from Amazon (UK)

Smartwax Smartdressing 150 ml – £7.44 / 473 ml – £9.00

16oz – $9.00

A gel. Immediately impressive. Only a very small amount is needed to give your tyres a very good look. It brings tyres back to life, smells nice (coconut), leaves a non-greasy finish and lasts well in all weather conditions. It’s really easy to apply as well, and no extra wiping in needed, as you just apply some of the product onto a cloth and wipe it onto the surface and that’s it! It leaves even old tyres looking like new. You can also use Smartdressing on your cars interior plastics and vinyl too, as it has no harsh chemicals in that will damage them. The price is very good as a little goes a long way.

9/10 . Easy to apply, lasts a long time and leaves a really excellent finish.

Buy Smartwax Smartdressing from Amazon (USA)
Buy Smartwax Smart Dressing from Amazon (UK)

A gel. This is a fairly decent tyre shine product. It leaves a nice natural look and a ’silky’ finish and also protects them from UV rays too. As with the Meguiars Endurance Tyre Shine though, the tyres need to be very clean and dry before you apply it. Not good if you’re in a rush. It lasts a couple of weeks through bad weather and doesn’t flick onto your bodywork. A positive is the cheap price!

7/10 Very cheap and does do a decent job, not really enough shine though.

Buy Turtle Wax from Amazon (USA)
Buy Turtle Wax Extreme Nano-Tech tyre gel from Amazon (UK)

Turtle Wax Wet ‘n’ Black £4.99 / 23oz – $4.99

A spray product. This tyre shine from Turtle Wax really does do exactly what it says. It’s easy to apply, either spray it straight on or spray onto a cloth (better with low profile tyres) and apply it that way. Whichever way you apply it though, there’s no need to rub it into the tyre as it is fast-drying. It leaves a deep, wet looking shine that seem to last and last for weeks, no matter what the weather throws at it. We found that even if the tyres were dirty or wet, it would still go on fine, and it looked great. Don’t over-apply the product though, otherwise it will flick up onto your bodywork.

9/10 If you like your tyres nice and shiny, it’s excellent and only loses a point as you can get through a bottle of it fairly quickly.

.
Buy Turtle Wax Wet’n Black Tire Shine from Amazon (USA)
Buy Turtlewax Wet n Black tyre shine from Amazon (UK)

Valet PRO

Valet PRO Protectant 500 ml – £8.63

A liquid. As a tyre shine it’s best to use the Protectant in a pump-action spray bottle either neat or diluted 1:1. Whichever way you choose to use it this is one of the best tyre products we’ve ever used before. To use it spray the Protectant onto your dry tyre, leave to settle for 10-15 minutes. Make sure any excess is dabbed off the tyres with a sponge or cloth to save it flicking onto bodywork. In neat form you get the wettest tyre look ever and diluted 1:1 you still get a hell of a good look. For a slightly more less glossy wet look use it 1:1. Although the product look greasy, it doesn’t attract dust and dust doesn’t stick to the finish either. The Protectant lasts very well and will still look great after many miles of driving through all weathers. If used neat it can be expensive to use as a 500 ml bottle will go quickly, but used 1:1 it’s much more economical. (Can also be used on Interior Trim and Exterior Trim)

9/10 Amazing finish, one of the best we’ve come across and it lasts for ages too.

Buy Valet PRO Protectant

Meguiars Endurance High Gloss Tyre Shine £7.99 / $7.19

This product comes as a gel. Although it can be messy when applying it (apply it using a cloth or a sponge pad), it does give the tyres a deep shine, and the bonus of applying a gel rather than a spray means there’s not much chance of it getting onto your wheels if you’re careful. The only real drawback found is that the tyres have to be really clean and dry, a pain if you’re in a rush, otherwise the results are no-where near as good as they should be. However, if applied properly this tyre shine will keep your tyres shiny for at least a couple of weeks in winter and even longer in the summer. Apply it thinly to stop the excess flying onto bodywork. Price-wise it’s definitely worth it as it lasts a long time.

7/10 A good price, and works well but only if tyres are prepped properly.