The Car Guys is the pick for best overall, with the best average score of the
test at 2.9. It earns that without ever being the shiniest: it has noticeably
less gloss than the 303, and what it offers instead is consistency. It took the
best possible rating of 1 for evenness of finish, gives a dark, clean
appearance with very little residue, and it was the most hydrophobic product of
the group when the water hose came out. It then won the single test that
matters most for how a tire looks a week later, finishing 1st on appearance
after a wash with car wash detergent, and backed that up with 2nd on dried mud
and 3rd on the painted overspray panel. Two things to know before buying at $18
for 18 oz: it finished 7th of 10 for dust pickup on a dusty road, and its water
resistance did not survive a pass of wheel and tire cleaner.
For value the Jay Leno’s Garage is hard to argue with. It is the cheapest bottle
here at $9 and it finished second overall at 3.0, two tenths behind the winner.
It was judged to leave the least residue of any product in the test and shares
the least oily finish with the Adam’s, which is exactly why it won the painted
panel outright and took 2nd for rinsing road dust off the tire and 3rd for not
picking it up in the first place. It gives a dark, clean look rather than a wet
one, and it does not bead water at all. If a deeper, wetter finish matters more,
the Adam’s Graphene Tire Dressing finished third at 3.1 with the same rating of 1
for evenness, won the dust rinse-off and took 3rd on appearance after a wash,
for $17.
Beyond the averages, the results split cleanly by what a buyer actually wants.
For water beading the Cerakote is the standout: it beads better than anything
else here and was the only product still rated 1 after wheel and tire cleaner,
with the ExoForma next at 2, and it held 2nd place on appearance after a wash.
It is also the priciest per ounce at $1.75 and it finished 10th for dust
collected on a dusty road, so it suits a garaged car more than a daily driver on
gravel. For maximum gloss, the 303 is the only product rated 1 in that category
and gives a genuinely wet look, at the cost of an oily film. The Black Magic is
the cheapest per ounce at $0.43 and the best of the ten at shrugging off dust
and dried mud, but it is patchy, sticky and last on appearance after one wash.
One safety point applies to all of them: these products are extremely slick, so
they should never be used on a motorcycle, a bicycle or any other two-wheeled
vehicle.