Hydro Shine tyre dressing review

• Price: around £14.99  
• Size: 500ml  
• Contact: hydrouk.co

A tyre dressing is an essential finishing touch to any car-cleaning regime. No matter how much you have got the paintwork to shine, if your rubber looks grey and tired, it will instantly make the car look old and scruffy.

There are plenty of products out there that are designed to make your tyres look like new again and should help to protect the rubber from dirt and the ageing effects of the sun, too. The latest launch is called Shine, from the online car-care retailer Hydro. At £14.99, it isn’t the cheapest, especially if you also bundle in the company’s recommended Hydro Shine Applicator, which costs an extra £9.99.

But a little goes a long way. Unlike the thinner spray-on fluids used by most rivals, the blue Hydro Shine is thick, so just a chocolate button-sized blob on the round applicator brush is enough to do an entire tyre on most cars. If you use any more, it risks leaving a shiny and sticky finish, which attracts dirt and leaves the sidewall looking patchy. 

Getting the quantity right takes practice too, because the bottle’s basic cap and the liquid’s gloopiness mean it can plop out onto the brush too quickly. But if spread evenly, it leaves a satin finish that makes the rubber seem like new. It was still looking good after three washes with harsh detergent and a pressure washer.

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