CarPro Perl Review

CarPro Perl Review/Overview

CarPro comes highly recommended as one of the best tyre dressings on the market right now. Its finish is almost unrivalled and is one of few that not only offers that deep, matt-like finish but also gives you the longevity to go with it as well. 

It’s a product that ticks so many boxes and its versatility means that it can be used on plastics, engines, rubber and leather (PERL). It performs best as a tyre dressing and for me, this is what most people will be buying this product for. 

Perl is not perfect, as few products are, and I found that it was not as strong in being water repellent as some of the products that I’ve tested. It’s not terrible by any means, but it certainly doesn’t bead as well as I would have liked. (*Update after 1 week –  Beading has improved, weirdly. Not sure why, but could be due to curing time between the two tests.)

That aside, there are few better tyre dressings right now that CarPro Perl. The finish is the star of the show here and you will be hard pushed to find something that has a natural look that lasts as long as CarPro Perl. 

Prepmycar Rating: 8.1 / 10

CarPro PERL Plastic, Engine, Rubber, Leather 500ml

  • 7.5 Application/ Ease of Use
  • Aesthetics
  • 6.5 Water Repelant Features
  • Longevity
  • 7.5 Packing and Dispenser
  • 9 Value for Money
  • 8.1 AVERAGE RANKING

Pros

  • Amazing finish for both matt and satin looks
  • Great value for money at just 46p per application (diluted)
  • Good longevity, lasting several weeks between washes
  • Easy to apply and remove if you should need to

Cons

  • Bottle lacks from a pump or proper dispenser
  • Struggles when it comes to being water repellent

Application, Ease of Use and Process

Application of the product wasn’t too difficult. However, it comes as an open-top bottle, which can be extremely clumsy. 

You need to have some sort of pump or you will need to decant the product into something a little more suitable. I understand why they do this as you can use CarPro Perl on a lot of different surfaces and therefore needs diluting, but you could quite easily have a pump attached to make it easier to get the product where you need it.



CarPro state that there are several dilution ratios that you can use for Perl. You can work this up to 5:1, which means that it comes in at a great value.

However, to keep in line with my other tyre dressing tests, I used this neat and I applied two layers. A simple foam applicator pad was used and then I just made sure to work this into a clean tyre as well as I could.

As I knew I was adding a second layer, I waited around 10 minutes before it looked like it had cured enough for me to go back over. In hindsight, I think that you can leave it longer than this, but it will depend on your climate.

50/50
50/50

Following the second coat, I again left it for about 10 minutes and then came back to gently buff any excess. I will add that the product is relatively viscous and if you over apply, which I did the first time around, you will get the product within the writing on the tyre and it can be hard to work in. 

One of the best bits of detailing advice I can give applies here; less is more!

The tyre was left for a good hour before moving and I was highly confident it had fully cured within this time. 

Overall, it’s no harder to apply than any other product, but I am still grumpy at the lack of a pump or spray handle that should come with the bottle. 



Aesthetics After 1st Application

As soon as I was applying the first coat and then stood back for the 50/50 shot, I knew that CarPro Perl was going to suit me nicely. It’s very much a matt finish and I love that, but it does still show that the tyre is clean and has been dressed, which I also really like. 

It has a look about it that few tyre dressings have and has a premium finish. I know this might sound a little odd and it’s hard to describe, but I go back and look at my pictures of my CarPro Perl review and then compare with other products, it becomes a lot more obvious. 

For this test, as I mentioned earlier, you can dilute this at 5:1 if you wish. After testing this I was able to see a slight difference in terms of aesthetics and it was definitely a little flatter than going in neat.

However, it was minimal and I think moving forward I would dilute it which is going to work out as even better value for what is a relatively expensive tyre dressing. 

Water Repellent Rating after 1st Application

CarPro Perl struggled with repelling water and this is one of the weaker areas of the product. It just didn’t bead-like some of the others when tested one hour after application. 

As you can see from the pictures, it does still bead, just they aren’t as uninformed as some. This shows that it doesn’t repel the water as well, which is a shame. 



I’m not entirely sure why this is either given that Perl is a waterborne silicone-oxide dressing and should be incredibly water-resistant. I will re-test this at some point, but for now, it is what it is. 

Packaging and Dispenser

I’m a big fan of CarPro packaging. Their line is simple but incredibly clean and I love that. They’ve managed to make it so that even though it’s a minimalist design, it’s very easy to know that it’s a product by them. 

The bottle suffers from a lack of a dispenser of any kind. It’s a screw top and then about a 20mm opening meaning that it pours incredibly fast and it can catch you out, which it did for me on several occasions.

It lets the product down for me and if I’m honest, this needs to be addressed. It needs a pump like you get with Gyeon Q2 Tire and given that you’re able to dilute it, would make total sense. 

Even though the packaging is nice, I feel they’ve missed a trick here. 

Smell

Potential Finish

CarPro Perl has some room to offer up a varying finish, although it’s not as workable as others that I have tested. You get a deep matt look, which I really like, however, if you go to town with the buffing you can get an even flatter look.

The flip side is that you apply a stronger coat and then use minimal or even no buffing. This will get you a satin look with a little sheen, but nothing too major. If you go down this route, make sure that you give it plenty of time to cure as a lack of buffing will almost guarantee sling if not left long enough.



Cost per application

I paid around £12 for my 500ml bottle, which is somewhere about the norm for this sort of product. I would say that this makes it a mid to upper price for a tyre dressing and likely a little expensive if used for the engine, leather or plastics. 

From the bottle, I used almost exactly 40ml, which again, is quite a lot of product. This does make up the two coats however, so 25ml per application is not too bad when you look at it like that. Stick some sort of pump on there and you’ll use less again…. anyway.

This works out a 96p per application, which is two good coats on all four of the tyres. This is good value for such an impressive product.

However, if you were to dilute it, it now becomes crazy-good value. They state you can do it 5:1, but I think I’d be more comfortable around the 2:1 mark, to be honest. At 2:1 it’s just 48p for a full application, which is not something I was expecting from my CarPro Perl review. 

Tyre Sling

Absolutely zero sling was seen from CarPro Perl. I didn’t drive the car for over an hour after the application to make sure it had cured though, so you likely need to bear this in mind. 

I would think that it depends on the finish that you want as to the amount of time you need to leave it, but a matt finish produced zero sling and this was on a white car don’t forget so I’d be able to see it. 

Can it be Used for Other Processes?

Yes, as stated throughout this CarPro Perl review, the product can be used around your car for things like your engine, plastics and leather as a quality dressing. 

I need to test further for each of these, but from the limited research I’ve done into using Perl for other processes, it’s performed well. 



More to come for this section of my testing. 

Longevity – 1 Week & 250 Miles

As with all these tests, all I’ve done is a power wash down and then a light wipe to remove the majority of the dirt within my CarPro Perl review.

As you can see, after week one, CarPro Perl is still performing brilliantly. It’s like a fine wine this one and seems to be getting better than after the initial application. It settled so quickly and even though I’ve checked every day, it’s changed very little from when it was first applied.

Week 1 Finish
Week 1 Finish

One of the strangest things about is that its water-resistant properties seem to have improved. As you can see from the picture below, it’s beading nicely and much. better than when it was first applied.

I don’t have an explanation for why this is. The only thing I can think of is that it’s taken a longer time to fully cure than from when I tested it. Again, not 100% on why, but it’s better now.

Week 1 Beading

I’m incredibly impressed after week one. The cloth had next to no dirt on it when wiped after power washing down which shows that it’s repelling the dirt brilliantly.

Aesthetics, it looks amazing! I’m falling hard for this tyre dressing and can’t wait to see what week 2 brings.

FAQ

How do you apply CarPro Perl?

You use a foam applicator pad to apply CarPro Perl. Simply work the product into a clean tyre and then allow to cure for around 10 minutes. Buff off the excess and you are done.



What finish will CarPro Perl give?

You can achieve either a deep matt finish or a dark satin. The satin will only have a slight shine, which I personally quite like.

How long does CarPro Perl last?

You should easily be able to get through 4 washes or 1 month worth of driving without having to reapply this product. It's easy to top up, though, which means you don't have to remove each wash.

How do you remove CarPro Per?

You can use any degreaser of tyre wall cleaner to get the product off your tyre. I recommend using something like Bilt Hamber Surfex, which is one of the best in the business for this.

Waht can you use CarPro Perl on?

You can use this on plastics, tyres, engine covers, leathers and anything that will take a water-based sealant. always do spot checks first to make sure that it doesn't react with whatever material you are using.

Final Thoughts

Before Application
After Application

Overall, I’m impressed with CarPro Perl. I think the brand as a whole is massively underrated and every time, I seemingly get a hold of their products, they just keep knocking them out of the park.

For me, the product’s aesthetics were what launched it up to be one of the best tyre dressings that I’ve tested for a long time. I just love that deep colour, but it’s not shouty and it’s not a wet look at all.

It’s hard to describe, but as I mentioned earlier, it has a look where you know it’s been treated, but instead of having a fake, overly black finish, it simply compliments a nice clean car and wheels.

Value for money was another area that it scored higher than I expected. Once you get used to the bottle and how fast it pours, you don’t need an awful lot of product as all. Given that tyre dressing often needs to be applied or at least topped up after each wash, I think the 96p neat and 48p 2:1 dilution is insane value for money.



It’s not a perfect product though. The bottle needs a proper dispenser or pump and it’s not as water repellent as some of the competition either.

However, the finish is so good that I’m not all that bothered. The process might not be perfect, but the results aren’t far away.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my CarPro Perl review and I’d love to hear your thoughts over on the Prep My Car Facebook Group.

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