I guess UK car care enthusiasts are well aware of the Gliptone range of leather care products that have been available for ages and work really well. I must confess that I always thought that they were made in the UK.

Wrong! Gliptone actually hails from New York (in the brilliantly named, Ronkonkoma, to be precise!) and they have been around since 1947 and contrary to what I thought they make a full range of car care products and not just leather-related stuff, either.

They are represented in the UK by the same Chester-based company who produce the Liquid Leather and Staingard ranges. The Gliptone line-up is an extensive one and full of brightly coloured and heady smelling potions and concoctions.

We’ll be putting the full range through its paces as part of our Introducing … series in the next issue of TKC Mag but I had cause to use their True Blue Tire Shine through its paces recently.

The bright blue liquid is nice and gloopy but thin enough to spray easily and it really does coat the tyres. If you like a matt or satin finish to your tyres then this may not be the tyre product for you but in certain circumstances, I like mine to have a wet look and this product doesn’t disappoint.

It leaves a thick coating that doesn’t run off or worse still ‘fling’ all down your car’s body when you pull away, which can be a nuisance to get rid of. I’m a fan of Meguiars’ Endurance tyre products, which like True Blue are available in a spray form or a thicker wipe-on liquid. They perform very similarly and even though the Megs product smells of Bazooka Joe bubblegum, the Gliptone stuff has a nice enough smell.I’d have to say that I’d give True Blue a very, very close points win over Endurance.

As mentioned, if a wet look to your tyres is attractive to you then you’ll love this product and even the price is competitive at just £13 for an American-sized 22-ounce spray bottle (equates to 719ml), so it offers real value for money.

Find out more from www.liquidleather.co.uk