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Initial Impressions: Forma Car Care RVP Trim Shine

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If you’ve been keeping up with my articles over the years, you’ve probably realized I have a thing for great looking tires.  To me, a well dressed tire is the “cherry on top” of a great detail.  After spending hours and hours cleaning, decontaminating, polishing, and coating a vehicle, the tire dressing is one of the final steps and really gives the car that finished look.  So naturally, when I was asked to try this new product from Forma Car Care, I was happy to do it!

ATD | Forma RVP Trim Shine

I had the perfect candidate for a new tire dressing review.  This BMW M4 is equipped with Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires, which are some of my favorite tires to dress due to their smooth sidewalls that are absent of deep groves and lettering like most modern tires.

I started with a clean tire that already looked very nice, but it was lacking that deep, dark look that I love.

ATD | Forma RVP Trim Shine - Before

Forma RVP Trim Shine, which stands for Rubber Vinyl Plastic, is a thin, white liquid, and comes in a nice spray bottle for easy dispensing.  I used the “mist” setting on the spray nozzle, and applied 2 sprays of product onto a new tire shine applicator before wiping the product evenly onto the tire.  The product spread very easily, and left a nice, even finish.  After roughly 30 minutes, the tire was nearly dry to the touch, leaving very little residue on my finger.  Based on this, I do not expect this product to sling when applied properly (How to Avoid Tire Dressing Sling).

ATD | Forma RVP Trim Shine - After

The finish was very dark, with a nice level of shine, that was not too glossy, and not too matte.  It was actually perfect for my particular taste, however Forma does indicate that the product can be layered for additional shine or diluted up to 2:1 (water:product) to reduce shine.

ATD | BMW M4 with Forma RVP Applied

As the name implies, RVP Trim Shine can also be used on plastic and vinyl surfaces such as interior and exterior trim.  My personal vehicle has a wiper cowl that is beginning to fade, so I figured it would be a great place to try RVP on trim.

As with the tires, RVP was very easy to apply to the trim and went on evenly without any real effort.  The final result was a considerably darker piece of plastic that looked very natural.

ATD | Forma RVP 50/50 Shot on Trim

This was my first time using this product, so I cannot weigh in on how long the product lasts, but I do intend to do some more testing on my personal vehicle and I will leave a comment below with my findings.  My initial impressions are that the product is very easy to use and produces great looking trim and tires.  The bottle does indicate that this can be used on leather and interior plastics for UV protection, but I do not prefer shiny leather or interior plastics so I did not experiment with either of these applications.  If this product proves to hold up as well, or better, then my current go-to tire and trim products, I will certainly consider using it on a regular basis.

Zach McGovern
Attention To Detailing Peoria
Peoria, IL
DetailPeoria.com/

14 comments on Initial Impressions: Forma Car Care RVP Trim Shine

  1. Brandon B says:

    Any idea how this matches up against CarPro PEARL? The review you posted has similar results to my experience with PEARL. It’s so nice that it’s not obnoxiously glossy and stays on pretty well too.

    • PERL has been our go to tire dressing for the past couple years. Forma RVP was very similar in terms of initial appearance and application. We will see how it holds up.

  2. Mike (The Guz) says:

    Great write up Zach.

  3. Bob says:

    I can see why you like Michelin Pilots. That tire looks good without anything. Looks better dressed, but would have no problem leaving those Michelins natural. Never heard of Forma products. Will have to look into their line up.

    • Yep, Michelins are good looking tires! Forma is brand new… 8/26 was their product launch date. I have only used the RVP so far, but am looking forward to trying other products.

  4. Steve K says:

    Thanks Zach! I’m a fan of PEARL but always on the lookout.

  5. UPDATE: I have been testing this product on my personal vehicle for both a tire dressing and trim dressing as shown in the article. So far I have gone through some pretty extensive rain storms, and the tires maintain their dark appearance, though the shine is gone. This is to be expected and not something I feel is a sign of a poor product by any means. The wiper cowl still looks good after 2 weeks, 1 hand car wash, and 2 heavy rain storms.

  6. Steve K says:

    Thanks Zach. So at this point, does it appear that Forma is on par with Pearl?

    • Hi Steve – I only use PERL as a tire dressing, so I am not sure how it compares for trim, but I would give the edge to Forma at this point in time for tires as mine have remained darker than they did with PERL after driving through rain. Also, there is no white residue that forms when the tires are driven in wet conditions which was fairly common with PERL.

  7. Eugene S. says:

    Awesome to hear that the product is performing to your expectations, Zach!

  8. Hi Zack, I really enjoy reading your articles and I can appreciate what and how you go about testing and reviewing products. I’ve been detailing almost my whole life as my dad was in the car business working for himself, well that is true but I always had a great appreciation for those who do it correctly, as you do very well. I found a tire and rim dressing from Griots that became my go to because it looks great when applied, but what blew me away was it actually got way better as days went on and there was very little sling and after driving in the rain for 3 days, the gloss died down about half way. Now I’m not sure if anyone has used any of their products because I seldom see their products being used or tested very often. Would you have any idea if Perl or Forma would be a good candidate to try? I have a black 2001 Ford Excursion I’m working on now and would like to take care of the cowl and some other plastics around. I was thinking of trying Black Shine from GG but of you think one of these two or a different one would be begter, I’d greatly appreciate your feedback.
    Paul

    • Hi Paul – I have not used any tire shine by Griot’s, but I am a big fan of their BOSS line of compounds and polishes. Both PERL and Forma RVP are water based dressings which go on thin and are dry to the touch after application. I have never found a water based dressing that will maintain shine after driving in wet conditions, however both dressings will leave the tire looking dark until it gets dirty enough that it needs to be reapplied. For plastic cowl areas, I would highly recommend a product like Solution Finish Trim Restorer or GTechniq C4 Trim Coating for best results.

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