Optimum T.A.R vs Tardis, sort of, not really.

Heijneker · June 25, 2022

I wanted to share some light on the most underrated product in the Optimum line-up. T.A.R.!

Yesterday I got a car in to detail, that had a load of low quality stickers removed. It had glue ALL. OVER. Little glue balls everywhere on the paint, on the glass, wipers, between the rubbers and on the plastics. It was everywhere, even on the tires! This is due to the fact that the company that removes the stickers, uses a spray on and rinse off sticker remover. However, that product doesn't work that well, and a portion of the glue just repositions. The stickers that were removed were also of a horrible quality and the glue is very stubborn.

Luckily a couple of days ago, since it's raved about massively online, I ordered some AutoSmart Tardis. This is a tar and glue remover that can be rinsed off as well. It's apparantly very safe to use on a car, and very powerfull. To boot, price per quantity is a lot cheaper than T.A.R!

First things first, I pre-washed the car with Power Clean 5:1 and rinsed off. This car was already clean (except for the glue), but now it was even cleaner. After this, I should have ONR'd it first, but I didn't, small mistake, excusè moi. Instead I sprayed Tardis as much as possible, and wiped it in with my hands. It already destroyed the sprayer and it irritated my throat. I was working outside and Tardis pretty quickly evaporated to leave a dry car. Another problem to note, is that it doesn't really seem to work as well on a wet car, without agitation. There were some big tar spots on the flanks, which didn't bleed out untill I wiped the Tardis in. I then rinsed off and the Tardis formed a white film when rinsed off. Some glue came off with it, but less than I had hoped! I used about 500ml of product and one sprayer lol. It didn't damage any part of the car one bit though, so that's great!

Next I tried Optimum T.A.R.. Price per litre is of course way higher than Tardis, about 400% more. Yikes! So let's try to use about 400% less product! Of course, T.A.R. smell great and doesn't irritate your skin or airways one bit. Heck, I think you could accidently consume a little and it won't hurt a bit. I sprayed about 3 times per panel and wiped it in with my hands to spread it around. Spots I couldn't really rub it in (wipers, in between rubber trim), I would spray directly

Now this is where it gets unfair, which turns this comparison into a no-contest. I then proceeded to slip on a Microfiber Scrub mitt...... AND WASH THE CAR..... YIKES! This was a white car, and from some previous testing, this works on a white car that's intented for a dealership. Not ideal I guess, but couldn't say the car was anymore swirled than it already was. And it had glue ALL OVER, so what could go wrong? This step, being the agitation, is essential, I used T.A.R. as a spray on rinse off product before, but that doesn't work nearly as well. Comparable to Tardis. I Should have agitated Tardis as well for a fair comparison.

The glue came off pretty easily. After about 15 minutes off scrubbing, it was ready to be rinsed off. It's amazing to see the amount of glue the mitt had picked up, it was crazy! The T.A.R. had turned it into a white slurry which would stick to the mitt that would then deposit it on ridges. The best thing about T.A.R. is, and what seperates it from Tardis, is that it doesn't dry out and it prevents the glue from sticking again! So the glue, which is now a white slurry, rinses off very easily. The T.A.R. itself, however, doesn't rinse off as easily. You can rinse it all you want, but it leaves a layer on the car. Which is a good thing! It's what prevents the glue from sticking again. It also makes T.A.R. the best beading product I have ever seen lol.

So after T.A.R, just spray the car with Power Clean 5:1 again (and agitate with the brush), and rinse off! Then it's completely gone.

In the end of this completely unfair comparison, I preferred T.A.R. to Tardis, mainly since it doesn't irritate the airways and probably isn't that more expensive than Tardis. I used maybe €1-2 of product for the whole car, so who cares. Where Tardis is considered safe, T.AR. could be considered super safe! You know you just can't go wrong with it, where I'm not 100% sure with Tardis. With the right process T.A.R. will probably work just as well as Tardis, since it doesn't dry out and because it leaves a film on the car. I'm sure that a chemical resistant sprayer would survive Tardis for longer, but T.A.R. works with every sprayer!

Of course, this is after just one car with Tardis, and I still have 4.5 litres remaining. It's certainly an awesome product, so let's see if I find a way where Tardis works better for me. Maybe follow instructions for once, which I believe says to pour it on a rag and rub the tar or adhesive.