The higher cost paste waxes can be cheaper per application than some of the liquids. It is just the up front expense is higher.
This is a great thread guys and Bunky you nailed what I was thinking.
In addition to working here at Autogeek I'm a car guy and waxaholic too, and I have access to every wax that we offer. Im the MANIm the MANIm the MANIm the MAN
I've seen some good analogies and great points made so I'd like to offer up a few myself. For instance a VW Jetta and a Bugatti Veyron have similarities such as both having wheels, tires, engine, seats, steering wheel etc. As much as they have in common, the similarities are dramatically different with differences in performance and also in price. The Veyron isn't for everyone and the Jetta has more mass appeal because of the pricing and it's designed to be a daily driver. Both cars serve a purpose.
That's similar to how I look at paste waxes. There's one for everyone's budget and personal preference from entry level to estate waxes. Some people may not be able to see a difference in the same way that someone eating a steak at the Sizzler may be content but once they dine at an upscale steak house, the steak at Sizzler may lose some of it's appeal. Then again, some may like the price point and the service at Sizzler and that's what they like. Ruth's Chris may not be for everybody.
Upon close inspection of Fuzion at $175.00 taking the free refill into consideration, it's about $3.00 per application. On an average car you can get about 30 application from one jar.
Pinnacle Souveran is also about $3.00 per application.
Pinnacle Signature Series II is less than $1.75 per application.
When comparing various waxes, make sure to take into account how much you need to use and how many applications that you get from each jar. You can have some fun with this and figure out how much per application.
For example, if you have a $20 jar of wax that provides 10 applications at $2.00 each, why not try an estate wax for just a dollar more per application?
I remember back about 10 years ago when I first used Pinnacle Souveran on a black car for a client I had just starting working for. The previous detailer would always use a paste wax but never let them know what brand he was using. All I know is that he left plenty of it in the cracks and around the emblems. We started out by doing a complete interior/exterior detail. Paint was clayed, I did swirl removal with the original Porter Cable 7424 and Four Star Swirl Remover, followed by Four Star's Pre Wax Cleaner. Once the paint prep was done I applied the Pinnacle Souveran Paste Wax by hand taking my time and doing one panel at a time. (I know I know, this thread is worthless without pics) As I was getting close to completing the detail, the client came out into the garage and start yelling and raving to the point where it startled me and I jump up thinking there was an emergency. What happened was she saw her car and was amazed by the shiny rippling effect and was asking how I got her paint to look like that. Now we all know that with proper prep the paint should look clear and shiny but it wasn't until I applied the Souveran that the paint took on a deeper, wetter and glossy appearance with a richness in color that Souveran provides. I'm not sure that just any paste wax would have had the same appearance, especially on black and the customer could certainly tell a huge different after I was done compared to what the car looked like after previous details.
I'm going to steal a line that Mike uses:
"Find something you like, and use it often."
With the deals that Max offers to forum members and newsletter subscribers, the numbers that I mentioned earlier are even lower when you factor in the discounts and we can't forget those special occasions each year when he does those two for one deals! If you see a great deal on a premium paste wax, go ahead and give it a try. It may be the wax that you've been looking for.
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