Wolf-Strong
New member
- Jul 10, 2007
- 205
- 0
For a while now, I have been stressing to people the importance of prepping the surface prior to waxing, and that it isn't the wax that makes the look, rather how well the surface is prepped. Basically, my idea is that waxes can only do so little for a clear coated car considering we are talking about a layer LSP that is considerably smaller than the already thin clear coat. I want this to be a real world demonstration for those who are using their cars as an every day driver, and not the garage queen that is going around with a flawless finish and zero orange peal. This is for you guys! I want to show everyone how good your paint can look if you just take the time to care for it.
I will be looking for how they compare to not only themselves, but also unwaxed paint in looks, water beading, water sheeting, slickness, ease of application and removal, smell, price, its ability to protect against water spotting, and any other unique things I discover about the wax.
Here is a picture of what I started with. A typical swirled up every day driver. This is a 93' BMW Jet Black paint with factory clear coat.
I then polished the paint out with my Harbor Freight rotary, Meguiar's So1o Polishing pad (yellow), and M83.
After this, I finished up with So1o Finishing pad and M9.
I have to say after using these tools right now that I have mixed feelings about them, and realize I still have a bit to learn in using them. The Harbor Freight rotary is far from a great machine, but it works, and for most others I would recommending saving the extra money for a good machine and maybe keep this as a backup (you can't go wrong with $25). As for the So1o pads, I have only the regular Meguiar's pads to compare them to and what I have discovered about these is that for one, I absolutely love the backing plate on this system, and that they don't tend to heat the paint up as fast. They are very forgiving pads, and great to start out on. With that said though, I do like the feel of the regular pads as well. It isn't that they are better or worse, just different. They aren't as forgiving, but they have a good solid feeling. M83 I felt splattered a lot and dried fairly quickly when not used properly, while M9 was much more forgiving. I know they are different types of polishes, but I would like to see M83 a little more user friendly like M9, which I believe was able to do this with its heavy oil concentration. Overall, I do love this combination of M83 and M9 and am just being nit-picky.
After I finished that up, I then went head and taped off the sections with thick blue painters tape to leave some of the polished area for comparison for when after the waxes are applied. As you can see, this is actually two images PChopped together, but you get the idea what I am doing here:
When it was time to apply the waxes, it was getting to be night, but I still had some ok lighting in my garage with a work light to see the paint with. It was 62° F outside, and it just finished raining this morning, so it wasn't too damp or too dry; just right! I also have to stress to everyone about proper wax application. Some call for a damp or moistened applicator, which I simply used Pinnacle XMT pad conditioner to do. Another important factor is to apply waxes THIN! For the ones where this is very important, I have went ahead and noted it in the review of that product, but here is a picture of the entire hood waxed without removal (except Souveran, which I will explain later):
For comparison purposes, here is a list of prices for the waxes I used:
Meguiar's Gold Class
My first impression with this wax is that it is meant to compete with the high end waxes. The smell of it is really clean and pleasant; it is hard to describe but I enjoy it. Applicator was included inside in a nicely packaged tin which by far, is my favorite design. Nicely sized opening for the pad as well for easy access. The wax goes on very easily which I guess is due to the high oil concentration it seems. After I applied all 9 waxes, I went back to it and it was dry, so the drying time is well under 15 minutes which is a very good thing. When I went to remove it, I took a very light pass, and imediatly, it completely took it off! I was absolutely breath taken on how easily this stuff came off! To say it was effortless would be an understatement.
Meguiar's #26 Hi-Tech Yellow Wax
This wax has an interesting smell. It is without a doubt, a waxy smell, with maybe a hint of a buttery scent. It is one of those scents where you don't mind it, but it isn't something that you would enjoy or look forward to smelling. For application, I applied a small bead to a foam pad since this was a liquid. Application was very easy as it just glided on the surface, very simular to Gold Class, though it didn't seem to have as much oil in it. Drying time was quick and under 15 minutes and removal as just effortless. Like Gold Class, it completely came off with virtually no pressure, which in my eyes means less chance of swirls. I have used this wax plenty of times before, and one thing I would like to comment on is that it can be a bit dusty when doing large sections like the entire hood, which is why I always stress the importance of using a good quality microfiber to absorb as much of that as possible and doing thin coats. In my demonstration, I taped off the jams and trim pieces so I didn't have any problem with this, but it may be a concern for some.
Meguiar's NXT 2.0
The long awaited NXT V2! I have used the first one plenty of times, but retired it after I had too many streaking issues which I did not have with M26. I am glad to say that after buying new cloths and using this product, I had absolutely zero streaks! Much like Gold Class, it seemed to be very oily and application was very smooth. Same old familiar NXT fruity smell that no one can seem to point out which fruits. Strangely enough, it has the same exact scent as Pepsi Summer Mix, so if you want to know what NXT tastes like...anyways! One thing I am also impressed with is that it had completely dried within 15 minutes, which again another fantastic change I see as the older one, as mentioned, never seemed to completely dry, resulting in streaks. Removal of NXT V2 was just as effortless as the other two Meguair's waxes and this being the last Meguiar's wax tested in this test, I have to commend them on making their waxes so incredibly user friendly and at such a good price!
I will be looking for how they compare to not only themselves, but also unwaxed paint in looks, water beading, water sheeting, slickness, ease of application and removal, smell, price, its ability to protect against water spotting, and any other unique things I discover about the wax.
Here is a picture of what I started with. A typical swirled up every day driver. This is a 93' BMW Jet Black paint with factory clear coat.
I then polished the paint out with my Harbor Freight rotary, Meguiar's So1o Polishing pad (yellow), and M83.
After this, I finished up with So1o Finishing pad and M9.
I have to say after using these tools right now that I have mixed feelings about them, and realize I still have a bit to learn in using them. The Harbor Freight rotary is far from a great machine, but it works, and for most others I would recommending saving the extra money for a good machine and maybe keep this as a backup (you can't go wrong with $25). As for the So1o pads, I have only the regular Meguiar's pads to compare them to and what I have discovered about these is that for one, I absolutely love the backing plate on this system, and that they don't tend to heat the paint up as fast. They are very forgiving pads, and great to start out on. With that said though, I do like the feel of the regular pads as well. It isn't that they are better or worse, just different. They aren't as forgiving, but they have a good solid feeling. M83 I felt splattered a lot and dried fairly quickly when not used properly, while M9 was much more forgiving. I know they are different types of polishes, but I would like to see M83 a little more user friendly like M9, which I believe was able to do this with its heavy oil concentration. Overall, I do love this combination of M83 and M9 and am just being nit-picky.
After I finished that up, I then went head and taped off the sections with thick blue painters tape to leave some of the polished area for comparison for when after the waxes are applied. As you can see, this is actually two images PChopped together, but you get the idea what I am doing here:
When it was time to apply the waxes, it was getting to be night, but I still had some ok lighting in my garage with a work light to see the paint with. It was 62° F outside, and it just finished raining this morning, so it wasn't too damp or too dry; just right! I also have to stress to everyone about proper wax application. Some call for a damp or moistened applicator, which I simply used Pinnacle XMT pad conditioner to do. Another important factor is to apply waxes THIN! For the ones where this is very important, I have went ahead and noted it in the review of that product, but here is a picture of the entire hood waxed without removal (except Souveran, which I will explain later):
For comparison purposes, here is a list of prices for the waxes I used:
Meguiar's Gold Class
My first impression with this wax is that it is meant to compete with the high end waxes. The smell of it is really clean and pleasant; it is hard to describe but I enjoy it. Applicator was included inside in a nicely packaged tin which by far, is my favorite design. Nicely sized opening for the pad as well for easy access. The wax goes on very easily which I guess is due to the high oil concentration it seems. After I applied all 9 waxes, I went back to it and it was dry, so the drying time is well under 15 minutes which is a very good thing. When I went to remove it, I took a very light pass, and imediatly, it completely took it off! I was absolutely breath taken on how easily this stuff came off! To say it was effortless would be an understatement.
Meguiar's #26 Hi-Tech Yellow Wax
This wax has an interesting smell. It is without a doubt, a waxy smell, with maybe a hint of a buttery scent. It is one of those scents where you don't mind it, but it isn't something that you would enjoy or look forward to smelling. For application, I applied a small bead to a foam pad since this was a liquid. Application was very easy as it just glided on the surface, very simular to Gold Class, though it didn't seem to have as much oil in it. Drying time was quick and under 15 minutes and removal as just effortless. Like Gold Class, it completely came off with virtually no pressure, which in my eyes means less chance of swirls. I have used this wax plenty of times before, and one thing I would like to comment on is that it can be a bit dusty when doing large sections like the entire hood, which is why I always stress the importance of using a good quality microfiber to absorb as much of that as possible and doing thin coats. In my demonstration, I taped off the jams and trim pieces so I didn't have any problem with this, but it may be a concern for some.
Meguiar's NXT 2.0
The long awaited NXT V2! I have used the first one plenty of times, but retired it after I had too many streaking issues which I did not have with M26. I am glad to say that after buying new cloths and using this product, I had absolutely zero streaks! Much like Gold Class, it seemed to be very oily and application was very smooth. Same old familiar NXT fruity smell that no one can seem to point out which fruits. Strangely enough, it has the same exact scent as Pepsi Summer Mix, so if you want to know what NXT tastes like...anyways! One thing I am also impressed with is that it had completely dried within 15 minutes, which again another fantastic change I see as the older one, as mentioned, never seemed to completely dry, resulting in streaks. Removal of NXT V2 was just as effortless as the other two Meguair's waxes and this being the last Meguiar's wax tested in this test, I have to commend them on making their waxes so incredibly user friendly and at such a good price!
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