Car Wax Comparison Test

[wtm442]

Car Wax Comparison Test


Just read the July 2006 issue of Consumer Reports. They tested car waxes in the "old stand-by" paste in a can, liquids and the newer Spray types.

Very interesting in that the top rated waxes were the liquids and not the paste wax in a can! See below – numbers in parenthesis are CR ratings based upon tests.

Zymol and P21S did not do too well in the tests which surprised me. Also, Turtle Wax had eight different products. One was rates a Best Buy … others were spread from the middle to the bottom.

Liquids
1) Black Magic Wet Shine Liquid Wax BM48016 – Best Buy (84)
2) Turtle Wax Carnauba T-6 Best Buy (84)
3) Eagle One Nanowax (75)
…..
…..
8) Zymol (68)
….
….
17) Turtle Wax T-123R (43)

Pastes
1) Nu Finish NFP-80 (71)
2) Turtle wax T-41R (67)
3) P21S (61)

Sprays
1) Eagle One Wax as U Dry (54)
2) Turtle Wax 1 step wax & dry T-9 (54)
…..
6) Zymol Detail Z519 (42)

[Bob In Ct]

I don't ever use a paste wax since you keep putting the dirt back in the container.

Bob

[sportyworty]

What? Mothers and Meguires did not make the list. Does anyone use any products like the Showtime Mothers? it is a touch up spray for last minute detail. I hope we can make this a good thread with lots of input as this is important for all the painted Cobras!

[jarendall]

I use diamond luster polish first and then mothers showtime, the liquid polish seals the paint finish and the mothers adds great shine, the mothers is a little tricky to use, you must get all the wet spray off, or it will leave streaks

[Tony Radford]

If they didn't list Zaino's, the test is hosed.

[wtm442]

I did not list all 28 waxes tested. Just the highlites.

Zaino's was NOT tested.

Mother's was NOT tested.

Meguires did poorly in the tests. Sixth and fourteeth out of 17 liquid waxes. Fourth out of 4 on paste waxes. Seventh out of 7 on spray waxes.

[Cashburn]

How heavily weighted is price in the equation? Having tried the Eagle One Nano and knowing how low I would rank it sets the whole test off...

[wtm442]

Price was included in the chart but was not used in determining the rankings.

Here is chart I put in my gallery.

[GOCATS]

I've been told that Turtle wax has made great strides in improving their product. I find it very hard to believe that it is that good and old stand bys like Mother's and Meguires did so poorly. I use the Meguires Gold and have had great results.

I agree with Tony the results are hosed.

J.A.

[bnewell]

Zaino Bros. is the only way to go.........used it on SPF1299 and the M3 with outstanding results. Great people and product!!!!

As for the Kirkham.......................

[i wana go fast]

i dont think that consumer report is as non-bias as they claim to really be. i think there is a lot of pocket padding going on in a bunch of there tests. i used to subscribe to there mag but let it go after reading a year of there tests. i just go with what i like and sugestions from fine people like all of you. just my addition to the what its worth department. dave

[sportyworty]

Want to here some more real world opinions, we have all been keeping our cars clean. What works best. I like the clay bars with the Show time. ( expensive way to de oxiidize if you find yourself at this state) and then the Mequires cleaner wax, sealer wax and finally fine finish wax. Mothers Showtime for clean up last minute shine. Don't they make some swirl remover stuff also. This does not pertain to the Cobra so much but old Mustangs over the years in different states of paint condition.

[Lowell W]

More info here and other threads: http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/show...t=clean%2Fwash

After Ron Widener (Ron 61) recommended Wet Paint on the thread above, I ordered some and gave it a try. Now I think conventional washing and waxing is a waste of time. I'm still not sure I'd just spray it all over a filthy car and rub it around, although the directions say it won't scratch the paint when used as directed. If there's mud on the car, I wash it off and I always go over the car with a duster prior to cleaning with the Wet Paint. I've always thought it would be great to have some kind of a "Rainex for the whole car" type of product and Wet Paint seems to be it. I will say I think this stuff is the absolute easiest windsheld cleaner I've ever tried and a great car polish as well. Rain doesn't bead up and slide off the Wet Wax quite as fast as off the Rainex but Wet Wax cleans and "Rainexes" the windshield in one step. Once you have an application or two of Wet Paint on the car, the bugs just kind of dissolve off with a squirt and a wipe. Amazing! I did try Wet Paint with a clay bar on the tough spots on my truck but Wet Paint does something to the clay so you can't knead it back together; it just kind of falls apart. Hard to beat Griot's Speed Shine and clay for the really tough bugs and tar and stuff (like the crap that gets on the body behind the pipes, where you can't see it unless you're under the car) but once you have the Wet Paint on, nothing seems to stick to it as it does to a waxed surface.

Other CC members advocated Dri Wash and Zaino's. I have no experience with those products but I suspect they're similar to Wet Paint and would appreciate any feedback.

I take "Consumer Reports" with a grain of salt, also. Not sure about "pocket padding"; my take is that they're basically honest, at least to their principles, but they definitely have a political agenda which, I think, gets in the way of their objectivity.

Lowell

[REDSC400]

Some of my favorites were not tested. Meguires NTX and Protect ALL are my current favorites. Both are liquids. Protect All, which is fairly unknown is worth consideration and Meguires NTX is also a wonderful product.

If you are interested to know more about Protect All here is their web site. It has a pretty big following in the motorcycle and aircraft world. Dustless and easy.

www.protectall.com

[SP01715]

Like I have stated before I have been into high performance boats for years and have used many products and the best I have ever used has been Driven hands down. Resist salt, road tar etc... The stuff is in a whole different class than anything else I have ever tried. Here is a link...

http://www.driventoperfection.com/

[STG]

Well, isn't this pathetic. A bunch of car guys relying on Consumer Reports for a wax test!

The fact is, no detailing professionals use any of the highest rated products in the CR test.

I'm continually amazed at how many car enthusiasts think they can slap a coat of wax on their car and get any decent results. This is evident by the comment on this thread advising against paste wax because dabbing into the jar will get dirt in the paint??!!??

As much as most of guys will hate this, there is absolutely no one-step product that you can put on your paint to achieve any kind of decent result unless yopu are applying it to perfect paint.

The wax marketplace place creates alot of misinformation regarding paint care. Companies like Mothers and Meguiar's rely on consumer-line sales for much of their revnue. When competing for sales at Walmart, these companies always seem to go up against the lastest one step miricle product. There's a bottle of Nu-Finish. It says I can put it on my car by hand in twenty minutes and it will last through 342 car washes! Wow!

In order to comptete, reputable paint-care companies can't emphisize the correct multi-step procedures required to get a great paint finish. In fact, Barry Meguiar dislikes his employees demostrating products using an orbital buffer. He often demands had application demos. You can't outsell Nu-Finish or that new clear Turtle Wax by telling people about $129 orbital buffers.

Wax is a Last Step Product in achieving a great paint finish. There are no miricale one-step shortcuts. First, you must evaluate the condition of the paint. Next, you must eliminate the defects in the surface of the paint (scratches, cobb-webbing, swirls, embedded contaminents, etc.). This normally involved several different products.

Tyically,you start out with clay using a quick detailer as a lubricant. Much like rubbing an eraser on your paint, clay will lift off embedded contaminents like fall out, rail dust, etc. from your paint.

Then, select the least abrasive polishing compound that will remove the scratches or swirls your paint has. It's best to be overly conservative, applying mild polish two or three times instead of something too agressive.

To get the paint to shine, you must remove scratches and swirls, and that means removing paint (clearcoat is paint, too - without the pigment) to the level of the scratch or swirls. If you think you can do as good a job by hand as with a proper orbital polisher, FORGET IT. You can't. The right kind of buffer is a Porter Cable 7242 or similar (Meguiar's G100). You must also have a selection of the appr0priate polishing pads. A ten inch buffer from Pep Boys won't do it, either.

Once the paint is perfectly smooth, you apply wax. You never apply wax on dirty paint, therefore the comment about spreading dirt into a jar of wax is groundless.

Instead of relying on Consuimer Reports, ask the experts. Get ahold of the guys at Mothers or Meguiar's. I did. Meguiar's holds free detailing classes at their Irvine, California HQ almost every Saturday.

Mike Phillips teaches the classes at Meguiar's and is the administrator of http://www.meguiarsonline.com

The website has detailed instructions on how to use every product Meguiar's makes and should be required reading for anybody weho cares about how his car looks.

Can you shoternthe process? Sure Mothers and Meguiar's make quality cleaner waxes. Just don't expect the same results.

Again, learn from experts, not Consumer Reports. That's why I addrtended two classes at Meguiar's, plus I had Mike Phillips detail my cars just so I could learn the proper techniques.

After all, Mike's detailed far more cars at Pebble Beach, Barret Jackson, etc. than I or the idiots at Consumer Reports.

[ROUSHAC]

WOW! Twice in three days that I agree with Stan.

Best advice by far in this thread was from him.

Cheers!
Dave

[JBo]

Try a product called "fleet wax" available from Boat us or west marine. It is an aeronuatical product. Relatively easy to apply, lasts foreever, stops everything except rocks. When hit with instant detailer post application, car looks like a fresh paste job!

[Excaliber]

Darn, a thread I can't think of thing to say about the subject at hand. Finally, somebody stumped me...

[FUNFER2]

I have discounted the test. As a auto body man, I will not use most of these top listed products. Most are silicone based and please don't use them. Any "carnauba" wax is all you need. Apply every 3-6 months depending on your cars exposure. All these fancy, heavily marked, cool packaged products are a ploy to spend your money. I personally like Mothers. Mainly because they have what I want. The "clay bar" is also useful. Most people OVER apply waxes, all it does it build up on the paint and can actually make the paint look worse. Try cleaning off all that crap when it comes time to repaint ! Although I have not encountered this problem but, I've heard they can also stain the clear coat ? (a lot of the shinny tire products are silicone also) The "detailer spray", "duster", "micro fiber towels" is all I use if not washing the car.