NXT wax or cleaner wax?

[TOGWT]

Does NXT contain cleaners?

[Don]

...you should see the discussion about this over on Autopia

The latest information...according to Mike P...is that there is a small amount of specialized cleaners in NXT. Most likely they are chemical and intended to minimize problems with non-compatable "stuff" (for lack of a better word) on the surface of the vehicle.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: NXT wax or cleaner wax?

Originally posted by TOGWT
Does NXT contain cleaners?

Read this thread here for hopefully the last word on NXT Tech Wax and your question.


Does NXT Tech Wax contain cleaners?

Enjoy!

Mike

[gb387]

Over on Autopia it has gotten a little carried away. What really maters is that the product works and I feel it works well. Its been on 5 weeks now and water is sheeting off still... although not as slick as when I first applied it but I guess that is what the NXT booster wax is for can’t wait to try it.

[Boss_429]

EDIT: Sorry, it was the other 10 page thread that I read with the washing machine pics! As it turns out, the NXT has some special abrasives that polish. However, my post still stands!

Wow! I just took a couple of "hours" and read that thread. I don't know quite what to say. I will say this........ I sure hope some of those people take really "important" things in life as serious.

Anyhow, back to the subject......... and my question. Why is it so important that a wax has some light, or "slight" cleaning abilities? Some of the best products I've ever used have that characteristic?

In the end, if one likes how it applies, removes, looks, and the product turns out to be durable.......... what does it matter?

[Mosca]

Originally posted by Boss_429
Anyhow, back to the subject......... and my question. Why is it so important that a wax has some light, or "slight" cleaning abilities? Some of the best products I've ever used have that characteristic?

I think, Boss429, that it has to do with a couple things that go on in the mind when one "discovers" the proper way to prepare an automotive finish.

The first thing is, "Now that I have a beautiful looking car... now what?" What I mean is, there can be a little bit of a letdown. One can either start the whole thing all over again on the same car (not really a good choice), find a different car to do (not always possible), or chase that last little bit of perfection that is available on the car that has already been polished, a quest that DavidB has named "The Perfect Shine".

Which brings us to the second point, that follows from the first. DavidB has written that, for him, The Perfect Shine is a product of two things; perfect surface preparation, and the layering of two final products: one, Klasse, is a synthetic, and the other, P21S/S100, is a carnauba.

So, many Autopians, in order to avoid plowing turned earth, naturally look to experienced detailers for advice. And if you are going to follow DavidB's (well respected) advice, and layer products to get the benefit of both, you need to use products that don't remove the other product.

I'm kind of not so sold on layering anymore. I've put so many products right over top of other products that ALL look really great, that I'm ready to break ranks and say that it doesn't matter. I put NXT over Souveran over NXT, and then I put Gold Class over that, and then I put NXT over that, and Turtle Wax Platinum over that, and then I put #16 over that. Big deal. The car looks really shiny. It ought to, I polished the heck out of it. I'm going to wash it tomorrow, and then I'm going to put Klasse SG over the #16. I want to see if it forms a film, or if it beads. I mean, if it's not going to stick, you'd think it would bead up like mercury, wouldn't you? If it films, I guarantee you it's going to stick right through that wax coating. I don't expect to see it all flaked off on the garage floor the next morning.


Tom

[TOGWT]

~One mans opinion / observation~

I’m an Architectural Engineer by profession/vocation, so I like the aesthetics plus I want to know why/how it works. And for non-professional detailers like me these forums are the only way to gain this type of knowledge.

In the final analysis (the way a vehicle looks to the’ guy’ of the beholder) it is probably of little importance whether a product contains a cleaner, but as Mosca very adequately points out it does make a big difference to detailers who seek the “ultimate” shine, as we don’t just purchase X wash, polish, wax, QD and apply them the way it reads on their container, but mix various waxes and polymers to see if we can ‘improve’ the look.

I don’t go along with the ‘you don’t need to know what’s in the product just apply it and see if you like it, or vendor statements similar to the above as his defence is ‘it’s a trade secret and if issued others will manufacture it’. We don’t want the formula or % of the ingredients; just what’s in it, like solvents, silicone (hopefully a statement like, re-distilled petroleum distillates) carnauba, etc


~Hope this helps~


Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/

justadumbarchitect * so i question everything*

[Boss_429]

Good points guys! I guess, having been detailing professionally, semi-professionally, and as an enthusiast for around 40 years, I've learned that in most cases, it isn't worth the time to attempt to break down a product into it's most minute chemical properties to establish what it will do, or won't do. Putting it on the paint usually tells me that.

Anyhow, good luck with your search for the "ultimate shine" guys! When you find it, let me know if it has cleaners in it or not?

[Mosca]

Yeah, well, you know. Some of us have too much time on our hands!


Tom

[BretFraz]

For some of us the quest for knowledge is never ending. While many are happy with what they see and experience in life, there are others who want to know *why* we see and experience things.

Human senses are easily fooled. What's one of the first things they teach you in flight school? Trust your instruments, not your senses. Lots of good reasons for that lesson.

I've been detailing for 25+ years and am confident I know how to make a car look great. It's no longer magical to me. The thrill of glossy paint for the sake of glossy paint doesn't do it for me any longer.

The more I know about a product the better I can decide for myself if it's the appropriate one for me. All I'm interested in is the facts. More facts = better decisions = better judgement = better results.

[rjstaaf]

Originally posted by BretFraz
Human senses are easily fooled. What's one of the first things they teach you in flight school? Trust your instruments, not your senses. Lots of good reasons for that lesson.

That just brought back memories for me My instructor had me close my eyes and told me to fly by feel (which I thought I was pretty good at) and to try and keep her straight and level. All seemed to be going well until he told me to open my eyes and at that point I got a gut wrench in my stomach and all my senses were on overload as we were in a wide spiral headed straight for the ground Nothing dangerous since the instructor had his eyes open but, without my eyes to tell me what was going on my other senses were completely fooled.

[Mosca]

But Brett, the idea is to appeal to the senses. If it looks great, then that's it; that was the goal. Surely you aren't saying that I've been fooled into thinking it looks great? If you carry that a bit further... "I only thought that the roast was excellent. The flavor fooled me. It actually was awful." "Yeah, that concert sucked. At first all that music made me think it was pretty good, but once I got past the melody and those instruments, I was really let down."

You're trying to quantify an aesthetic. I won't say that you shouldn't try to do that, but if you succeed you will be the first.

And, facts? Facts about these products are truly elusive. For example, layering of polymers. Is it a fact that they layer, ie one layer of SG or Zaino over another, or is it a fact that someone says that they layer, someone like the guy from Klasse? Until someone shows me scientific proof, I won't believe it. I won't disbelieve it, either, it will be in the "I don't know" pile. Actually in the "not important" pile, I see no advantage to a thicker layer. It might last twice as long, but I had to go around the car twice to get that benefit! And sorry, I can't see the difference between one molecule thickness of a clear substance and two molecule thickness of that substance.

To me, what you are saying, "The thrill of glossy paint for the sake of glossy paint doesn't do it for me any longer...." is like hearing da Vinci say, "the thrill of creating emotional art doesn't do it for me any more. All I care about is how lifelike I can make it.That's all." Now we aren't da Vincis, and we are not creating timeless masterpieces. But we are in the realm of aethetics, and the analogy is apt. Are we in an area where engineering meets craft? Absolutely, but the result is still an aesthetic, in the eye of the beholder. If you need knowledge of the engineering in order to make up your mind about what your eye sees, then perhaps you have missed the point of it all.


Tom

[Boss_429]

Bret,

I admire your need for "a quest of knowledge"! I sincerely hope that your dedication leads you to pursue a quest for some truly important things in life............. one of which is NOT wax! In that path to knowledge, I hope you find that just helping people out is far more important than a "Truth Crusade" that leads to.................... well, I think you know.

In the end, people, and helping them, are far more important than making a point about a wax! Then again, maybe that's just me.

Good luck with your quest!

[BretFraz]

I don't want to take this topic down a too personal path, but I'll say that each of us has our reasons for being involved in this hobby. Am I trying to "quantify an aesthetic"? I hadn't thought about it like that but, yeah, I guess I am. No different in many ways than a food critic or music critic. There is a difference between good food and bad food, and good music and bad music. The more you know about each the better you are at determining the difference.

To address Boss's comment, the primary reason I involve myself with online detailing forums is to help people, but obviously its not the only reason. I want to get from my involvement as much as I put in. I already know how to make a car look good. So the payoff now is to learn what caused that to happen.

I reached an emotional fulfillment level with car care many years ago. I'm not a deeply emotional person so I guess that didn't take much. So where is the next level for me and who can help me reach it? That's what I'm trying to find out now.

We all have our passions. Look at the folks involved with PETA or Greenpeace or ASPCA or Amnesty Int'l. I know car wax pales in some ways to the goals of those organizations but for some of us the passion is the same. Barry Meguiar talks constantly of passion. Car care products is one of mine. That's why I'm here.

[Boss_429]

I agree........... nuff said!