Uneven beading with NXT

[emaxxman]

I have a quick question: I seem to get very nice, tight, even beading on all vertical surfaces and as well as my hood. However, the roof and trunk lid have very irregular beading. There are beads that are very round and then there are some that are just huge, spills of water.

I have a 98 Accord which was polished and sealed with NXT at the beginning of July. It got two coats of NXT applied with a PC at that point. It got 2 more coats of NXT at the beginning of August. The paint feels pretty slick too still.

Also, the paint on all surfaces is in the same, fairly good condition. I'm wondering if it's the angle at which the car is parked at. My car is parked pointed slightly downward towards the front of the car.

Any idea why I get such weird beading? Is it because the roof and trunk aren't getting an adequate layer? My concern is that the uneven beading is a sign of inadequate coverage and therefore protection.

[Tim Larson]

Re: Uneven beading with NXT

Let's talk about water beading. Water beading is not an indicator of a quality wax, nor does water beading indicate wax protection. Water will actually bead on paint without any wax at all; this is due to the high surface tension water has with paint. Surface tension is what actually causes water to bead up on the surface. Our waxes, especially Gold Class, are not designed to be a high beading wax which in turn reduces water spotting. A "high-beading" wax might actually do more harm to the paint then good. If water is left in beads, and diluted forms of nitric and sulfuric acid (from acid rain), or calcium deposits are in the water bead, the drop of water can be magnified by the sun. This may cause the water to dry faster then normal, and the very apparent water spots that are left behind can cause severe damage if not taken care of immediately. Please be aware that Gold Class is providing protection even if water is not beading on the surface. If protection is a big factor for you, you may want to use NXT Generation Tech Wax. This Meguiar's product offers the best protection in our extensive line of products. Keep in mind that even though this is our best protecting product, it may not always bead to your expectations.

[Slats]

Re: Uneven beading with NXT

Not to argue with an expert or anything, but in my experience water should always bead on the surface. The purpose of wax is to protect the paint and fill in minor scratches in the clearcoat. If the wax is doing this then you have high surface tension, the paint will feel smooth, and the water will bead. However, this is a win/lose scenario, because while your paint is protected, like Tim said, the beading is bad for the paint.

Slats

[Ivan Rajic]

Re: Uneven beading with NXT

Let's talk about water beading. Water beading is not an indicator of a quality wax, nor does water beading indicate wax protection. Water will actually bead on paint without any wax at all; this is due to the high surface tension water has with paint. Surface tension is what actually causes water to bead up on the surface. Our waxes, especially Gold Class, are not designed to be a high beading wax which in turn reduces water spotting. A "high-beading" wax might actually do more harm to the paint then good. If water is left in beads, and diluted forms of nitric and sulfuric acid (from acid rain), or calcium deposits are in the water bead, the drop of water can be magnified by the sun. This may cause the water to dry faster then normal, and the very apparent water spots that are left behind can cause severe damage if not taken care of immediately. Please be aware that Gold Class is providing protection even if water is not beading on the surface. If protection is a big factor for you, you may want to use NXT Generation Tech Wax. This Meguiar's product offers the best protection in our extensive line of products. Keep in mind that even though this is our best protecting product, it may not always bead to your expectations.

when you say "line of products" are you referring to only waxes like #26, etc... or sealants also? the reason i'm asking is because i thought #21 would have better protection than nxt wax...

[Murr1525]

Re: Uneven beading with NXT

Nxt wax, #21, and #20 are all synthetic products, with Nxt being the 'official' longest lasting one.

Meguiars uses the terms sealant and wax a little interchangeably.

[sneek]

Re: Uneven beading with NXT

Did you look at the beading before or after you drive it? or was this when you washed the car?

[RamAirV1]

Re: Uneven beading with NXT

I judge the presence of wax/sealant by how quickly water rolls off the surface of the paint when it is rinsed with a flow of water after washing. If it rolls off quickly the coating is still in place. If the water just sits there the coating is gone. BTW, rinsing in this manner leaves very few beads. IMHO beading is not desirable for the very reasons that Tim mentioned.

It is not reasonable to expect beading for any LSP to be uniform. What if one area of the car has more dirt on it? Would that not affect beading?

RamAirV1

[Scottwax]

Re: Uneven beading with NXT

Could be a few things not directly related to NXT. When parked in the rain, are the roof and trunk lid under a tree? All the gunk washed down from a tree onto paint can alter beading.

It could also be what I dealt with when I had my Accord. Larger beads on the roof and trunk lid were a precursor to clearcoat failure. It began about 18 months or so on the roof before I could clearly see the clear actually begin to deteriorate and on the trunk lid about a year before I noticed light checking (cracking) in the surface of the paint-although the clear hadn't begun to actually show obvious signs of failure.