The Great 9 Wax Shoot Out!

[Wolf-Strong]

Re: The Great 9 Wax Shoot Out!

IMO. you selected the wrong color car for demonstration red or black or even dark blue, would of made this test achievable..
Silver, or white just doesn't make test relevant...

If you are testing for looks, I completely agree. I did my test on a black car after polishing it out, and I can confirm what he is seeing though; the difference a wax makes in terms of 'looks' is just too small to really even consider arguing about.

It goes back to what has been mentioned on this board time and time again. The amount of wax being left behind is just so small, that it really has a limited ability in UV blockage, protection, hiding ability, and looks.

[Joe's detailing]

Re: The Great 9 Wax Shoot Out!

IMO. you selected the wrong color car for demonstration red or black or even dark blue, would of made this test achievable..
Silver, or white just doesn't make test relevant...

[SSMUFF]

Re: The Great 9 Wax Shoot Out!

Amazing write up! Looks like my next wax will be the 2.0.

[Mikejl]

Re: The Great 9 Wax Shoot Out!

3Fitty,

Great post! I can appreciate all the work you put into it. Since I'm a recently recruited MOL and Meguiar's junkie, I have to say I was rooting for NXT to come out on top.

Mike

[3Fitty]

Re: The Great 9 Wax Shoot Out!

In my limited side by side testing, it is not possible to compare two products for appearance using small sections as done in your test. You have to do much larger areas so you can stand back and walk around to catch various angles.

Bunky,

I would definitely agree that using a bigger area (50/50 hood) would have been MUCH better for judging the appearance. Having said that, if there is a signifigant difference between two products (ie: one looks terrible), I'm willing to bet you would see some small difference even over small spaces.

I will however use the donated products to do some 50/50 comparisons to NXT. I have a LOT of Collinite 845, Klasse SG and PB's EX-P so I would imagine you'll eventually see some 50/50's of these in the future.

[Bunky]

Re: The Great 9 Wax Shoot Out!

In my limited side by side testing, it is not possible to compare two products for appearance using small sections as done in your test. You have to do much larger areas so you can stand back and walk around to catch various angles.

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: The Great 9 Wax Shoot Out!

Thanks for taking the time and effort to do the test. It was really cool that some of our forum members donated the waxes for you. Thanks again for doing this. It just goes to show that "price does not equal performance".

[jpitt1987]

Re: The Great 9 Wax Shoot Out!

Thanks for all the hard work. I know I really appreciate it. It just goes to show that simply because a product costs more, doesn't mean that it is better.

Good job!

[3Fitty]

Re: The Great 9 Wax Shoot Out!

Here here!

Yup! We are not the only ones either. There are members on other boards realizing the same thing after actually putting them side by side that there really IS NOT a difference with the VERY small darkening effect some may give if you look at them from a certain angle in a certain light; big whoop! I have learned that the most important factor in buying a wax is:
1) cost
2) ease of application/removal
3) ability to protect the paint

In every single one of these trials, NXT 2.0 has shown to be the unwaivering champion. I am very interested in trying out the Klasse, Zaino, and Ultima products though. Honestly, I am not expecting any of them surpass NXT, though Ultima with its wipe on, walk away is very interesting and something I wanted to test.

Man... I remember reading your test and getting psyched to do one, but that was a lot of work. I took a pen and note pad (also supplied by Porscheguy997 - not joking either) and I was taking notes as I was doing this stuff. I wanted to make sure my info is reliable and honest.

I almost feel bad that the NXT 2.0 performed so well, because I look like such a homer, but if NXT bombed... I would've come here and said, sorry guys, but NXT blew it.

But picture this... NXT 2.0 is $14.99 for 18 ounces and 12 ounces of VWCR is $72.00. I cannot (at this point) think of one good reason to buy it over NXT. Thus far, it does NOTHING better but costs more than 6 times as much.

[Wolf-Strong]

Re: The Great 9 Wax Shoot Out!

APPEARANCE:

For the appearance part, I had to do the UNTHINKABLE. I invited my wife and FOUR neighbors to judge the waxes.

Mrs. 3Fitty

Joe & Linda (think car detailing is insanity - married couple in their 50's).

Steve & Joanne (other neighbors who think "I have too much time on my hands).

This is where it might get disappointing to yall (I think the pics will bare out what they said).

Not a single one of them thought they could see a difference between ANY of the products. Sorry folks, not one!

To me, it was close, but I thought there were two waxes that looked slightly better, making the paint "pop" just a bit more.

To me, I think PB's World's Natty Blue and NXT 2.0 were just a bit better, but this was NOT supported by anyone and I did NOT share my thoughts with them, as I did NOT want to influence opinions.

I think the pictures will prove the hood looks FANTASTIC. EVERY product was killer for looks. (Again, I'll try to get pics out tonight, but its 10pm and I'm running out of time).

In case anyone is interested all photo's were taken with a KONICA MINOLTA A200.

Therefore, my finding is that appearance is a 9 way draw.

Sorry I can't say this looks better than that, but I'm trying to be as fair as I can to all the products and 5 out of 5 people could see NO difference, therefore I call it a draw on looks.

I believe WolfStrong (member here) did a test like this and came to the same conclusion about looks.

Here here!

Yup! We are not the only ones either. There are members on other boards realizing the same thing after actually putting them side by side that there really IS NOT a difference with the VERY small darkening effect some may give if you look at them from a certain angle in a certain light; big whoop! I have learned that the most important factor in buying a wax is:
1) cost
2) ease of application/removal
3) ability to protect the paint

In every single one of these trials, NXT 2.0 has shown to be the unwaivering champion. I am very interested in trying out the Klasse, Zaino, and Ultima products though. Honestly, I am not expecting any of them surpass NXT, though Ultima with its wipe on, walk away is very interesting and something I wanted to test.

[3Fitty]

Re: The Great 9 Wax Shoot Out!

Sounds like a fun test. So far my fav sealants are NXT 2.0, DG 111 and Hi Temp Wax. I have not used anything with Carnauba in it yet.

There were a few items I really wanted to test, but I really didn't want to go out and buy stuff that *might* disappoint so I had to take whatever I could get, but I knew I didn't want any OTC stuff (other than NXT).

This is basically a test of boutique waxes against NXT 2.0.

I really wanted to get my hands on Collinite 845 because I heard so much about it that I was excited to try it. I also wanted to get my hands on some Klasse SG (again because of internet hype). I'm not a fan of PB's products, but I was psyched to get Natty's again, because of hype.

The real unknowns (at least for me) were the Victoria Concours Red (which I'd never heard of until it was sent to me) but upon further research, many swear by the stuff.

[3Fitty]

Re: The Great 9 Wax Shoot Out!

I would have to live so far away from this test!

Well, I did the bulk of my drinking when the test was completed!

[3Fitty]

Re: The Great 9 Wax Shoot Out!

All waxes got their own MF for removal.



Finally some finished shots. I will get out tomorrow (when I put on second coats) and take some more pics:

[3Fitty]

Re: The Great 9 Wax Shoot Out!

3M painter's tape (blue):



The lineup:



Here's a look at the products... you'll notice only the NXT 2.0 is in the proper packaging, the rest were donations. I'm sure those members will chime in the confirm sending me the goods.

I couldn't line everything up in this next pic on account of sliding.




All 9 waxes applied (thin coats). You can also see the dark started to creep in (although the picture makes it look much darker than it was).








Next... the results!

[3Fitty]

Re: The Great 9 Wax Shoot Out!

The beginning. Opening shots, car not to clean. Preparing the NXT Wash.



Closer inspection revealed gunk on hood.





Rinse.




All clean, now time to dry with Meguiar's Water Magnet.





Time to get ready for clay. My clay of choice is clay magic. As you can see, I used a brand new claybar alongside Meguiar's QD.






Clay bar after claying. As you can see, not a lot of gunk coming off, but I just wanted to ensure I did everything to remove any existing wax.



Meg's G110, brand new Meg's 8006 pad and some M80 followed the clay.





Ready to be taped and waxed.






More pics in next post.