Which waxes and sealants are most durable?

[akimel]

Everyone talks about wax/sealant durability, but given all the variables it seems to be very difficult to objectively and reliably measure and even more difficult to make final judgments about any specific product. Anecdotal testimony is purely that--anecdotal. One person claims that wax X failed after only four weeks; another person claims that it survived for twelve weeks under harsh conditions; etc, etc. And how do we even know when any given wax/sealant has stopped protecting? Just because beading has changed doesn't necessarily mean that the protective sealant has disappeared.

And how important is durability, anyway? Putting aside the winter season, which prevents many from attending to the vehicles as they would like, do we really want to go more than two or three months without waxing? Just because a wax is still protecting doesn't mean that it has not been corrupted by dirt, pollution, contamination, and UV radiation. At least for me personally, I want my Luthien to look her best, and I'm not going to wait for six months to go by before I clean the surface and apply a fresh coat of wax.

But the question "Which wax/sealant is most durable?" remains. So one detailer in Great Britain decided to put a number of waxes and sealants to the test. Many of you have been following his two tests, but perhaps some of you have not, and since the tests have now come to conclusion and the final results published, I thought you might find them of interest:

Biggest Wax Test Ever

Biggest Sealant Test Ever

Enjoy!

Cheers,
Al

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Which waxes and sealants are most durable?

Because these two test are divided into the two categories most people divide waxes into, this looks like a good place to post the below link to a thread that touches on the differences...

Is it a wax? Or a paint sealant?

Looks like they included both NXT Tech Wax Liquid and Paste in the "Wax" category. Both NXT Tech Wax Liquid and Paste are all synthetic products, Meguiar's uses the word "Wax" on the label because in the retail world, that is the non-cyber world, more people understand what a product is when it has the word "Wax" on the label as compared to the word "Sealant" on the label. In fact the confusion over the terms wax and sealant by online enthusiasts on most all the detailing forums is exactly the purpose behind writing the above article, "Is it a wax or a paint sealant?"


For what it's worth, when the acronym LSP was coined the original meaning was Last Step Product, not Last Step Protectant.

It's the last product you apply and wipe off the paint before you stand back and say "It is finished". While a lot of people only work on cured paint, some people work on both cured and uncured paint and with uncured paint you can't apply a wax or paint sealant, so when you're finished buffing out the paint the last thing you may apply is a fresh-paint-safe-glaze like M07 Show Car Glaze or 3M's Imperial Hand Glaze, both of which are commonly used for an LSP before giving the customer back his or her car with a brand new paint job.

Also, LSP doesn't mean a finishing wax or paint sealant; if a detailer uses a one-step cleaner/wax on a customer's car their LSP was the cleaner/wax whatever it may be.

[RaskyR1]

Re: Which waxes and sealants are most durable?

WOW! A lot of time and effort went into that. Interstingly the Liquid NXT failed before the paste.

[RaskyR1]

Re: Which waxes and sealants are most durable?

Durability is really the last factory I look at when choosing a wax, at least for my own personal car that is.

Regular maintenance will always win over durability!