The "Best" Waxes and Sealants

[Eddie6th]

Re: The "Best" Waxes and Sealants

I think Gucci products are cheaper in North America than they are in their home country, Italy!!

That would be true!

There are only three things cheap here.

Alcohol
Cigarettes
Most types of food(Fruit and veg is becoming expensive)


Things were cheap here untill they changed to the euro.

[irf@n]

Re: The "Best" Waxes and Sealants

My new favourite is FK1000P high temp sealant

[Justin A]

Re: The "Best" Waxes and Sealants

Yeah i'm not very keen on country or color specific wax.

But you're actually the person that has me interested in Glasur, quite simply because I think you're giving an honest opinion about it.

I've also read other people who's used Glasur and they compare it to Swissvax, supernatural, etc. and had great results.

That's why for about $100, it's either souveran or glasur.

But I'm going to go with Souveran for now. Glasur will be next on my list.

I need to have more "boutique" products because I'm going to be aiming for higher end details from people who want the best stuff possible. Even if it's only marginally better than something like M26 or what not, when they're going to be paying me $500 or more I want to make sure they're happy if you catch my drift.

As I start aiming for higher end customers, I'm going to start going with the country/brand-specific waxes from Zymol. I know that it doesn't make much of a difference (if at all)*, but the customer will likely buy into it. Think like that guy that gets 5000 GBP for his details over in england.

Souveran was the wax that piqued my interest in the expensiveish Boutique waxes, but it was recommended to me (by Al) to wait for it to go on BOGO at AutoGeek before trying it...so I'm waiting.

* I used to have a Saab that I bought new in 2004. The dealership I bought from threw in the official saab car care kit with the purchase ($300 value IIRC), and it included Carnauba Cream Wax for Saab. The car always looked GREAT with that wax. I retired that wax when I started using Meguiars products. A few weeks ago when I decided to indulge my interest in non-Meguiars waxes, I tried the Saab wax out on my 300C. It looked alright, but nothing really special, certainly not like the Saab always looked when using it. I looked closer at the bottle, and guess what? It's a liquid version of Zymol's Saab wax.
I know that correlation doesn't equal causation, and it could be that it was a 5 year old bottle of wax, but it made me at least consider the possibility that waxes formulated for specific paints could possibly make a difference.

[akimel]

Re: The "Best" Waxes and Sealants

Al, I assume you have tried Souveran. Is it really all it's hyped up to be?

Hi. My apologies for the delay in responding. I've been away for two days.

I have developed a real fondness for Souveran on my black car. I don't know if it's my imagination or not, but I think (I emphasize, I "think") that I saw a deeper wetness with Souveran than with either Wolfgang Fuzion or Swissvax Best of Show. I think. Souveran is a pleasure to apply and remove (but so is Fuzion). Durability is reputedly pretty poor, but I have not tested that--I usually apply a fresh coat of wax every month.

But I personally would not buy Souveran at full retail. AutoGeek puts it on BOGO once or twice a year. The fact that they can offer such a drastically reduced sale price tells me that the wax is significantly over-priced. Of course, if you need to try it NOW and can't wait a second longer (and I understand that feeling) ... well, a man has to do what a man has to do.

So far, my favorite carnauba waxes are:

1) Souveran
2) Fuzion
3) Harly Wax
4) Best of Show

But I need to give Best of Show a couple more opportunities to impress. I suspect that I may have applied too much on the second coat ... or maybe I didn't allow it to dry sufficiently ... or perhaps it was a full moon ... or something. But since I'm one of the few who has not been absolutely thrilled by it, I have to assume that the problem lies with me.

Coming up later this summer: Blackfriar Midnight Sun. I'm looking forward to this. It was formulated by the same guy who formulated Souveran. Todd Helme really likes it. Todd has a good eye for waxes, and I trust his judgment. Perhaps also coming up this summer (maybe)--P21S 100%.

At this point in my ongoing testing, I have to say that I find the differences between waxes, at least as far as appearance, to be marginal. At best we are talking about subtle nuances; at worst we are talking about folks (including myself) seeing things that just ain't there (objectively). But the quest continues ...

Cheers,
Al

[Justin A]

Re: The "Best" Waxes and Sealants

Hi. My apologies for the delay in responding. I've been away for two days.

I have developed a real fondness for Souveran on my black car. I don't know if it's my imagination or not, but I think (I emphasize, I "think") that I saw a deeper wetness with Souveran than with either Wolfgang Fuzion or Swissvax Best of Show. I think. Souveran is a pleasure to apply and remove (but so is Fuzion). Durability is reputedly pretty poor, but I have not tested that--I usually apply a fresh coat of wax every month.

But I personally would not buy Souveran at full retail. AutoGeek puts it on BOGO once or twice a year. The fact that they can offer such a drastically reduced sale price tells me that the wax is significantly over-priced. Of course, if you need to try it NOW and can't wait a second longer (and I understand that feeling) ... well, a man has to do what a man has to do.

So far, my favorite carnauba waxes are:

1) Souveran
2) Fuzion
3) Harly Wax
4) Best of Show

But I need to give Best of Show a couple more opportunities to impress. I suspect that I may have applied too much on the second coat ... or maybe I didn't allow it to dry sufficiently ... or perhaps it was a full moon ... or something. But since I'm one of the few who has not been absolutely thrilled by it, I have to assume that the problem lies with me.

Coming up later this summer: Blackfriar Midnight Sun. I'm looking forward to this. It was formulated by the same guy who formulated Souveran. Todd Helme really likes it. Todd has a good eye for waxes, and I trust his judgment. Perhaps also coming up this summer (maybe)--P21S 100%.

At this point in my ongoing testing, I have to say that I find the differences between waxes, at least as far as appearance, to be marginal. At best we are talking about subtle nuances; at worst we are talking about folks (including myself) seeing things that just ain't there (objectively). But the quest continues ...

Cheers,
Al

I'm thoroughly looking forward to your thoughts on Midnight Sun, I have my eye on that one as well - I'll let you try it first!

[Caress Detailing]

Re: The "Best" Waxes and Sealants

Hmm, I might just wait for the BOGO then. @$50 a can, it makes it less painful.

[Caress Detailing]

Re: The "Best" Waxes and Sealants

Wait, I must have not been looking thoroughly enough on Autogeek's website, but there's a Liqiuid Souveran.

What's the difference?

Judging from the description it says it only "Mimics the look" of the paste Souveran.

But it's $55 less than the paste version.

Talk about confusing the consumer.

Edit:

Ahh, it also says it has polymers. So this is definitely different than the paste version.

[EPHIOS]

Re: The "Best" Waxes and Sealants

For, $10-$15 range, Mothers SynWax is pretty darn good. EASE OF USE is top notch on this product. Shine and gloss equals Meguiar's Tech Wax. Truthfully, it's easier to use than Tech Wax. But I have recently bought the second version, Tech Wax 2.0. I am going to find out which is better now.

[Caress Detailing]

Re: The "Best" Waxes and Sealants

For, $10-$15 range, Mothers SynWax is pretty darn good. EASE OF USE is top notch on this product. Shine and gloss equals Meguiar's Tech Wax. Truthfully, it's easier to use than Tech Wax. But I have recently bought the second version, Tech Wax 2.0. I am going to find out which is better now.

I've heard nothing but good things about Mother's products. I also used a lot of the metal polish before I switched to Meguiar's MAG & Aluminum polish.

I've also heard the FX Spray Wax is on par or better than duragloss aquawax.

Overall, a good OTC brand. If I wasn't suggesting a meguiar's products, Mother's would be the next step.

[blackmachdown]

Re: The "Best" Waxes and Sealants

I'm thoroughly looking forward to your thoughts on Midnight Sun, I have my eye on that one as well - I'll let you try it first!

I wasn't a fan of midnight sun at all, infact i ended up trading for cg5050 which imo is tons better. As subjective as wax can be who knows! make sure you post the pics!

on edit: I really like the blackfire wet diamond that's good stuff

[Justin A]

Re: The "Best" Waxes and Sealants

I've heard nothing but good things about Mother's products. I also used a lot of the metal polish before I switched to Meguiar's MAG & Aluminum polish.

I've also heard the FX Spray Wax is on par or better than duragloss aquawax.

Overall, a good OTC brand. If I wasn't suggesting a meguiar's products, Mother's would be the next step.

I love the Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish. I like that its a cream rather than a solid, it makes it easier to use for what I use it for. I was a professional Chef before I went back to school, and after sharpening my fancy Japanese knives on an 8000 grit whetstone, I would dry the stone, take some construction paper and wrap the stone in it, and put a bit of the polish on the paper and refine the edge yet again. My knives have NEVER been as sharp as they were when I was using that method...
Now I can't find the Mother's Mag & Al polish around here anymore.

[k3ith]

Re: The "Best" Waxes and Sealants

Good thread and great original post.. so... does the higher pricing indicate higher quality in most cases?

[eeprete]

Re: The "Best" Waxes and Sealants

good post.

[RGP]

Re: The "Best" Waxes and Sealants

Good thread and great original post.. so... does the higher pricing indicate higher quality in most cases?

No such luck finding a linear relationship between cost and efficacy. I think in most cases the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility or Conspicuous Consumption takes over fairly quickly.

[k3ith]

Re: The "Best" Waxes and Sealants

No such luck finding a linear relationship between cost and efficacy. I think in most cases the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility or Conspicuous Consumption takes over fairly quickly.

Haha.. your most likely right. Conspicuous Consumption has certainly contributed to conditioning us to automatically think something is better because it cost more. That being said, I think the biggest contributing factor is simply good brand positioning through marketing. So if Pinnacle Sovereign cost more than Megs Yellow simply because the marketing dept raised it's cost to position it as quality... well no one wants to pay for that.

However, sometimes higher cost does = better quality due to other factors such as the quality of raw materials or the delivery system of the core materials. For example, a top quality carnauba with a delivery system that enables it to apply easier, cure faster, layer easier, etc.

I am a Megs user and am happy with the results. I am not looking to change at all. However, my inquires in this post (and others I have made recently) is simply to determine which Meg's product match up best with some of the other popular (non retail) brands like were mentioned in the original post. Again, the original post here was awesome info. It brought to light the cost effectiveness of Megs as well... so I had to ask the question. After all, I am an America thus a victim to the best marketing minds the word has ever seen.