Product Consistency question

[Clutch34]

What's the consistency of liquid products suppose to be? Are they different depending on if it's a cleaner, polish, cleaner/wax, wax, etc?

I have some SwirlX that's really thick when poured out of the bottle but I have GC wax, ColorX, and NXT wax that are all a little thicker then water. SwirlX doesn't make much noise when shaking the bottle but the other products make almost a water-like "squish-squish" noise when shaking.

Is there something wrong with any of the products, or is everything good to go? I plan on wash, clay, cleaner/wax this Friday.

Thanks.

[Murr1525]

Re: Product Consistency question

Sounds pretty reasonable.

[zaidgreat]

Re: Product Consistency question

Most should have a thicker consistency compared to water...
Most requires to be shaken thoroughly to ensure proper mix...

[Clutch34]

Re: Product Consistency question

Yea, I shook all the bottles for almost a minute or two each and that's what I came up with when I poured a little out. I just wanted to check cuz I've read that some products "go bad" when left in the garage for too long under extreme heat (some of the products did go thru some high heat days in the garage..).

[searle]

Re: Product Consistency question

... I just wanted to check cuz I've read that some products "go bad" when left in the garage for too long under extreme heat (some of the products did go thru some high heat days in the garage..)...

Or extreme cold. I have had some go bad, they go all chunky and no amount of shaking mixes them up smooth again.

[Clutch34]

Re: Product Consistency question

Our "cold" isn't all that cold compared to some of yall up north, but I have moved all my products indoors. I think I'll keep them there for good from now on.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Product Consistency question

Most of the liquid paint cleaners, polishes and waxes should have a viscosity similar to that of a hand lotion - some a little thinner, some a little thicker. SwirlX and D151 are two that are definitely on the thick side, and most of the waxes and sealants (NXT, M26, DC Carnauba, etc) tend to be a little bit on the thinner side. None should ever be so thin and watery that they simply run out of the little flip top pour spout on the bottle, but you can hear them sloshing around when shaking the bottle.

If a product is ever watery or lumpy, or it has a terrible odor to it, then it has gone bad. This is usually due to exposure to temperature extremes, but can also be due to age. Typically 3 to 5 years is the normal shelf life of Meguiar's products, but we've seen many that are still perfectly fine many years after that. Freezing is very bad for almost all of our liquid products, and prolonged exposure to high heat such as you might encounter by leaving a bottle in the trunk of your car all summer in some parts of the country.

[HCAD]

Re: Product Consistency question

I recently purchased a gallon of #205 that was surprisingly liquid. Poured out and ran down the side of the car almost like milk. Crazy thing is it still performs like my last bottle. ?? Since I've only had the two examples of #205, I'm not completely sure which is correct, but my lean is toward the first bottle which was quite a bit thicker.

[Clutch34]

Re: Product Consistency question

Thanks for the info Mr. Stoops, I'll have to re-check my bottles and see if they just pour out if I flip them upside down.

[Clutch34]

Re: Product Consistency question

None should ever be so thin and watery that they simply run out of the little flip top pour spout on the bottle, but you can hear them sloshing around when shaking the bottle.

Ok, so I checked all the bottles again and ColorX and GC wax pour out when flipped upside down. They don't gush out like water or anything, but its pretty consistant. NXT wax just drips out. SwirlX and A line cleaner/wax don't come out at all.

Are the pouring products ruined?

Mannnn... I only bought them a few months ago and just opened all of them last week!

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Product Consistency question

OK, there's a difference between thin and watery. Watery literally means that - a consistency equal to that of water. A thin hand lotion like consistency is fine, but it should be a uniform consistency. When a product goes watery it behaves just like water, except with a light whitish coloring to it. If it feels creamy and smooth, even though it's thin, it's fine.