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Now that my tire dressing test is about done, I'm moving on to a long-term evaluation of waxes/sealants. I'm a big fan of NXT 2.0 Liquid Wax, primarily because of its ease of application and removal. I wax my car often enough that durability isn't really a factor for me - I average 3-4 weeks between waxes, and use UW&W and D156 religiously in between waxing. That said, I'm doing the occasional detail for friends and family, and they tend to go several months between wax applications, so I've been looking for a product that has excellent longevity. I've heard lots of good things about Collinite 845 having fantastic durability, so I wanted to give that a try. To round out the product eval, I posted a poll a couple of days ago asking interested MOL members to vote for a third sealant to test from what I had on hand. Ultimate Liquid Wax won by a large margin.
My plan for this evaluation was to divide my trunk lids into thirds and apply two coats of each product. My car has less than 3,000 miles on it and has been maintained quite well since I bought it, so the paint is in good shape. I started by washing the car with Hyper Wash, then giving the trunk lid a good wipedown with APC+, followed by Body Solvent. The trunk lid was clayed and polished with Ultimate Polish a couple of months ago, but I clayed it again anyway to ensure a clean surface.
With the surface prep complete, I used some Meg's masking tape to roughly divide the trunk lid into three sections. I then applied the first coat of each product by hand, using a separate foam applicator (Red LC CCS) for each product to avoid cross-contamination. For the ULW, I removed the excess sealant after about five minutes, and experienced no streaking (it would seem that I'm better at applying ULW by hand than with the G110). I allowed both the NXT and 845 to dry for about an hour before removal. I used Supreme Shine MF towels to remove the excess for all three products.
After roughly seven hours of cure time, I gave the trunk a quick wipe with M135 to remove accumulated dust (my car is outside 24/7), then applied a second coat of each product, again using separate applicators for each. As before, the ULW was removed after five minutes, again with no streaking, while the NXT and 845 were allowed to dry for an hour before buffing.
A couple of notes on application: ULW was the easiest product to apply - it really does go on like butter. The 845 was a whole different experience. It's a very watery product, and a little goes a long way. If you thought ULW needed to be applied thin, think again! I dabbed my applicator with three tiny drops of 845 (each perhaps 5mm wide), and still ended up with a very thick coat that was a bit difficult to remove. I could easily have used that small amount to cover the entire trunk lid, and then some. The nice thing about 845 is that it's very easy to tell where you have and haven't applied it, even on a gray car like mine.
Also, for those of you who saw my original thread about this test, you're probably wondering why I used NXT when I said that I was going to use M21. I completely forgot until I started typing up this post. Oh, well. M21 and NXT are supposed to be pretty much identical, so no big deal.
As for how this test will proceed: I'll be washing my car as usual (every 5-7 days). I want to avoid using any products that would boost or otherwise affect the longevity of the three waxes, so I'll be washing with Hyper Wash, and I'll be forgoing the usual post-wash D156 wipe down, at least for the trunk. I'll periodically take pictures of the trunk, to include water beading shots, and post those in this thread. I'll keep this up for as long as needed. Here's the thing, though - even after APC+ and BS, the trunk was still beading water. I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to know when the waxes are disappearing. I guess I'll play that one by ear.
Anyway, here are a few pictures from the start of the project. I don't have an SLR, nor am I much of a photographer, so I apologize in advance for the photos not being that great. It was quite difficult to see a the tape lines after I wiped off the excess product, let alone get the camera to pick them up. As you'll see, though, all three products look great.
I didn't get any shots of the trunk after wiping off the excess from the second coat, as it was dark by that point. I doubt that it would have looked significantly different.
My plan for this evaluation was to divide my trunk lids into thirds and apply two coats of each product. My car has less than 3,000 miles on it and has been maintained quite well since I bought it, so the paint is in good shape. I started by washing the car with Hyper Wash, then giving the trunk lid a good wipedown with APC+, followed by Body Solvent. The trunk lid was clayed and polished with Ultimate Polish a couple of months ago, but I clayed it again anyway to ensure a clean surface.
With the surface prep complete, I used some Meg's masking tape to roughly divide the trunk lid into three sections. I then applied the first coat of each product by hand, using a separate foam applicator (Red LC CCS) for each product to avoid cross-contamination. For the ULW, I removed the excess sealant after about five minutes, and experienced no streaking (it would seem that I'm better at applying ULW by hand than with the G110). I allowed both the NXT and 845 to dry for about an hour before removal. I used Supreme Shine MF towels to remove the excess for all three products.
After roughly seven hours of cure time, I gave the trunk a quick wipe with M135 to remove accumulated dust (my car is outside 24/7), then applied a second coat of each product, again using separate applicators for each. As before, the ULW was removed after five minutes, again with no streaking, while the NXT and 845 were allowed to dry for an hour before buffing.
A couple of notes on application: ULW was the easiest product to apply - it really does go on like butter. The 845 was a whole different experience. It's a very watery product, and a little goes a long way. If you thought ULW needed to be applied thin, think again! I dabbed my applicator with three tiny drops of 845 (each perhaps 5mm wide), and still ended up with a very thick coat that was a bit difficult to remove. I could easily have used that small amount to cover the entire trunk lid, and then some. The nice thing about 845 is that it's very easy to tell where you have and haven't applied it, even on a gray car like mine.
Also, for those of you who saw my original thread about this test, you're probably wondering why I used NXT when I said that I was going to use M21. I completely forgot until I started typing up this post. Oh, well. M21 and NXT are supposed to be pretty much identical, so no big deal.
As for how this test will proceed: I'll be washing my car as usual (every 5-7 days). I want to avoid using any products that would boost or otherwise affect the longevity of the three waxes, so I'll be washing with Hyper Wash, and I'll be forgoing the usual post-wash D156 wipe down, at least for the trunk. I'll periodically take pictures of the trunk, to include water beading shots, and post those in this thread. I'll keep this up for as long as needed. Here's the thing, though - even after APC+ and BS, the trunk was still beading water. I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to know when the waxes are disappearing. I guess I'll play that one by ear.
Anyway, here are a few pictures from the start of the project. I don't have an SLR, nor am I much of a photographer, so I apologize in advance for the photos not being that great. It was quite difficult to see a the tape lines after I wiped off the excess product, let alone get the camera to pick them up. As you'll see, though, all three products look great.
I didn't get any shots of the trunk after wiping off the excess from the second coat, as it was dark by that point. I doubt that it would have looked significantly different.
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