Good Wax Job???

[FX4619]

Hey peeps,

I washed, clayed, polished, and waxed with NXT 2.0 for the first time using a DA. Do you think this is a good wax job as far as water beading? The NXT looks really nice on the tuxedo black paint. I heard that UW does a better job beading and lasts longer. What do you guys think......

[poorpilot]

This is a good question because i used uw and it doesnt seem to bead like hi-tech or gold class does.

[ChevyNick]

I think NXT and UW both bead very well. I might be crazy but I feel that a vast majority of beading comes from all the steps prior to waxing. Claying, compounding, and polishing to get the paint smooth as glass and rich in oils is, in my opinion, a big factor in water beading up.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Good Wax Job???

We don't think anyone would really complain about what you're getting on the F150, that's for sure.

But really, beading isn't the big thing here. Oh, sure, it looks cool when you get a nice even distribution of really tight water beads, but beading is really nothing more than an indication of surface tension. It's no proof that one product is protecting more than another, or will last longer than another. In fact, if you did a nice application of M07 Show Car Glaze (which has zero protection and won't last very long at all if left as the top coat) and then sprayed water on it from the hose, it would bead the water like crazy. At least at first. Wash the car a couple of times and it's all gone, then the water will just lay in a big ol' sheet on the hood (assuming you had nothing but M07 on the paint). As the M07 washed away the surface tension changed, which is why the water behaves differently.

But some products will still remain on the surface, still protecting, even if the surface tension has changed. This is why beading alone is not a guarantee of protection - you can have beading and zero protection, or no beading and plenty of protection.

So, is this a good wax job? Well, if you're happy with the way the finish looks, and you applied the wax in a nice uniform, thin layer, then yep, it's a nice wax job.

Sure, Ultimate Wax is our longest lasting, best protecting wax (which used to be NXT 2.0's claim in our lineup) but it's almost impossible to tell you how much longer UW will last compared to NXT due to all the variables possible. And if you're waxing your car every three months or so, and maintaining it properly between washes (which is huge, by the way, when it comes to maintaining protection) then overall lifespan of a wax isn't really all that critical; you're waxing often enough that you never completely lose what was applied previously.

[FX4619]

Re: Good Wax Job???

Yeah I detailed the paint about 4 days ago, so of course it would bead like this right? lol. The real test is will it look the same 3 months from now. I hope so because my wife would kill me if I spent 6-8 hours every 3 months on my truck I plan on using the 2 bucket method while washing and then following up with some UQW. This will be the first time using the UQW, we'll see how it holds up. However I plan on doing a full paint detail every 6 months at least.

Thanks for the reply's guys!

[zbestwun2001]

Re: Good Wax Job???

When it rains here in L.A., my car is park just below my window which makes it easy to see.. I get the best patterns on my hood from the beads. Lines and circles that are sort of symmetrical. Big beads, little and medium size ones. Short ones, fat ones, itsy------SORRY, I got sidetracked.
Because I have a Metallic Gold paint job, I was told NXT would be the best for it. I'm pleased with it... but thinking of trying UW, (what you think). No? NXT brings out the lighter colors better?

[FX4619]

When it rains here in L.A., my car is park just below my window which makes it easy to see.. I get the best patterns on my hood from the beads. Lines and circles that are sort of symmetrical. Big beads, little and medium size ones. Short ones, fat ones, itsy------SORRY, I got sidetracked.
Because I have a Metallic Gold paint job, I was told NXT would be the best for it. I'm pleased with it... but thinking of trying UW, (what you think). No? NXT brings out the lighter colors better?

I am very pleased with NXT 2.0 on my black metallic paint. I have heard that the UW looks better on darker vehicles. However NXT has been around for a long time and has been proven to be a good sealant. I'd say go for it!

[zbestwun2001]

Re: Good Wax Job???

Raining good in L.A. today, just waxed the windshield last night... Beads seem to go outward toward each side of the hood from the windshield forward.

[ffboy]

Re: Good Wax Job???

I find the NXT 2.0 looks good on dark paint, for me the beading isn't super tight (on my cars at least). It does sheet water nicely though, but then water beading isn't everything... Even the collinites lose its water beading sooner than expected. It sheets water after a while, but the shine is still there.. Beading is nice, I like it. What i did notice with the way NXT 2.0 beads is that while the beads aren't that tight, there seems to be a certain "laziness" in the way the water sits or falls from the horizontal panels on my car.. I experienced this last year while on one particularly rainy day. It was sort of flooding and beading, and the water just seems to fall off the panels.