Cleaners in Gold Class/NXT waxes/sealants?

[Mary S]

I have heard the references on this site about mild cleaners in Gold Class wax and NXT sealant. My understanding of a cleaner is an abrasive that will level paint to remove below-surface defects. I have also heard references to "chemical cleaners," which maybe will remove an on-surface defect like a stain of some kind?

I wonder if a Meguiar's rep could please clarify, because I can't find any evidence of this on the bottle labels and I can't feel any abrasives in the product.

If they do have cleaners, are they strong enough to remove a layer of wax/sealant beneath them so that they can't be layered?

Are there chemical cleaners only in them, and if so, can you explain what a chemical cleaner is and will it remove existing wax/sealant?

If they are abrasive, what would be the purpose of putting them in these products, since you don't rub them in enough for them to do anything?

Also, do the other similar products like M26 or M21 have similar cleaners?

I'd appreciate clearing up my confusion on this subject. Two layers of both of these products seem to be the recommendation, and also one might want to layer a wax over a sealant, so I need to know so I can use the products accordingly.

[mb911]

Re: Cleaners in Gold Class/NXT waxes/sealants?

I cannot give you an official word.

However, this is the feeling I get from my time on the forums and asking similar questions.

NXT and Gold Class have very mild cleaners. Yes, those mild cleaners/polishes could potentially remove a layer of wax below them. Gold Class and NXT I believe also have some fillers, particularly Gold Class, natural polishing oils.

#26, The Hi Tech Yellow wax is considered a pure wax, and they stress it is for paint that is already prepped, that is further evidence that is strictly wax.

Therefore, in theory, #26 over say NXT would be the best bet if you want to layer amongst these products.

Meguiar's never recommends themselves layering of different waxes, but they know we experiment.

Finally, the 2 thin coats are recommended to get a consistent coverage, as it's easy to miss a spot here or there.

[Mary S]

Re: Cleaners in Gold Class/NXT waxes/sealants?

I cannot give you an official word.

However, this is the feeling I get from my time on the forums and asking similar questions.

NXT and Gold Class have very mild cleaners. Yes, those mild cleaners/polishes could potentially remove a layer of wax below them. Gold Class and NXT I believe also have some fillers, particularly Gold Class, natural polishing oils.

#26, The Hi Tech Yellow wax is considered a pure wax, and they stress it is for paint that is already prepped, that is further evidence that is strictly wax.

Therefore, in theory, #26 over say NXT would be the best bet if you want to layer amongst these products.

Meguiar's never recommends themselves layering of different waxes, but they know we experiment.

Finally, the 2 thin coats are recommended to get a consistent coverage, as it's easy to miss a spot here or there.

Thanks, I have heard the same thing about mild cleaners. I guess if they have any cleaning effect, if abrasive, they could not be effective cleaners if applying it by hand, which is what I do, but only with a machine, because by hand there is no rubbing.

What bothers me is, nothing on the label, except the part about polishes. If these are really cleaner/filler/polisher/protectors, I would think someone buying it should know that and not have to read this forum to find out.

[akimel]

Re: Cleaners in Gold Class/NXT waxes/sealants?

Like mb911, I cannot give an official word either; but based on what I have read over the past two years, my understanding is that NXT and Gold Class both have very mild cleaners. Their purpose is promote the adherence of the wax/protectant to the paint surface. It's important to remember that these two waxes belong to the consumer line, whose primary purchasers do not and will no do anything extra to prepare the paint surface--hence the importance of including some small measure of cleansing agent within the wax formula. The cleansing power of NXT and GC is minimal and modest, even when compared to a cleaner wax. Is it strong enough to remove a previously applied layer of wax? Not necessarily. Remember: many folks like to apply #7 to the surface before applying NXT, e.g., and they believe they can see a difference in the final appearance. If NXT is not strong enough to remove an oil-based glaze, it's not strong enough to remove a recently applied layer of wax--at least that's the inference that I draw. On the other hand, I do not know of any experimental data to support any claims, one way or the other.

Bottomline: Don't worry about it. It really doesn't matter. Apply two coats to effect full converage and re-apply whenever you want a fresh coat of wax. We all get sucked into the myth of layering, as if we measurably increase the amount and depth of wax coverage each time we apply a new coat of wax. If this were true, then someone with 15 coats of M26 would have a measurably thicker protective layer than those with only 2 coats; but in fact the little experimental data that we have does not support this view. For one thing, we simply do not know how the solvents of even a "pure wax" affect pre-existing wax coverage. It may well be that every fresh application of wax removes a little bit of wax.

Morever, even if layering is possible, it's by no means clear that this is a good thing. How does multiple coats of a protectant affect the visual clarity and gloss of the paint? Is the appearance enhanced or diminished? Who really knows?

As Mike Phillip's likes to say, find a wax you like and use it often.

[Mary S]

Re: Cleaners in Gold Class/NXT waxes/sealants?

It sounds like these light cleaners might be chemical cleaners. And the petroleum solvents that all waxes and sealants contain might have some cleaning capability too.

I am not sure where I had heard of the concept of applying a sealant for durability and topping with a carnauba wax for looks. I had thought it was here.

There are other vendors who sell sealants and waxes that are formulated specifically to be layered over those sealants, example being Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection (sealant) and Blackfire Midnight Sun Ivory Carnauba Paste Wax, and the combination of 1 coat of sealant and 2 coats of wax (all separated by 8 hours of curing) creates what they call their "Ice over Fire."

I do have Gold Class wax and NXT 2.0, and I will only use them if I don't plan to layer. If I want to layer, I have #21 and #26. On my white car, though, it probably isn't necessary. I will just pick one.

Thanks