Meguiar's #20/16 Re-visited!!!!

[Tim Lingor]

Hey everyone,

With all of the new products out there, I wanted to step back and revisit a couple of friends, Meguiarâ

[Mike Phillips]

Awesome write-up Tim, and awesome results!



I use the #20/#16 combination for customers for years with great results. It's a proven and popular combination that works well on any paint type.

Mike

[manueljlg]

Excellent results Tim!


I´m looking for a halogen light, where did you get yours?
Is it white or yellow light? How many watts does it have?

[Marc08EX]

Great results you achieved with #80! Great write-up too! So, you think that #20/#16 works better than NXT on lighter colored cars? I really want to get #16 after all the raves I've been reading.

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by Bri
Great results you achieved with #80! Great write-up too! So, you think that #20/#16 works better than NXT on lighter colored cars? I really want to get #16 after all the raves I've been reading.

I don't think Tim actually said it worked better, it's just a different approach. Meguiar's #20 Polymer Sealant is a popular paint sealant that lasts a long time and protects very well. It doesn't always create the deepest, richest looking results on dark colors and black paint. Products like #26 Hi-Tech Yellow Wax, Gold Class and NXT are better at bringing out the best results in a darker color.

Same goes for #16 Professional Paste Wax. Side by side on a black car, #26 Hi-Tech Yellow Wax, Gold Class and NXT Tech Wax will all add more richness, depth and clarity than the #16 Professional Paste Wax.

What #16 Professional Paste will do is add a lot of gloss. Lighter color paints don't offer depth of shine and the ability to reflect an image like a dark color or black paint will. Because you cannot bring these characteristics out of light colors like you can dark colors, you are left with going for gloss and shine. Gloss and shine come from a very smooth surface. If you look at Tim's pictures, you will see a very high gloss finish. That's because he smoothed out the paint with clay and then a cleaner polish. The #20 added protection and slickness and the #16 added extra gloss and shine.

It's just a different approach using different products. The #20 Polymer Sealant has been around since at least the 1980's, possibly the 1970's and the formula has been improved as technology improves. The #16 Professional Paste Wax has been around since 1951 and I don't know if it has ever been changed or improved. I'll ask though.

Two very excellent product that have stood the test of time, which is the true test of all.

Mike

[manueljlg]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips
I don't think Tim actually said it worked better, it's just a different approach. Meguiar's #20 Polymer Sealant is a popular paint sealant that lasts a long time and protects very well. It doesn't always create the deepest, richest looking results on dark colors and black paint. Products like #26 Hi-Tech Yellow Wax, Gold Class and NXT are better at bringing out the best results in a darker color.

Same goes for #16 Professional Paste Wax. Side by side on a black car, #26 Hi-Tech Yellow Wax, Gold Class and NXT Tech Wax will all add more richness, depth and clarity than the #16 Professional Paste Wax.

What #16 Professional Paste will do is add a lot of gloss. Lighter color paints don't offer depth of shine and the ability to reflect an image like a dark color or black paint will. Because you cannot bring these characteristics out of light colors like you can dark colors, you are left with going for gloss and shine. Gloss and shine come from a very smooth surface. If you look at Tim's pictures, you will see a very high gloss finish. That's because he smoothed out the paint with clay and then a cleaner polish. The #20 added protection and slickness and the #16 added extra gloss and shine.

It's just a different approach using different products. The #20 Polymer Sealant has been around since at least the 1980's, possibly the 1970's and the formula has been improved as technology improves. The #16 Professional Paste Wax has been around since 1951 and I don't know if it has ever been changed or improved. I'll ask though.

Two very excellent product that have stood the test of time, which is the true test of all.

Mike

Mike:
There is a lot to learn from your post.
After reading all the posts at the beginning of the year about NXT Tech Wax I had a lot of expectations, but when I first applied it on my silver vehicle I was disappointed. I kept using it following all the advises I could read on this forum, but still was not pleased. When I tried #16 on top of NXT I found the gloss and reflections my paint was missing.
From now on (and for a while) I plan to use this combination for my main vehicle. NXT to seal my paint, #16 to provide gloss.

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by manueljlg
From now on (and for a while) I plan to use this combination for my main vehicle. NXT to seal my paint, #16 to provide gloss.

Hi manueljlg,

I hope the forum has been helpful...


Just to add to what I already wrote, light colors are hard to create dramatic differences in when it comes to depth of color, sharpness of reflection when compared to darker colors. Both waxes, and any quality wax will create gloss is the surface is prepared correctly first.

For example, these two Miata's from a recent Miata class. Note the LSP for both of these cars was NXT Tech Wax.












#16 would have came close to the richness that a wax like NXT Tech Wax will produce, but it typically will not equal it not surpass it. People working on light colored cars like a silver metallic will have a difficult time seeing the difference because the light color doesn't lend itself well to showing dramatic differences... even though the difference is still taking place.

That's why we tend to choose dark colored cars and black cars for our detailing classes so that everyone at the class, and later here online can see the difference.

We've kind of hi-jacked Tim's thread, sorry about that Tim. The point of this detour was to merely point out that #16 Professional Paste wax is a wax that will create a lot of gloss, but when compared to other Meguiar's waxes, it will not produce the richer, more reflective results that products like #16 Hi Tech Yellow Wax, NXT Tech Wax, Gold Class Wax, Meguiar's Cleaner/Wax, ColorX, and Deep Crystal Carnauba Wax, will create. It's just that you have to know how to do an accurate comparison test on black paint to see these differences.

Now... back to the glossy results Tim created with #20 Polymer Sealant and #16 Professional Paste Wax.




Mike

[bluemoon]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips
Awesome write-up Tim, and awesome results!



I use the #20/#16 combination for customers for years with great results. It's a proven and popular combination that works well on any paint type.

Mike

I was wondering, when you used the #20/#16 combination on customer cars, how long did you wait after appying #20, before you applied #16? On my own cars I wait a few days, but on some friends cars I won't have that option. Just curious what you did.
Thanks

[Tim Lingor]

Hey,


Thanks everyone for your kind compliments!


Great explanation Mike!!!

I think Mike said it best, I do not prefer one product over another. It was just a different choice I wanted to try again.

As Mike pointed out, light colors lack depth. With this car, I needed to create a high gloss to compensate for that lack of depth.

My truck which is a dark green, has puddles of deep color. In that case, I look for depth, gloss and warmth to the finish. I have found that for that deep gloss look, NXT works fantastic!




Tim

[bluemoon]

Excellent job 2hotford. I just tried that #20/#16 combination this fall for the 1st time. I can see me using this combo for a long time to come. These products have withstood the test of time for a very good reason.

[Tim Lingor]

Originally posted by manueljlg
Excellent results Tim!


I´m looking for a halogen light, where did you get yours?
Is it white or yellow light? How many watts does it have?

I bought the light from Home Depot. I believe it is 500 watts per light (1000W total but with independent switches). You have to be careful not to touch the unit as it gets very hot!!!


Tim

[toyotaowner]

Very nice Tim.

A question. How many miles does your Corolla have and how's the paint quality? Does it have any paint problems? I have been reading some problems with recent paint problems and I would think you should know.

I have a recent Toyota ('04 Sienna) and it has only 618 miles but winter is around and I'm getting scared from the reported problems. But I do have to say. Paint is very soft. Light bump makes a scratch.

[Tim Lingor]

Hey,

The Corolla is a 2003 and has ~ 12 000 miles on it. The paint is a little on the soft side. It does scratch a little easy but not too bad. I have seen a lot worse! Overall, I can not complain about the finish.

One thing however is to avoid using a rotary on the body skirts. They are a composite material that does not distribute heat easily. A mistake here can "wrinkle" the paint.

Tim

[J SOLO]

Nice write up Tim.I have been useing #16 alot lately also #26 I must admit since Nxt came out the #20 has been on the shelf.This writeup makes me want to get it out.You can get those lights at sears they were on sale for a long time for 20 bucks I got 2 at this price.I went to pep boys today they had them for 20 also.You can get the halogen bulbs at harbour frieght for like 69cents.

[Chris Nemlich]

Nice write-up Tim!

Just so happens I tried out #20 followed by #16 this weekend on a silver Accord and I was quite please with the results.

As always, your results are awesome! Great work!



Chris