Ultimate Wax

[rfinkle2]

Re: Ultimate Wax

OK... I'll complain.

This is a detailing forum. Many of the posters are polishing their cars to perfection, or as close to possible before applying any sealant or wax.

Supposedly, the feedback from this forum is taken seriously by Meguiars... so here goes.

Dear Meguiars, There is no doubt that your chemists, forum participants, marketing department etc. care greatly about their work and are detail oriented. That being said, I have and use Meguiars products for everything but sealing my paint (arguably the most important step to detailing and maybe the most important component in the public's perception of a car care company) because I have found other sealants and waxes that protect as well, and look as good without streaking or smearing.
I have almost every LSP you have made to date (consumer and professional) except Ultimate wax. I have waited to read the reviews on this forum before purchasing the Ultimate wax, and now am glad I did.

Thanks for listening,
Rob

I would imagine I'm not the only one who, after spending hours polishing, washing carefully as not to induce swirls, etc. think its plain silly for the lsp i'm using to create a "streaky" or hologram like finish.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Ultimate Wax

OK... I'll complain.

This is a detailing forum. Many of the posters are polishing their cars to perfection, or as close to possible before applying any sealant or wax.

Supposedly, the feedback from this forum is taken seriously by Meguiars... so here goes.

Dear Meguiars, There is no doubt that your chemists, forum participants, marketing department etc. care greatly about their work and are detail oriented. That being said, I have and use Meguiars products for everything but sealing my paint (arguably the most important step to detailing and maybe the most important component in the public's perception of a car care company) because I have found other sealants and waxes that protect as well, and look as good without streaking or smearing.
I have almost every LSP you have made to date (consumer and professional) except Ultimate wax. I have waited to read the reviews on this forum before purchasing the Ultimate wax, and now am glad I did.

Thanks for listening,
Rob

I would imagine I'm not the only one who, after spending hours polishing, washing carefully as not to induce swirls, etc. think its plain silly for the lsp i'm using to create a "streaky" or hologram like finish.

Duly noted.

First off, we think many people will debate that sealing the paint is the most important step in detailing, instead arguing that prep is 90% or more of the total process. But that's a debate for another time.

Nonetheless, we certainly understand your concerns regarding streaking. But a properly applied (ie, thin and uniform) coat of wax or sealant that is then allowed to dry sufficiently should not pose any streaking issues. Now, some waxes/sealants do take longer to dry than others, and sometimes a professional detailer does not have the time to wait (especially if environmental conditions are such that they will prolong drying time). Plenty of those guys use M21, M20, M26, etc and have never experienced streaking issues of any kind, while achieving stunning results.

It should also be noted that applying some synthetics over another synthetic may actually increase the chance of streaking since that first layer can make it a bit more difficult for the polymers in the second product to take hold. Let's be very clear here - this is not a terribly common situation, nor is it really a question of two products not being compatible with each other. It's sort of the nature of polymer products. Which is why some manufacturers stress that the paint be totally clean and devoid of any previous sealant.

We know that no single product is going to be everyone's favorite, which is part of the reason we make so many different waxes.

[Tuck91]

Re: Ultimate Wax

NXT and M21 do streak on me from time to time.

I have found using it on something even mildy neglected sometimes creates smearing or streaking.

I do not always have time to sit around and wait on the product so I mainly stick with M20 but have been using another sealant lately.

I will say that on the hood of a black vehicle in 100% top shape the product will not streak at all.

I plan on purchasing the UW as soon as I see it on store shelves and find out for myself if this product is for me.

[Mongoose]

Re: Ultimate Wax

Has anyone who has gotten their hands on this applied it with a d/a yet? What were the results (i.e. streaking,coverage,etc.)?

[joaks]

Re: Ultimate Wax

Tuck, what are you using instead of M20? I've been thinking about switching to M20 as my main product (I have several others, not UW however).

[Tuck91]

Re: Ultimate Wax

Tuck, what are you using instead of M20? I've been thinking about switching to M20 as my main product (I have several others, not UW however).

I am still using M20.

The last three details I did though I used HD Poxy as my LSP.

[Hyfire]

Re: Ultimate Wax

Hello Michael,
I have a can of Ultimate Wax and a brand new (40 miles) Black Dodge Challenger in my garage waiting for this weekend. Can't wait to see what happens.

Being inside an indoor garage in SoCal.. About 70 degrees and dry, how long should I let the ultimate wax sit before removing?

Also, I have noticed some spider webbing, is there any chance UW will minimize the appearance of this? (I am very uncomfortable with applying anything abrasive myself, as I am a rookie).

Thanks,
Josh

Rancho Cucamonga

[rfinkle2]

Re: Ultimate Wax

Duly noted.

First off, we think many people will debate that sealing the paint is the most important step in detailing, instead arguing that prep is 90% or more of the total process. But that's a debate for another time.

Hopefully, these posts are not coming off argumentatively.


Admittedly, for the guys on here, including myself, the polishing step is most important to creating a perfect finish. BUT...


The average consumer is likely to view a company's lsp as the most important part of "detailing". Also, the ultimate wax and nxt as well as the ocassional m26 are on the shelves of most auto parts stores.

I'm simply stating that I like Meguiar's other products and would consider being an exclusive Meguiars user, but the streaking polymer sealants is a problem I think Meguiars needs to address.

i think many people who own dark cars would agree. This thread, reviews of NXT 2.0 on other sites sais so.
Sometimes, the sponsors of any particular forum get less "constructive criticism".

I hope this only is seen as a suggestion from someone who would like to see Meguiars come out with a knock-out lsp.

[RaskyR1]

Re: Ultimate Wax

I actually haven't had streaking issues with any of my Meguair's waxes (M16, M20, M21, M26, GC, and NXT 2.0) for some time now. That being said, some are more finicky than others, but once you dial in the application there should not be any issues.


Just my $.02

[rfinkle2]

Re: Ultimate Wax

I actually haven't had streaking issues with any of my Meguair's waxes (M16, M20, M21, M26, GC, and NXT 2.0) for some time now. That being said, some are more finicky than others, but once you dial in the application there should not be any issues.


Just my $.02

I think part of the issue is the tendancy to be able to see streaking on dark colors @ certain angles.

I have a LOT of lsp's and some streak / some don't.

interesting that M16, M26 and M20 are the oldest and least likely to cause me problems.

btw, meguiars ultimate quik detailer and m135 are 2 of my favorite quick detailers because they DONT streak.

[RaskyR1]

Re: Ultimate Wax

I think part of the issue is the tendancy to be able to see streaking on dark colors @ certain angles.

I have a LOT of lsp's and some streak / some don't.

interesting that M16, M26 and M20 are the oldest and least likely to cause me problems.

btw, meguiars ultimate quik detailer and m135 are 2 of my favorite quick detailers because they DONT streak.

I'd agree with that. NXT/M21 used to give me the most trouble until I tweaked my application process. I too have a LOT of waxes/sealants, probably more than most will see in their lifetime, and while some of the Meguiars's waxes are on the top of my finicky list, I have been able to get them to work without issue now.

I have the best results applying with a D/A polisher (PC/G110). Thin to win!


I'm actually looking forward to trying the Ultimate Wax.


Cheers,
Rasky

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Ultimate Wax

Hopefully, these posts are not coming off argumentatively.

Nope, not at all.

I'm simply stating that I like Meguiar's other products and would consider being an exclusive Meguiars user, but the streaking polymer sealants is a problem I think Meguiars needs to address.

i think many people who own dark cars would agree. This thread, reviews of NXT 2.0 on other sites sais so.
Sometimes, the sponsors of any particular forum get less "constructive criticism".

In all seriousness, you can find negative reviews about any product of any sort if you look for them. Go to any car forum and you'll see plenty of comments about that particular model giving a few individuals serious issues - so serious that those individuals state they will never buy another ( insert brand here ). People are much faster to point out negative experiences, regardless of the reason for that experience - product problem, user error, etc. So while you may see comments about streaking with NXT you'll find far more favorable reviews of it than negative ones.

Now, that does not mean we ignore the negatives simply because the positives outweigh them by a large margin. Quite the contrary. Look at the change from NXT to NXT 2.0 - that was, in large part, a response to the comments from end users. And to be very candid about it (and you can search this forum for my post which was made, admittedly, before I came to work for Meguiar's) I myself was not a huge fan of the original NXT at all, but 2.0 won me over on the first use.

I hope this only is seen as a suggestion from someone who would like to see Meguiars come out with a knock-out lsp.

Absolutely.

I think part of the issue is the tendancy to be able to see streaking on dark colors @ certain angles.

I have a LOT of lsp's and some streak / some don't.

interesting that M16, M26 and M20 are the oldest and least likely to cause me problems.

M16, M26 and M20 have nowhere near the polymer load that NXT and UW do, and that's a big part of the reason why they behave differently. As described above, while the polymers are in the process of cross linking and bonding, they are still pretty dynamic on the surface. Essentially that means that you can still "push them around" until they have fully cross linked. And because they have the ability to darken a surface - a phenomenon that is more noticeable the darker the paint is - if they aren't applied very uniformly then the darkening can be less than uniform until things settle out fully. This is what you're really seeing when observe streaking of the product, and why a quick once over with a slightly damp towel serves to spread things out.

As jfelbab points out, that damp towel final wipe is not a new process at all, and plenty of people have been doing for years. In fact, it's progressed all the way to the so called "spit shine" process that sometimes suggests the use of very cold water between layers of wax.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Ultimate Wax

Hello Michael,
I have a can of Ultimate Wax and a brand new (40 miles) Black Dodge Challenger in my garage waiting for this weekend. Can't wait to see what happens.

Being inside an indoor garage in SoCal.. About 70 degrees and dry, how long should I let the ultimate wax sit before removing?

Also, I have noticed some spider webbing, is there any chance UW will minimize the appearance of this? (I am very uncomfortable with applying anything abrasive myself, as I am a rookie).

Thanks,
Josh

Rancho Cucamonga

Hi Josh, and welcome to MOL!

The truly critical part of any wax application isn't how long you let it dry (although that's probably a close second) but rather how thin and uniform you apply it. If you look at How to apply a very thin coat of wax with a G110v2 you'll get an idea what we mean by a "thin" coat of wax. While that thread spells out how to do so with a D/A, the same holds true when working by hand.

Since UW spreads so thinly to begin with, and if offers a pretty long play time when using it, you should be able to get a very thin and uniform layer down pretty easily. You won't need a lot of pressure or elbow grease for the application, just make sure to go over every square inch a few times when applying it to ensure that uniform coverage. That's important - we see far too many people apply their wax in large sweeping motions, and they do this very quickly too. That's just poor technique and leads to uneven application. And quite honestly, this process really applies to any wax, any sealant, from any manufacturer. You never want to rush the process and you always want to be as uniform as possible.

Less is more. Never scoop the wax out of the can onto the applicator. Instead, fold the applicator like a taco and gently rub it over the surface to pick up a small amount of wax. And as you progress the pad will start to retain a bit of product, so as long as you can see a thin and uniform layer being laid down on the paint you don't really need to dip back into the can as often. In fact, with a fresh can of paste wax, when you're all done that can should almost look like it hasn't even been touched.

So, you've got that thin coat applied - how long do you let it dry? Initially give it 20 minutes or so and then do the swipe test. If it fails the swipe test give it some more time. With the weather we've got now in SoCal you will most likely want to give it 45 minutes or so and then wipe off with a clean microfiber towel. No need to buff vigorously, just wipe it off. You should be fine at that point. But, in the event you do see some streaking, a quick wipe with a very slightly damp towel will take care of it immediately.

[rfinkle2]

Re: Ultimate Wax

Thank you Mr. Stoops.

[Mongoose]

Re: Ultimate Wax

Just received my order from ADS! Can we purchase the black Supreme Shine towels by themselves?