Tweet
Per my earlier post in this thread, and after Mike's helpful responses, I performed a test to TOP NXT 2.0 w/ #26 this weekend on my fiancee's 2000 Yellow Beetle.
I couldn't find a way to attach pics directly on this forum, but that's ok, as the results were so subtle that you'd need to observe it with your own naked eyes.
I started off by dividing my hood into 2 areas using 3M's blue painters tape. The car was just machine polished (w/ my new Flex XC3401VRG), using Menzerna IP and FPII, followed by Menz FTG, and 2 coats of NXT 2.0, 24 hrs apart. I applied #26 to the left side of the hood, waited 20 mins for it to haze, then removed with clean MF towels.
I examined the car both inside the garage and outside in the sun at ~12:30pm. (I think that's a bad time to view in the sun, but that's the time I had available). The result was pretty interesting. I was expecting 2 popular words to characterize the topper, as posted on various detailing threads, and they were correct. With #26 applied on top of NXT, the hood looked both 'darker/warmer' and had more 'depth'.
But the surprising part was that the side with only NXT 2.0 had a better mirror shine! I had a white t-shirt on, stood in the center, moved left to right, right to left to compare. Even though the shine was great on both, it was definitely more pronounced on the right / lighter side w/ just NXT 2.0.
I took my fiancee outside to examine the car with her non-enthusiast eyes, and after a minute, she mentioned she liked the warmer look better = the side w/ the #26 topper.
One last thing to mention was the feel. Both sides felt smooth, but the left side w/ #26 felt richer, silkier. It's like you can feel the layers on the left side, whereas the right side had a clean smooth sensation. So rich and smooth vs clean and smooth. Both equally smooth, just the different texture.
A personal preference on which is better. I liked the clean feel of just the NXT 2.0, but can see how the smooth silky feel of the topped side would be attractive to others.
In the end, I opted not to top the entire car, as I wanted the maximum shine (vs warmth/depth), and because I felt the distinction was SO MINIMAL, it'd be a waste applying it on my fiancee's car. When we were out to lunch, I pretended I was a passerby coming up to the car, and I really couldn't see the difference on a casual glance.
However, for what it's worth, I will top for my own car to get that last <5% look. Remember, my fiancee's car is yellow. Toppers may have different results on different colors, but my gut tells me it would still be minimal compared to the overall detailing scheme.
To put it in my own personal perspective:
Polishing gave me ~80% of the look I wanted
Glaze / Sealant ~10-20%
Topping <5%
Hope you found my review helpful.
orionredwing
I couldn't find a way to attach pics directly on this forum, but that's ok, as the results were so subtle that you'd need to observe it with your own naked eyes.
I started off by dividing my hood into 2 areas using 3M's blue painters tape. The car was just machine polished (w/ my new Flex XC3401VRG), using Menzerna IP and FPII, followed by Menz FTG, and 2 coats of NXT 2.0, 24 hrs apart. I applied #26 to the left side of the hood, waited 20 mins for it to haze, then removed with clean MF towels.
I examined the car both inside the garage and outside in the sun at ~12:30pm. (I think that's a bad time to view in the sun, but that's the time I had available). The result was pretty interesting. I was expecting 2 popular words to characterize the topper, as posted on various detailing threads, and they were correct. With #26 applied on top of NXT, the hood looked both 'darker/warmer' and had more 'depth'.
But the surprising part was that the side with only NXT 2.0 had a better mirror shine! I had a white t-shirt on, stood in the center, moved left to right, right to left to compare. Even though the shine was great on both, it was definitely more pronounced on the right / lighter side w/ just NXT 2.0.
I took my fiancee outside to examine the car with her non-enthusiast eyes, and after a minute, she mentioned she liked the warmer look better = the side w/ the #26 topper.
One last thing to mention was the feel. Both sides felt smooth, but the left side w/ #26 felt richer, silkier. It's like you can feel the layers on the left side, whereas the right side had a clean smooth sensation. So rich and smooth vs clean and smooth. Both equally smooth, just the different texture.
A personal preference on which is better. I liked the clean feel of just the NXT 2.0, but can see how the smooth silky feel of the topped side would be attractive to others.
In the end, I opted not to top the entire car, as I wanted the maximum shine (vs warmth/depth), and because I felt the distinction was SO MINIMAL, it'd be a waste applying it on my fiancee's car. When we were out to lunch, I pretended I was a passerby coming up to the car, and I really couldn't see the difference on a casual glance.
However, for what it's worth, I will top for my own car to get that last <5% look. Remember, my fiancee's car is yellow. Toppers may have different results on different colors, but my gut tells me it would still be minimal compared to the overall detailing scheme.
To put it in my own personal perspective:
Polishing gave me ~80% of the look I wanted
Glaze / Sealant ~10-20%
Topping <5%
Hope you found my review helpful.
orionredwing
