Long Term Wax Test. Collinite, Lusso, Griots, DoDo

[jrock645]

I have the purple and blue pro. Ill have to do that combo soon

[WaxAddict]

5-Week Update!

At 5 weeks, if an LSP is blown away, it better be a beauty wax or buttery wax. Luckily, all four of these waxes are holding on, although some by the hairs on their carnauba palm coconuts.

The car has been outside 24-7 and we`re getting some strong sun now, and the paint has been getting hot. One or two decent rains since the last update.

The beads

Not surprisingly, Collinite 915 is doing great and is in the lead - still making good beads without trying. DoDo Blue Velvet Pro is also making proper beads. I`m not sure Lusso Oro or Griot`s Best Of Show are making what we`d consider beads, but the waxes are definitely doing something. The Lusso and especially the BoS test areas are very slick and shed water FAST, much more so than an area of the car that has no LSP. Beads aren`t everything, but they ARE one of the most quantifiable ways us car guys can tell that an LSP is still performing.

These are the best beads I could get of each:

915



LUSSO



Best of Show



Blue Velvet Pro



What you can`t see from the bead shots is the water behavior, and I`m too lazy to make a video. However, take a look at this picture.



Just LOOK how Collinite 915 is "part" of the paint - leaving it`s own perfect and proud marking on the roof of my tired 2002 V70 T5. This picture tells a lot. Why isn`t the Best of Show holding on better? I never perceived it as a beauty wax, but maybe it is. It is definitely still SLICK and sheds dirt very easy. Again, beads aren`t everything.

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I`ve purposefully left out discussions of the look of these waxes, because it`s so subjective and controversial, however, one thing is for certain, that 915 and Blue Velvet Pro darken the paint. Oddly, this effect is noticeable to me only near sunset, and in the morning when there`s dew on the car. Take a look at this.

Morning Dew Shot


Same as Above, Showing Areas


The above photo with the yellow markings makes the difference less apparent, but look at the one above it. Both 915 and PV Pro are darker looking, no doubt.

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Welp, longevity standings look like this at 5 weeks:

Collinite 915
DoDo Blue Velvet Pro
Griot`s Best Of Show (for slightly better beading, slickness and hydrophobic behavior compared to Lusso)
Lusso Oro

[davidc]

I was just thinking of this thread the other day. Glad to see the update and personally seeing 915 not deteriorating as they claim 9 Months.

Dave

[RaskyR1]

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I`ve purposefully left out discussions of the look of these waxes, because it`s so subjective and controversial, however, one thing is for certain, that 915 and Blue Velvet Pro darken the paint. Oddly, this effect is noticeable to me only near sunset, and in the morning when there`s dew on the car. Take a look at this.


The above photo with the yellow markings makes the difference less apparent, but look at the one above it. Both 915 and PV Pro are darker looking, no doubt.

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Great test!

I noticed the same on the darkening effect with a test panel I created back in 2008. With the sun high in the sky all waxes looked the same but with the sun low in the sky a noticeable difference in darkening could be seen.

[WaxAddict]

8-Week Update! (final)

At 8 weeks, we have a sudden drop of in performance of ALL WAXES. This has especially been the case from week 6 to 7. The weather has been mostly sunny and the last week has been mild and cool just after a decent rain. Before that we had some mid-80`s. I wonder if the pollen from early March could have "sheared" off the waxes? That is the variable since my last update - lots of yellow pollen.

This car is outside 24-7, with full sun exposure.

I`ll skip right to the FINAL RANKINGS based on Longevity. I also give my interpretation of the "optic signature" of each wax, in the form of one or two words.

First Place: Collinite 915.
.... Longevity: 7 weeks
.... Optic Signature: Depth & Darkness

915 showed beads up to week 6.5, then a sharp drop-off. The 915 had signs of existence at week 7, in the form of water behavior, but beading was ill-formed. At week 8, NO sign of beads from 915, and just slight shedding, as seen below. I am disappointed in 8 weeks, and this is a bit less than I have experienced in the past.


Second Place: DoDo Blue Velvet Pro.
.... Longevity: 6 weeks
.... Optic Signature: Jetting

Lagging behind 915 by just a week in terms of longevity, this DoDo may not become extinct anytime soon in my collection. The fact that this wax lasted almost as long as 915 is, in my experience, more a testament of how something must have sheared these waxes off at some point, as opposed to BV Pro having "almost as good longevity as 915", because it doesn`t. Just trust me


Third Place: Griot`s Best Of Show Liquid, Version2.
.... Longevity: Between 5 and 6 weeks
.... Optic Signature: Gloss

Best of Show has a nice glossy look, and does a decent job filling. It never beaded to the standard of 915 or BV_Pro, but it shed water quickly. Chemically, it`s obviously does things differently, else why NOT bead like the others? This offering`s strong points are gloss and value.


Forth Place: Lusso Oro
.... Longevity: 4 weeks
.... Optic Signature: Wetness

Lusso is a "beauty wax", no doubt. It contains two different types of Montan wax, in addition to Carnauba and yet another wax. Obviously, Lusso has weighted the luxurious, oily mixture with ingredients that are supposed to provide "look", as opposed to cutting edge science. I would expect Lusso to last about the same as P21S or a standard DoDo. It does just that, and is equally a pleasure to use, without being too expensive.


OK, now that you haven`t read all that tripe, on to the PICTURES.

Look at this standing water after flood-rinsing! I was aghast at how, um, "not there" the waxes appeared today. All I did prior was rinse and wipe the panel with a saturated sheepskin mitt. No chemicals were used.



I could detect the 915 trying to shed water. But this picture was taken after I sat the hose down and went into the garage to get my camera. In other words, there was plenty of time to shed.


These where the best "beads" I could get. This time around, there was really no differentiating the test areas,




So.. I wanted to see if I could "revitalize" the remaining (if any) waxes by applying some spray wax. Just LOOK at the water shed behavior after drying the panel then applying Meg`s X-Press Wax...



Compare THAT ^^ to the first picture where water just stood there.

OK, so, no.. the Meg`s Synthetic X-Press Spray Wax did not wake up the waxes underneath in any way where I could differentiate one test area from another. There may have been slightly faster pooling, into large puddles, in the Collinite 915 area, as seen above just to the right of the sunroof. Again, 915 is trying to show it`s presence at 8 weeks.

So when I went for the beading behavior after the spray wax, I was happy to finally see beads today. So that`s what I`ll leave you with: Bead shots courtesy of Meg`s Synthetic X-Press Spray Wax, since I have no beads to share with my four waxes that have gone off to wax heaven.

[WaxAddict]

Oh, and time for another test! Hmmmm, the other day I was thinking...

... glaze underneath a wax vs. no glaze (does the glaze affect longevity?)
... 3 coats of a wax vs. 1 coat (see if layering wax is a waste of time)
... WGDGPS vs. 476 vs. Soft99

[LEDetailng]

I like the three contestants in the sealant test. Will be an interesting showdown.

[glfnaz]

Color me depressed. .....
I love 915

[PRND[S]]

I doubt pollen sheared the wax off. But I would not be surprised if pollen residue affected the surface tension of the water, preventing neat beads from forming.

[Lonnie]

A belated question about the Meg`s Detailer line X-press Spray Wax:
Does it "add" any gloss to the existing waxes, (IE, Does one of the test waxes appear glossier than the others) and how long does the beading effect last?

I am just curious; did your test vehicle sit outside for most of this test? I am assuming that your Florida (?) sun and early spring temps are already breaking down the carnauba wax after 8 weeks.

[WaxAddict]

A belated question about the Meg`s Detailer line X-press Spray Wax:
Does it "add" any gloss to the existing waxes, (IE, Does one of the test waxes appear glossier than the others) and how long does the beading effect last?

I am just curious; did your test vehicle sit outside for most of this test? I am assuming that your Florida (?) sun and early spring temps are already breaking down the carnauba wax after 8 weeks.

I noticed no difference in the entire test panel after application of Meg`s Detailer line X-press Spray Wax, other than the spray wax`s own gloss and minor filling.

Yes, the car is outside 24-7, Florida.

It`s worth mentioning that I would typically get better performance than shown because I`d sporadically be using something like QD+ or X-press during the 8 weeks period. On this test, I used ONR once during the 8 weeks.

[davidc]

Wow, depressing to see that failure rate at least in the beading department. The big question I guess since there is no definitive evidence "Is the protection still there when the beading is gone". At least on the 915 side 2 Months is a long way from 9. I sure hope the 476 does better.

Dave

[Accumulator]

Huh, even given the conditions of the test that`s sure not the kind of longevity I`d want these days (with no special measures), but I bet it`s fine for you "like to wax" people.

WaxAddict- Still can`t get ya to include FK1000P, huh? Sorry...couldn`t resist I never tried the 915 as the 476S is (supposedly) much more durable, and I retired *that* as soon as I`d tried the FK.

If you decide to do the "underlying product" and/or layering, there`ll be a need to figure out a good methodology...people who do things differently from how *I* do them get results that`re very different from mine.

[davidc]

I personally would skip the glaze and test the wax/sealants on their own merit. I still have a hard time with all those products dieing around the same period. Maybe you are right and the pollen left a coating over the waxes>>>>>>>>maybe?

Dave

[RavenHawk]

Oh, and time for another test! Hmmmm, the other day I was thinking...

... glaze underneath a wax vs. no glaze (does the glaze affect longevity?)
... 3 coats of a wax vs. 1 coat (see if layering wax is a waste of time)
... WGDGPS vs. 476 vs. Soft99

Great idea!