Got my AquaWax..Interesting if you use FK

[racingbeat]

Ordered the small bottle online and it arrived two days later. After a quick No Rinse wash with my pesticide sprayer I uncorked the Aqua Wax on my Arctic Silver paint.

:xyxthumbs

This stuff is REALLY GOOD. As soon as I buffed it away the paint looked thicker. THe Gloss was the best I`ve gotten after using many sprays recently: Mother`s FX, FK FX100, Sonus Spritzs, NXT. I`d say it looks just as it would after applying a paste wax an immediate and noticeable improvement in only 10 minutes. I was inclined to top it with 425 but I decided it was just overkill..



BUT before you pour that FK stuff down the drain read on...





After the AW application I jumped in the car and did my usual 30 minute drive (40 miles roundtrip) into NYC on a Friday night. Lot`s of nice car comments from the late night revelers. On my way back to the car I even found an intoxicated girl laying on my hood getting her picture taken by her girlfriend. She kept going on and on about how beautiful the car was while I looked for scratches :D

This is a routine I do quiet frequently, wash the car for the weekend Friday after work, car stays clean for the weekend unless there is a Sunday Autocross/track day (then its two washes, car is FILTHY after racing). FK has been great for quick cleanings because I get results just as good as I was getting with the boutique brands but in just five minutes, literally...anyhoo



Saturday morning something interesting happened. Something that has been missing since I started using FK FX100 and 425 about two months reappeared. The film of soot (not really dust much denser) that covers my dashboard when I`m driving with the top down was now also ON THE PAINT TOO! A layer of soot/dust covering the whole car.

No more REALLY shiny car after only 8 hours! :cry:

The car is silver so it would have been much more evident on another color car.

Well the paint was still reflective but that deep wet look was gone. I don`t dry dust so....



Did the No Rinse...again (very quick though used it more as a quick detailer this time) Used the FK 146 qd cleaner and #425. I think the 146 removed some of the AW because it didn`t quiet have th pop it did the day before. Drove back into the city to go to work and came home later that afternoon.

Checked the paint:

ZERO/minimal DUST. :think:



EXPERIMENT

Did another (sigh...) quick detailing with NoRinse, Aqua Wax and ten minutes later FK 425. Results were fantastic even though it lead to a quick detailing of the interior.(I hate when that happens) Jumped in the car and went out for a few hours. While driving this was one of those rare times when I actually noticed the reflection on the fenders as I was driving the car! later that night I did the `white glove` test:

Paint was clean and shiny.



I guess 425 is staying and Aqua Wax has new friend until the bottle runs out.

Then I`ll be trying Z8. But I`m sold on 425 no matter what you choose for that final pop

the pink liquid needs to go on top, well at least for me. It won`t keep dust off of a parked car but while the car is moving the elements will just glide off the paint. It`s no bunk.

[wannafbody]

personally I`d let the AW cure for a while before QDing just to be safe

[shortspark]

Very interesting. I am going out in a few minutes to do a sprayer QEW on my 2006 Honda (billit silver). I was going to top with AquaWax but never thought of topping that with a QD. The reason is that the AquaWax has enough gloss on its own and since the truck is clean, there would be no reason for a QD. But I have 425 as well so I think I will try your experiment with it over the AquaWax and see if I can get the same results - thanks for the tip. BTW, what ever became of the girl on the hood!!??

[racingbeat]

the girl says she`s going to use the pics for her match.com profile. I guess she was trying to tell me she`s single. LOL



I was hesistant to top the AW with 425 because I thought it might diminish the shine somewhat.

It really didn`t. It would take a really trained eye to spot a car with both vs. just AW.



by the way, I`m also now going to try 425 on my dash, never really thought of that for some reason. There`s some leather up there but I think it should be ok. I also covered my wheels in 425 which I hadn`t been doing lately and noticed the wheels were getting dirtier quicker. WHich has me wondering if 425 has something that FX 100 doesn`t because FX100 is all I ever use on the wheels.



I`m also wondering if I can mix 425 and Aqua Wax together in the same spray bottle.



p.s.



The FX100 shine is sharper but not as deep as Aqua Wax. I seem to pick up more of the shimmer of the silver paint with the FX100 vs. AW.

The AW has FX100 beat on wetness as I stated before.

I guess its a matter or personal taste, `pool of water` vs. `candy apple".

[Accumulator]

RacingBeat- Very interesting, thanks for posting your findings.



Did you mean that your wheels are looking dirtier now that you`re using FK 425 on them or that the FK 425 helps them stay clean? I`ve been using it on wheels after most washes and while it might help them stay a little cleaner it`s not been anything really dramatic and I might be seeing what I want to see..

[racingbeat]

Dirtier since I`ve been using FX 100.



Before I was using both FX100 and 425 on the wheels each time.

Lately I got lazy and only did FX100. Probably because I have been cleaning my

glass and wheels/dressing tires very frequently lately. Makes the car look clean even when its not.



As to dirtier, the other day I used FX100 and a few hours later there was brake dust and thick soot on the front wheel. although it Wiped away in a second while getting gas.

Seemed like when I was using 425 on the wheels the brake dust/soot had a lighter color or appearance about it. Not as grimy.



But definitely try the aqua wax for only $6. Just keep the 425 very close by.



p.s.

anyone have any ideas about how many parts of Aquawax I should mix to one part 425?

I`ve never really concocted my own mix before.



I also want to mix together some Michelin Tire dressing with 1Z Tiepfljdklfjler. I love the 1z on tires but at $13 a bottle(not inclduing shipping) its just not feasible for tires. My tires had a few coats of Michelin on them and I decided to top it 1z. Definite improvement.

[Accumulator]

Dirtier since I`ve been using FX 100.But definitely try the aqua wax for only $6. Just keep the 425 very close by...



OK, thanks for clarifying.



Heh heh, nah, I`m not gonna buy any AW for a while, I have so much stuff here already that it`s a bit ridiculous...

[shortspark]

Well, I did not do what I said I was going to do. I was going to QEW with the sprayer technique but when I took a good look at the truck it did not need it all. Just a little dust and a little road grime on one panel. So, rather than reach for the Poorboys SW I went for the Duragloss Fast Clean and Shine. It did real well and left a nice gloss but like I said, the truck was virtually clean to start with.



I decided to put AquaWax on one rear door panel on each side. I compared the rear door panels with the front door panels and could not tell much difference. I went ahead and finished putting the AquaWax on the rest of the truck. I agree with some that perhaps it takes a day or so for the true luster of a polymer like AquaWax to come through.



I will wait a couple days (I have no plans to drive it anytime soon anyway) and see what it looks like, then on goes the 425 for the experiment. We shall see.

[racingbeat]

Somehow I always end up detailing an hour before nightfall. The skytone refelction at this time of day really lends itself well for evaluating waxes.

The before and after difference with aqua wax was the biggest I`ve seen so far, well since I first tried Klasse All in One.



Let`s see how the paint is looking later tonight.

[edsmed]

I guess this goes to show that you`ll never get a consensus when it comes to detailing products.



In the three days that I`ve had AW on my black honda, I`ve noticed the same or less dusting than after the same time using PW with 425 on top. I was thinking about topping the AW with 425 also but thought that I should let it cure first. During the three days, I`ve been doing about two hours per day of mixed freeway and street driving and use a garage at night.



After three days, I have to admit that I must not have a keen eye because I can`t say with certainty that it looks any better than the first day I applied it. However, that first day I thought it looks really nice, definitely more depth and wetness than shine. PW was much more shiner in my opinion.

[wannafbody]

I don`t think mixing AW and 425 together is a good idea. Maybe just mix up an ounce or two so not to waste product.

[racingbeat]

I don`t use a garage. That could be a key difference.

[pogo123]

OK, since I like both FK 425 and AW I decided to try out racingbeat`s theory and mix them. I tried a 50/50 mix in a 2 oz. sample spray bottle, and it seems to work OK, although it definately smells like AW, & not 425. I tried it on half of my hood (red) which just had FX-100 put on it a few days ago, and half of my wifes hood (white) which has AW on it. Both look great and feel very slick. The product went on and off easily without any streaking or other strange problems. Right now I can`t see much of a difference on either side of the hood except for the slickness. I`ll have to wait and see how this will turn out.

[wannafbody]

I can`t help but think the durability will be affected but I`ve been wrong before

[TigerMike]

I agree ^^ I can`t think of any reason why I`d want to mix a QD with an LSP spray wax product. It`d be like mixing Meg`s #7 with a little Zaino Z2....just doesn`t make sense.... :nixweiss