Victoria Concours Wax - My First Impressions

[imported_Dave KG]

Finally a nice dry day to allow me to try out the Victoria Concours Wax. This wax is priced at nearly £30 for 6oz, which in terms of cost is putting it right into Pinnacle Souveran, Swissol Onyx and Zymol Carbon territory so to compete it would have to be very good indeed.



First up was my car - star silver, not the best colour to show off the potential of a wax but its always nice to see how a wax will perform on a lighter colour. The car was washed, and the wax applied over a four week old coat of 50/50. The was is quite a soft wax, and can be applied either by hand directly, or owing to the cold today, I opted for applicator pad. It is necessary owing to the softish composition of the wax to ensure you dont apply to much to the pad and cause it to clot, as you only need a thin layer of this wax.



The wax was applied to a panel, left a couple of minutes and then the residue buffed off with ease. On silver paint, I was hugely impressed with the results:



http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/3641/vic1xo0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)



http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/9199/vic2ki4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)



http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/8577/vic3ff7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)



The paint took on a lovely wet and liquid like glow, a trait I have always associated with Pinnacle Souveran and the trait that made Souveran my personal favourite wax on silver paint - this style of finish appeals to me. However, in my eyes, the wettness and depth of gloss given by the Concours surpassed that of the Souveran wax, and the paint took on a glow that I have not seen from my sivler before. Both Bryan and I noticed this right away after the bonnet only was completed so we could compare to untrated panels. I have to say, I am hugely impressed with this wax and it is one I cant wait to try layering with as it promises better results still. :D In my very own personal opinion, this is the best wax I have used on silver paint and will like be one of my waxes of choice from now on on my own car.



By contrast to silver, a darker colour such as dark blue really gives a show wax the opportunity to shine out at its best. So, Bryan`s Signmum was next, wax applied same was as above. Results below:



http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/8924/vic4uy7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)



http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/7023/vic5kg7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)



On the darker colour, the Concours wax impressed yet again with the depth of shine that it delivered, and a very wet and glossy looking finish. This finish is right up there with Pinnacle Souveran on the darker colours as well, impressing with the depth of shine it delivered.



All in all, I am very impressed with this wax. Easy to apply and remove, and the finish is that of a more expensive wax, IMHO this particular wax is punching above its weight price wise. Durability is not yet tested by myself, but reports suggest it is also quite good (though not up with Collinite, but then this is a show wax we are looking at here so a fairer comparison durability wise would be Souveran/Onyx/Carbon...).



To round off, a couple of pics of the Krankies` cars, both treated to Concours and paint glowing nicely (yes, I know my car`s plastic trim needs treated, but with another 1000+ miles on salty motorways ahead of it, that will wait until after....)



http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/5640/vic7rw1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)



http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/3526/vuc6uo2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[DSVWGLI]

Dave , glad to here you liked the Victoria Concours Wax. It`s always been the wax I use for show car results. I`ve been using this wax for about 3 1/2 years now with very impressive results. And I live only about a half hour away from David at Victoria Wax. By the way the cars look great. Also thank you for the great write up on the CCS pads. I will try those the next time I need pads.

[3Dog]

Great write-up Dave. I love Victoria.

[imported_Bence]

So do I!!!

[imported_flatstick]

Wow looks like some mightyfine wax and with the reviews here worth a shot. do they have a sampler kit of sorts ? went to their website and it is very vague on product description. click on a product and gives you option but not a lot of write up about it. was thinking some Concours red wax, 3oz or 6oz and 16oz light cleanse. questions being how much wax and light cleanse should I expect to use on a full size SUV ? last question being what is the difference between the red and yellow wax ?









LiteCommerce online store builder (http://www.victoriawax.com/)

[Black240SX]

Dave, could you do some side-by-side comparisons with other waxes? I find that to be the best way evaluate them.

[danforz]

Thanks for the review... I`m gonna look into this stuff :)

[Derf]

How would you compare to 5050? Thanks!

[imported_Bence]

The three types of VW are slightly different. Their "base model", the Cruising has polymers in it, so it provides the best durability, while the other spectrum, the Concours is purely an optics-tuned product. The Collectors contains a bit less carnauba.



There is a problem though: all three look seriously good, and all are surprisingly durable (2-4 layers, of course). For me it is a wondrous, fulfilling experience to use them.



They contain a special cosmetic grade solvent, so they are perfectly fine to use them with the bare hand method.



I have a new fave combo: OPS topped with 2 layers of Cruising. On top of OPS the VWCru feels a lot slicker than alone would and it cooperates really well with the active ingredients of the OPS.

[slippy]

I agree with everthing that has been said.The Victoria waxes are wonderful products,especially concours.



I am more than familiar with everything that Zymol and SwissVax have to offer,so i do not exaggerate when i say that IMO, David`s waxes are the best of the best.



I would echo Dave KG, concours punches way above its weight,in fact i consider pretty much the whole line to be superior to anything else that i have used previously, and that combined with unmatched customer service, truly special.



Bence, that is an interesting combo.Tell me, how do you find OPS?

[imported_Dave KG]

How would you compare to 5050? Thanks!



The finish was deeper and wetter looing from the Concours. The 50/50 was easier to buff off, but then the 50/50 is ludicrously easy to buff off, while the Concours was just easy to buff off! Infact, the Concours I would also rank amonst one of the easiest waxes I have used.



Durability wise I cannot yet comment, and will have to resist the temptation to add more layers to assess the durability properly... (but the wax is a joy to use, and I love the way it deepens the gloss, I just want to use it more! LOL)

[Derf]

The finish was deeper and wetter looing from the Concours. The 50/50 was easier to buff off, but then the 50/50 is ludicrously easy to buff off, while the Concours was just easy to buff off! Infact, the Concours I would also rank amonst one of the easiest waxes I have used.



Durability wise I cannot yet comment, and will have to resist the temptation to add more layers to assess the durability properly... (but the wax is a joy to use, and I love the way it deepens the gloss, I just want to use it more! LOL)



Thanks. Where can one order from in the US? D`oh. Just found their site.

[3Dog]

For some reason Cruising wax has been pulled :nixweiss

[SilverLexus]

Nice writeup. :)

[imported_Bence]

Will, I find the OPS a fascinating product. It refines the surface like the best finishing polishes and lays down a soft, very slick sealant layer. When I topped it the VWCru, I thought that the relative grabbiness of a carnauba will alter the nice slickness. I was wrong, because the finish was slicker than the usual VWCru, and it kept this attribute with the second layer as well. I think the polymers in the OPS and in the VWCru are simply perfect mates. The perfection and the depth of the OPS, combined with the range, definition of the VWCru is a beautifully wet, insane look. Of course, I`ll experiment more with the VWCol and the VWCon combos as well.



For those who love real pre-wax cleaning fluids, I must say that the Lite Cleanse is one of the best of its breed. Unfortunately, I haven`t tried the Deep Cleanse yet.