Scottwax
01-18-2004, 12:17 AM
Pics probably on Monday.
First car was a 1987 Porsche 944 Turbo, with the original single stage paint. I last detailed it in August, using Meguiars Swirl Free Polish, Vanilla Moose and topped with either S100 or CMW, I don`t remember due to old timer`s disease. :( Anyway, this is a pic from that detail:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/1099Imprezza_13_Porsche_rear.jpg
Since it had been 5 months since it was last waxed and it sits outside most of the time, I wasn`t sure what kind of shape it would be in. When I got to the guy`s house, there was a nice layer of dust on the paint. Initially, when washing it, there was no beading on the horizontal surfaces, but once the dust was gone, when I would overlap onto the clean paint with the QEW, there was some light beading still. The sides were still beading. Paint was still smooth, but not very slick. Best of all, I noticed no visible oxidation in the nearly 17-year-old single stage paint.
After washing the car with QEW, I went over it with Vanilla Moose, which left it looking very shiny. I then went over the whole car using NXT, and while it was drying (bottle says to wait 10-15 minutes before removing, I dress the fenderwells and cleaned the mats. No sense just standing around, right? ;)
NXT wiped off very easily, just a few spots where I initially applied it too thick had some minor streaks, so I went back over the areas a few minutes later and they wiped off. The paint looked very nice....kind of how I would imagine it would look if you mixed UPP and CMW...most of the shine and reflections of UPP and most of the depth and wetness of CMW...a nice comprimise, I guess. My customer came out and took a look and went to grab his digital camera and take some pics. I had already taken some before, during and after close ups, and then I got some full car shots. I then finished the interior of the car (normally, I do the interior first, but there were some dark clouds and a 50% chance of rain, so I wanted to get the exterior finished and shot asap). I spent an hour or so cleaning and dressing the interior and then looked over the exterior again, and the depth and gloss seemed somewhat better, so I took another full car shot. I also noticed as time passed, the slickness noticably increased.
If the customer uploads the pics he took before I get my film developed, I`ll post them here.
-----------------------------
The second vehicle was my brother`s Honda Oddessy, which I also polished and waxed in August, Winner`s Choice Polymer Sealant and topping it with Carnauba Moose. My brother had already had it washed to save me some time. He also mentioned that it was still beading yesterday when it was raining. Score one for Winner`s Choice/CMW combo!
This is the van when I detailed it in mid August:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/10992003_Oddyssy2.jpg
When I got to my brothers, I went over the whole van with Quikshine since it had been a few hours since it had been washed and driven home. I then applied NXT Wax over the whole van, waited about 10 minutes and began to remove it. Like the Porsche, it wiped off with ease, and this time, since I made sure I laid it on thin, no streaking anywhere. My brother immediately notice the improvement in shine, wetness and depth. It was close to sunset, but I think the pics will come out just fine. We pulled it into the garage and it looked very good under the lights. Again, I noticed a few hours later, the paint was noticably slicker and the gloss seemed better. It seems that you don`t get the best look and slickness until NXT has cured for a few hours.
-----------------------------------------
My car has 3 layers of UPP on top of Swirl Free and AIO, so I wasn`t expecting much (as a side note, my car looked amazingly clean for having been driven in rain the two previous days. Other than the bottom 1/3rd of the car, which had waterspotting, the car looked real clean!). I didn`t have time to wash my own car, so I went over the hood and trunk lid with Quikshine and then applied NXT Wax. Easy on, wait 10-15 minutes, wipe off. No muss, no fuss. Like I figured, the improvement was subtle, but the paint was a bit darker and deeper looking. UPP already has a nice wet look, and after NXT, my paint still had a nice wet look.
----------------------------------
My initial impressions:
1. Use thin layers, otherwise you can get some minor streaking.
2. It is not a miracle wax. Don`t expect it to be the Holy Grail of Waxes because such a product does not exist. However, it is definitely the best `off the shelf` consumer wax I`ve used, based on initial impressions. Durability will be the true test.
3. The appearance and especially the slickness noticably improve after a few hours.
4. NXT does have some filling properties, but it is not a cure-all for poorly prepped paint.
------------------------------
I already have the perfect durability test vehicle for NXT. I have a customer who has a white Dodge Ram SLT that he has me wax about every 3 months. Otherwise, it sits outside under an oak tree (yes, sap!) and his son runs it through the touchless car wash at the gas station about once a week. So far, Poorboy`s EX Sealant w/Carnauba is holding up well after about 7-8 weeks, so it will be a month before I`ll be applying it. I`ll also try not to put anything else on my trunk or hood so I can monitor that as well.
First car was a 1987 Porsche 944 Turbo, with the original single stage paint. I last detailed it in August, using Meguiars Swirl Free Polish, Vanilla Moose and topped with either S100 or CMW, I don`t remember due to old timer`s disease. :( Anyway, this is a pic from that detail:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/1099Imprezza_13_Porsche_rear.jpg
Since it had been 5 months since it was last waxed and it sits outside most of the time, I wasn`t sure what kind of shape it would be in. When I got to the guy`s house, there was a nice layer of dust on the paint. Initially, when washing it, there was no beading on the horizontal surfaces, but once the dust was gone, when I would overlap onto the clean paint with the QEW, there was some light beading still. The sides were still beading. Paint was still smooth, but not very slick. Best of all, I noticed no visible oxidation in the nearly 17-year-old single stage paint.
After washing the car with QEW, I went over it with Vanilla Moose, which left it looking very shiny. I then went over the whole car using NXT, and while it was drying (bottle says to wait 10-15 minutes before removing, I dress the fenderwells and cleaned the mats. No sense just standing around, right? ;)
NXT wiped off very easily, just a few spots where I initially applied it too thick had some minor streaks, so I went back over the areas a few minutes later and they wiped off. The paint looked very nice....kind of how I would imagine it would look if you mixed UPP and CMW...most of the shine and reflections of UPP and most of the depth and wetness of CMW...a nice comprimise, I guess. My customer came out and took a look and went to grab his digital camera and take some pics. I had already taken some before, during and after close ups, and then I got some full car shots. I then finished the interior of the car (normally, I do the interior first, but there were some dark clouds and a 50% chance of rain, so I wanted to get the exterior finished and shot asap). I spent an hour or so cleaning and dressing the interior and then looked over the exterior again, and the depth and gloss seemed somewhat better, so I took another full car shot. I also noticed as time passed, the slickness noticably increased.
If the customer uploads the pics he took before I get my film developed, I`ll post them here.
-----------------------------
The second vehicle was my brother`s Honda Oddessy, which I also polished and waxed in August, Winner`s Choice Polymer Sealant and topping it with Carnauba Moose. My brother had already had it washed to save me some time. He also mentioned that it was still beading yesterday when it was raining. Score one for Winner`s Choice/CMW combo!
This is the van when I detailed it in mid August:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/10992003_Oddyssy2.jpg
When I got to my brothers, I went over the whole van with Quikshine since it had been a few hours since it had been washed and driven home. I then applied NXT Wax over the whole van, waited about 10 minutes and began to remove it. Like the Porsche, it wiped off with ease, and this time, since I made sure I laid it on thin, no streaking anywhere. My brother immediately notice the improvement in shine, wetness and depth. It was close to sunset, but I think the pics will come out just fine. We pulled it into the garage and it looked very good under the lights. Again, I noticed a few hours later, the paint was noticably slicker and the gloss seemed better. It seems that you don`t get the best look and slickness until NXT has cured for a few hours.
-----------------------------------------
My car has 3 layers of UPP on top of Swirl Free and AIO, so I wasn`t expecting much (as a side note, my car looked amazingly clean for having been driven in rain the two previous days. Other than the bottom 1/3rd of the car, which had waterspotting, the car looked real clean!). I didn`t have time to wash my own car, so I went over the hood and trunk lid with Quikshine and then applied NXT Wax. Easy on, wait 10-15 minutes, wipe off. No muss, no fuss. Like I figured, the improvement was subtle, but the paint was a bit darker and deeper looking. UPP already has a nice wet look, and after NXT, my paint still had a nice wet look.
----------------------------------
My initial impressions:
1. Use thin layers, otherwise you can get some minor streaking.
2. It is not a miracle wax. Don`t expect it to be the Holy Grail of Waxes because such a product does not exist. However, it is definitely the best `off the shelf` consumer wax I`ve used, based on initial impressions. Durability will be the true test.
3. The appearance and especially the slickness noticably improve after a few hours.
4. NXT does have some filling properties, but it is not a cure-all for poorly prepped paint.
------------------------------
I already have the perfect durability test vehicle for NXT. I have a customer who has a white Dodge Ram SLT that he has me wax about every 3 months. Otherwise, it sits outside under an oak tree (yes, sap!) and his son runs it through the touchless car wash at the gas station about once a week. So far, Poorboy`s EX Sealant w/Carnauba is holding up well after about 7-8 weeks, so it will be a month before I`ll be applying it. I`ll also try not to put anything else on my trunk or hood so I can monitor that as well.