Weekend’s Action: Commencement of Test

[tom p.]

This is one of the more interesting detailing experiments I have embarked on. I swapped a bunch of products with a fellow Autopian this week and figured that putting them to the test would be the only fair thing to do. I decided to do a single panel on my daily driver with a preferred product combination and I’ll let it age for 3 months or whatever and we’ll see what’s left standing.



Products tested:



Wolfgang pre cleaner* + Wolfgang paint sealant* (rear fender)

Platinum paint cleaner* + Platinum paint sealant* (rear door)

Vanilla Mouse* + Blackfire* (front door)

Meg’s DACP + NXT (front fender)

Meg’s DACP + Blitz Wax (small spot on roof ) to be used as reference





*indicates my initial experience with this product.





http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/3089/26buick__14_.jpg



Test bed:



My daily driver, 1995 Buick LeSabre with Medium Garnet Red Metallic. The paint is original on the side I worked on. This car sits out 24/7 and hasn’t had any attention since this past Thanksgiving when I applied Poorboys to the hood and trunk lid.

http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/3088/26buick__2_.jpg

The car gets hand washed weekly and still looks very decent. I call it a good "10 foot car" - - it looks nice when you are at least 10 feet away. :p







Grunge:



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/3088/26buick__1_.jpg



Oh, looks the the eCWB (evil Cali Water Blade) has been here: http://www.celica.net/smilies/smilies/fc443c71.gif

http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/3088/26buick__6_.jpg :o





While the paint is far from perfect, I felt this test would be far more challenging for the products so I could identify which of the pre-cleaners could deal with basic surface flaws and scratches. I think this will be interesting over the next few months.



Process:



Washed with Meg’s Gold Class car wash

Clayed with 3M clay and Meg’s #34

Proceed to treat each panel as noted above



It was fairly cold today and ice was forming on the driveway as I rinsed the car. Lots of wind, too. I put the car in the garage and dried it. All “paint cleaners� were applied with the PC and a clean pad. All “sealants� were applied by hand with a disposable applicator.



I used the Wolfgang paint cleaner first. It went on pretty well but was a bit more of a challenge than the others. I then moved to the rear door and applied the Platinum cleaner. Both of these products did little to relieve basic surface scratching and flaws. These two panels would have benefited from a lot more effort but that was not what I was after. I just was trying to determine how these various combinations could do on their own - - no 2nd chances.



I then went for the front door attacking with Vanilla Mouse. It did a terrific job hiding surface defects and left the slickest, glossiest surface of the lot.



Then it was the front fender with DACP. I had used this product once or twice before and was not that impressed with it. Today was different. It was the only product that left what I would describe as a near perfect surface…all scratches were gone and the paint had a wonderful shine to it. This was the winner of this portion of the test. I was really surprised. It’s a powerful product and I will certainly make it a point to use it again.



I buffed everything out and moved on to the sealant application. I put the heat on in the garage to bring the temp up to 60F to be fair. I let the products sit somewhat longer than I normally would since Wolfgang says he needs more time.



All the products have left a great finish but this is really a case where the preparation makes or breaks a potential 1st place finish. It’s my feeling that the Wolfgang has tremendous potential but their pre-cleaner was not as good as the DACP, for example. I think the Wolfgang might be a stellar performer assuming it had superior preparation meaning multiple polishing stages. The stuff is the slickest of the lot. I took an MF towel and walked up and down the car over and over in an attempt to determine which panel was the slickest. I have to give the nod to Wolfgang with the NXT taking 2nd place. It would be a tie between Blackfire and the Platinum products.



There were no loosers in this test, at least not yet. Each panel has a slightly different appearance. Of note was the Platinum products which are super-easy to work with. The finish would bring complaints from no one except the paint cleaner isn’t as successful as DACP for dealing with moderate scratches.



The Blackfire left a great finish. I never had much interest in the product but it left a very uniform surface...looks real nice!



The DACP did a superior job on prepping the finish and the NXT looks just fine on top of it.



The small test patch I did on the roof with DACP + Blitz Wax looks very nice, very rich…as carnaubas always do. Buffing out yields far more dust/residue than any of the others in this group.



The Wolfgang sealant left a wonderful clarity to the paint that none of the other products could match. I’d like to do more work with this product but need to determine what other pre-cleaners are fully compatible with it. I think the Wolfgang will be a product not soon forgotten.



I’ll try to snap a few pictures in the daylight tomorrow. I ran out of time tonight and it was dark. I’ll try to update this thread montly to let people know how these products survive in the real world.



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/3088/26buick__12_.jpg

http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/3088/26img_0050.jpg

[tom p.]

:bow



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/3086/26buick__11_.jpg:D

[imported_Aurora40]

Out of curiosity, what exactly are you testing for? Durability? Looks? I`d think the better prep with DACP will yield better looks result for whatever you put over it. Also, doesn`t Vanilla Moose have wax in it? I`d think that would hurt the Blackfire`s chances. There is a Blackfire paint cleaner. It sounds like an interesting test, though. I look forward to hearing the results.

[Scottwax]

DACP did a better job prepping the paint because it is significantly more abrasive than the others. The others are pretty mild. A more fair Meguiars product probably would have been #9 or #82, since it has an abrasive level closer to the others.



Other than that, very nice test! I would agree that both Wolfgang and NXT are pretty slick and UPP isn`t a slouch either.



Anxiously awaiting the durability results....a few months from now!

[disasnguy]

I agree that Wolfgang is VEEEEEERY slick. Dare I say it... slicker than UPP!

[imported_Dave Holmes]

As I was scrolling down through your pics and came to the one with the painter`s tape, 2 things came to mind. 1, is he going to drive around for 3 months with that blue tape on his car. And 2, what exactly is the durability of blue painter`s tape?

Seriously though, should make for an interesting test. But, as an autopian, are you going to be able to leave the car alone for 3 months?

DACP is, in my opinion, an incredible product. The more I use it, the more I am amazed at what it can do. Like Scottwax said, it may be a little unfair because of its aggressiveness. But on the other hand, quite a few of us use it, so it does fit in a "real world" perspective (being a product many of us would use in a normal course of detailing anyways).

Looking forward to seeing the results of this. Can anyone speed up the space/time continuum so we don`t have to wait?



Dave

[tom p.]

Originally posted by Aurora40

Out of curiosity, what exactly are you testing for? Durability? Looks? I`d think the better prep with DACP will yield better looks result for whatever you put over it. Also, doesn`t Vanilla Moose have wax in it? I`d think that would hurt the Blackfire`s chances. There is a Blackfire paint cleaner. It sounds like an interesting test, though. I look forward to hearing the results.



Aurora, my primary interest is how long these products will last when exposed to the elements 24/7. This car is never garaged. I also wanted to make an A/B comparison of how the initial slickness and depth compared between these much-talked-about products.



I don`t know about the VM. I believe you are correct, it does contain a minimal amount of wax. I don`t have the BF cleaner.

[tom p.]

Originally posted by Scottwax

DACP did a better job prepping the paint because it is significantly more abrasive than the others. The others are pretty mild.



I just wanted to duplicate a situation where the average consumer wanders in to an Autozone store and grabs two bottles of products from (Meg`s or Wolfgang, etc.). That`s why I paired the products the way I did.



As Aurora notes, perhaps the VW/BF panel isn`t fair but I had thought that might be a typical application based upon discussion here.



Based upon what I saw with the other "paint cleaners", the results were not very satisfying...except for the DACP. Again, I am just thinking of a situation where the consumer isn`t going to spend $250 on products for a Saturday afternoon session trying to revive his prized ride from the brutal winter assault we`ve had.

[tom p.]

Originally posted by disasnguy

I agree that Wolfgang is VEEEEEERY slick. Dare I say it... slicker than UPP!



No question about it. the Wolfgang is very slick..at least at initial application.

[tom p.]

Originally posted by Dave Holmes

As I was scrolling down through your pics and came to the one with the painter`s tape, 2 things came to mind. 1, is he going to drive around for 3 months with that blue tape on his car. And 2, what exactly is the durability of blue painter`s tape?





I used the tape to ensure I had no product overlap between panels. I also wanted to see how much each product darkened the paint. I can`t judge that yet and will try to get a better of sense of that in the sunlight today.



With 4 cars to tend to, leaving these products `til May or June or later would be typical for me. There just isn`t the time to get at it as often as I`d like to but I don`t loose any sleep over it either. It does get a weekly session and looks very passable. I am the 2nd owner, the car is 9 years old and has 130k miles. I am 99% certain this car has never been garaged and looks OK consdiering all of that. This is one of the GMs that has plastic fenders and a plastic hood. The chipping on those panels is unlike anything I have ever seen. It`s pretty bad and the chips are huge.




Originally posted by Dave Holmes

Can anyone speed up the space/time continuum so we don`t have to wait?





:D



Things deteriorate fast when the car sits out all the time. Even the Poorboy`s I applied at Thanksgiving time is starting to fade. You can see minimal beading on the hood and deck lid. I tried to get some beading for the photo yesterday but the wind was so bad I couldn`t capture it. Those surfaces still some beading when it rains. Steve`s products have held up really well on this car. :xyxthumbs

[imported_Aurora40]

Well, sounds like a neat test. I`d be interested in the beading qualities if the car gets rained on. You might want to redo the Blackfire panel with DACP as the polish and then just put Blackfire over that. If VM has waxes in it, it won`t be a very good base for Blackfire. But it`s up to you.



I don`t think the LeSabre has a plastic hood or fenders. Give them a tap and you`ll easily be able to tell. It could be that the paint was just hard or thick or something and that`s why it has big chips. Or maybe the car is a rock magnet. Though it`s about 10 years old and sounds like it`s no garage queen.



I don`t think the WG or UPP cleaners are meant to be very strong. They are very mild prep products for use on paint already in very nice shape.



Man, I really need to try the Wolfgang on something!

[tom p.]

Originally posted by Aurora40



I don`t think the LeSabre has a plastic hood or fenders. Give them a tap and you`ll easily be able to tell.



they are plastic. One of the fenders shattered on a very cold day last winter. :mad:

[tom p.]

link (http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/3088/26bigred.jpg)

[Scottwax]

Tom-you still got about 3.5-4 months out of Poorboy`s though. Pretty good with all the horrible winter weather you guys get up there.



It will be interesting to see if any of the combinations you used match that.

[tom p.]

Here`s a shot of the hood which was done nearly 4 months ago with Poorboy`s:





http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/3088/26steve_s_beading.jpg