1st Use: Megs HCW

I went ahead and took advantage of today`s heat wave (48*) and picked up a bottle of Meguiar`s Hybrid Ceramic Wax at Advance Auto ($14.99 + tax with a $5.00 online rebate).

The car was in dire need of a good wash since it hasn`t been touched in months and was a bit crusty with salt.
Using a fairly strong wash mix ... 3 oz of Hyperwash to 5 gallons of water, I hosed off as much of the crusted salt as I could, then did an involved two bucket wash.

Once the car was clean and still wet, I started with the HCW. Between the directions and what I`ve seen on the internet, I decided to spray it on and wipe it in. I have the strong feeling that I used too much. It IS thick and comes out of the bottle in a heavy spray.

I sprayed it on and wiped it in, the mf quickly became soaked and I probably made a mistake by not wringing it out, but I kept wiping it in until I went over the whole car.

The HCW was on the paint THICK and I didn`t see it coming off easily so I decided to try the hose off method. Apparently my hose doesn`t have enough pressure to work the HCW off the car, so after getting the car totally soaked again, I began with a fresh microfiber and began drying the car - wringing the towel out this time and it did fairly well removing the haze of the HCW. Once I had dried the whole car, It looked similar to after applying Ultimate Fast Finish, but before wiping off the residue.

So as a final wipe, I took a second fresh, slightly damp cloth and lightly went over the car. This did a fantastic job of removing the `high spots` that remained.

Once finished, I used the back of my hand and felt the finish. It felt very similar to UFF using my hand, but not quite as slick when wiped with a mf.

It`s supposed to rain tonight and maybe tomorrow, so if it does, perhaps I`ll take the car out and check out the beading.
I know it didn`t happen unless there are pics, so here they are. The car actually looks better in person, my phone`s camera has been acting up.

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo...0/tn_HCW_1.jpg

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo...0/tn_HCW_2.jpg

That sounds like a lot of trouble for a spray and rinse product. I’ve still only used Hydro2lite and all I did was spray it on and rinse it off, no rubbing necessary. I would suggest doing the car a panel at the time instead on the whole car.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rlmccarty2000

That sounds like a lot of trouble for a spray and rinse product. I’ve still only used Hydro2lite and all I did was spray it on and rinse it off, no rubbing necessary. I would suggest doing the car a panel at the time instead on the whole car.

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Of course I couldn`t leave well enough alone, so I tried a second, dry application a few hours later. Taking a clean, dry mf I sprayed it once with the HCW and going panel by panel, I wiped it on, then buffed it off with a new dry mf and buffed the panel.

It flashed pretty well and only left a few ... smears? high spots? that needed buffed off. The exterior glass came out crystal clear.

Time and probably some more experimentation will tell if it is worth the $11 (after rebate).

I used Mothers CMX yesterday. I intentionally applied it thick in some places. I got a few streaks and then went over it with a different microfiber and it buffed clean.

I just don`t understand why Megs always mixes their products with inferior waxes and fillers. The last Megs product I tried was Paint Protect and that was an oily mess to work with.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Don

Of course I couldn`t leave well enough alone, so I tried a second, dry application a few hours later. Taking a clean, dry mf I sprayed it once with the HCW and going panel by panel, I wiped it on, then buffed it off with a new dry mf and buffed the panel.

It flashed pretty well and only left a few ... smears? high spots? that needed buffed off. The exterior glass came out crystal clear.

Time and probably some more experimentation will tell if it is worth the $11 (after rebate).

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$11 is very inexpensive and probably well worth it. If you can check on it monthly and let us know how long it protects your car.


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As I mentioned, I can`t leave well enough alone ...

39* with a 29* windchill

Getting the car out of the garage, even with the heavy cloud cover, I could see numerous smears/high spots so I took it to the coin-op this afternoon before the race and just using the high pressure rinse, I went over the car. After a few passes, I started getting the water beading/sheeting that I`ve seen in all the UTube videos.

After 5 minutes of rinsing, I pulled it to the vacuums to dry it off. Even in the cooler temps, it dried off like a dream. Absolutely no signs of smearing and the finish looked awesome. Granted, this isn`t a full sun viewing, but still, it looks good.

My question now is was the high-pressure rinse necessary or would the hydrophobic properties have come out on their own after a day or two of rain or a few regular washes?

Don:
It seems like a lot of manual "work" to get this product to do its designed "thing" (AKA work) for you.
I am interested in the window application and how it affects the front windshield and wiper efficiency , like if it smears or streaks the rain water as it wipes or if it looks hazy under street lights. Those two characteristics of Rain-X are the reasons I do not use it very often on my front windshield. Have not tried the glass coatings out their nor the other rain-sheeting window products out there like AquaPel or Glass Science.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lonnie

Don:
It seems like a lot of manual "work" to get this product to do its designed "thing" (AKA work) for you.
I am interested in the window application and how it affects the front windshield and wiper efficiency , like if it smears or streaks the rain water as it wipes or if it looks hazy under street lights. Those two characteristics of Rain-X are the reasons I do not use it very often on my front windshield. Have not tried the glass coatings out their nor the other rain-sheeting window products out there like AquaPel or Glass Science.

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The effects on glass have all been positive so far, crystal clear (even after a mild rain) and during the rain, the water just slid off like with Rain-X.

As for the amount of manual effort, I did mention that I believed I used way to much HCW, which added A LOT of work to the equation. Now having experience with the HCW, I`m positive that any subsequent uses will be far less labor intensive.

Second application. Washed car & left wet. Then, starting at the top and going a panel at a time MISTED the HCW on the surface and then dried the panel completely. It went much easier and faster this time. Once done with the whole car, I took a clean, moderately damp mf cloth and wiped down the car again, removing what few, slight smears remained.

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo...0/tn_HCW_3.jpg

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo...0/tn_HCW_4.jpg