Some of you will recall the Tuesday night chat with the Collinite's rep, Patrick Taylor, soon after Jack added their products to the CMA/PAC lneup. I'm opening my e-mail tonight and I've got a post from none other than the same Mr. Taylor telling me I won a contest. I have a hazy recollection of an e-newsletter soliciting testimonials and experiences with Collinite products. As a longstanding user and advocate of 845IW I submitted an entry detailing (no pun intended) my earliest experience with 845 Insulator Wax. And whadaya know, I won!
As my recollection is a bit hazy I was thinking the prize was a new Ferrari. Turns out it was actually a Collinite cap. They say the mind is the first thing to go... :huh:
Here's Mr. Taylor's e-mail along with my winning submission. Geeze, I'm a real buttsmooch when there's something free to be had. :biggrin:
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Tom,
Congratulations! You've won Collinite's Detailing Tale contest that we ran in our last e-newsletter. We appreciate you taking the time to author such an in depth account of your love for Collinite Wax.
Please provide me with an address where I can mail your Collinite cap. Also-let me know if you'd prefer the khaki hat, or charcoal grey.
Once again, thanks for participating and for being such a loyal Collinite customer. When you get a chance, send me some pictures of yourself with your Collinite-coated vehicle(s).
Regards,
-Patrick Taylor
On Fri, Mar 26, 2010 at 12:09 PM, TL Mitchell <
[email protected]> wrote:
Greetings,
I began waxing my cars before I was even able to drive them. In 1971 I bought a red 1966 Ford Falcon from my sister when I was still 15, the minimum driving age in Pennsylvania at the time was 16. I had been smearing Kit, Turtle Wax, Raindance, Rally or whatever I could get my hands on on my parent's cars so it was a natural to keep mine looking as good as possible (or so I thought at the time!) too.
Soon after I began driving I was involved in a front-end accident. The Falcon was repaired with new sheetmetal and fresh red paint from the firewall forward. The repairs looked good... TOO good. The difference in the OEM finish on the rear of the car just didn't measure up to the bright, shiny deep red on the front. I embarked on a quest to try and create a better match by trying every compound, polish and wax I could find on the old red paint on the rear. I eventually blundered on to the right combination and restored the OEM red paint close to it's former glory producing a pile of red rags in my wake.
Topping the whole car with whatever cleaner-wax I was using at the time left everything shiny and it looked good in the shade. In the sun something was missing. The OEM restored red just didn't quite measure up to the higher gloss of the new paint. Plus I discovered that the original paint faded at a much quicker rate than the new stuff, I found myself polishing and waxing the rear of the car almost continually to maintain a reasonable match.
One sunny day I went to a friends house to shine up the Ford in the shade of his garage. He was also giving his red 1959 MGA a coat of wax, his car was almost the same shade of red as my Ford. When we were done and looking things over I noticed the front of my car looked almost as good as his. But the rear of mine with the original paint paled in comparision. His paint had a higher, deeper gloss and the finish was slicker to the touch. I asked him what he was using and he said "Insulator Wax".
I picked up the bottle of this stuff and read the label. I applied it to a spot on the trunk and wiped it off after it hazed and was rewarded with a MUCH shinier, smoother, deeper, redder spot. Naturally this led to using this new discovery on the rest of the trunk and rear portions of the car. The shine and gloss of the original paint was improved so much the new paint on the front looked kind of drab by comparison. So the front got waxed as well. When I was finished I was amazed to see the front and rear of the car appeared to almost be a perfect match! You had to know the front had been repainted and know where to look to tell the difference.
In addition to appearance I was overjoyed that the rear portions of the car no longer needed continual attention due to the OEM paint fading. Instead of redoing the rear every month I was now polishing and waxing only every 6 months... and it really wasn't necessary, I just liked the way the finish looked and felt with a fresh coat of Insulator Wax. I was continually asked what do I use on my car? Did I have it repainted? How do you get it to keep beading so well? People really noticed.
That was almost 39 years ago. Over the years I learned about machine polishing, clay, pads, paint correction, sealants, glazes, single-stage paint, clearcoats and the like. As my knowledge and experience increased so did my quest for something better. I tried different polishes, compounds and pads and refined my techniques and frequently found products that were an improvement over what I had been using.. And I tried different Last Stage Products. I tried sealants and waxes, some of them insanely expensive touting the ultimate in looks and longevity. And none of them surpassed the ease of use, longevity and appearance of Collinite #845 Insulator Wax. Well, one did... and it is the only other wax that still has a place in my detailing cabinet, Collinite #915 Marque D' Elegance. In my opinion 915 & 845 are comparable in looks and longevity. But nothing and I mean NOTHING can beat the ease of use of 845. Nothing!
I've become the default caretaker of my family's and friend's cars. My parent's cars have 845 on them. My sister's cars have 845 on them. Many of my coworker's cars have 845 on them. One of the nicest things about 845 is nobody bugs me to wax their cars very often because the stuff lasts a long, long time. All my vehicles get clayed, spot polished and waxed more frequently. Because after all these years I still love the look and feel of a fresh coat of 845, even when it isn't really necessary.
Thomas Mitchell
West Farmington, OH
PS - Isn't it about time to do something about that cap on 845? In addition to being on all my vehicles I also have 845 on my garage doors, walls and floor. The stuff is so slick it's tough to keep the cap on tight when you're shaking the beejeesus out of it! I've used a flip-top cap from another product and have been transferring it from bottle to bottle of 845 for years. A flip-top cap that STAYS PUT is the only improvement I can conceive of for 845. Don't mess with the formula, don't change the label... just do something about that cap!
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Patrick Taylor
Collinite Wax
315.292.4963
[email protected]
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http://collinite.com/contactus.htm
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TL <--- the unabashed buttsmooch and new cap owner
im telling ya...that review you did is the definitve how to IMHO....nuff sucking up now..
....the only thing i've used that site for...so far...is to check out the rating(bronze..silver....etc) of local detailers....in case i was to need one....like Brad said...straight to the point...
The One-Step seems to clean a little better than the Klasse, and I use it for family member's cars, when I'm not interested in spending days and days and layer and layers.
