Well I got the #16. I went outside to test the mold release waxes and noticed the mailman was at the box. Apparently our new boxes have a single large box for bigger items. He put the package in there but put the key in the wrong box. I was happy though. Can was a little dented which won't look good in my paste wax museum lol. Possibly dented prior to shipping or could have been that it was shipped in a flat rate priority envelope ($6.50 handling mind you).
I tested #8, #87, #88, #26 and gold class paste on the hood of a 2006 explorer (rental car). I divided the hood up in 5 strips and applied each. I was curious to see if they were difficult to remove. I took 1/3rd of each strip off at 5mins, another at 10min and last at 15min. 43 degrees sun out but low enough that it was blocked by my building. All went on and came off with no problems. #8 was noticeably harder to work with but not difficult. I tried to feel a difference between them. At times #8 didn't feel as slick. Most noticeably in the area that dried 5minutes. The vehicle was a gold color and I couldn't see a difference. I tried using reflections to measure the gloss and couldn't pick one over the other. On a darker color I'm sure something would have stood out. I sprayed the hood down with water to see how things beaded. #26 had the roundest beads. Lastly I wanted to tested durability with soap. Little automagic on a sponge, quick wipe and rinse. #26 beading the best. Little more soap, quick wipe and rinse, #26 again. Still more soap, wiped at let stay wet for a few minutes (no intentional, I started talking to someone), rinsed. At that point all three would sheet but anything that resembled tight beading was gone.
At this point was when I got the #16 in. I couldn't retest but looked at the four waxes. I figure if they are the same then they will look, feel, smell close to each other.
#8 Doesn't feel anything like it, has a very dry feel and look. The smell is horrible, something in it had a distinct chemical smell but I don't know what it is.
#87 Feels much that same and smells much the same.
#88 Feels close but not as close as 87. Smell close but not as close as 87. One thing I noticed was #16 had small holes in the top of the wax in the can. Only #88 had those. No clue what causes them or if it means a darn thing.
As I felt before testing that #87 was close based on msds I did test that on a black vehicle that other day. It went on and off ok and looked like it protected nice with beading. I put on three coats. However it was the deadest wax I've ever put on a car. I did the door and it didn't look any different then the door that was not waxed. I can't remember putting wax on a black vehicle and not being able to see a difference.
Next week I may fool with it some more. Different vehicles may respond differently. At this point I have to say that none of them are the same as #16. I'm not 100% convinced but getting there. If Meguiars told me tomorrow that #8 was the same as #16, I'd call them liars. Those two aren't close at all.
)
