Meguiar`s says any more than one coat of wax is useless...?

pologuy

New member
Talking to / e-mailing a guy at Meguiar`s that is saying that putting any more than one coat of wax on a car is useless...?

That a second (or more) coat of wax doesn`t stay on the car as it has nothing to adhere to...?
 
If you apply a perfect, uniform coat of wax then I suppose there is no need to apply a second coat for the sake of uniformity. But I must screw up the first coat because I almost always see a slightly better finish after two coats of the same product.

I personally also think two coats can pile on or mix with each other for improved look or durability. There’s too many smart people who have tried it here and gotten better results with a second coat. I’m not smart but I get better results. But perhaps Meguiar’s is only speaking for Meguiar’s, as wannafbody mentioned.

And I don’t use Meguiar’s waxes/sealants anymore, so there’s also that.
 
There are a host car-care manufacturers who make waxes that even recommend multiple coats of wax. SwissVax is one, as is Zymol, and Pinnacle Souvran Paste Wax. I was with the understanding that many concourse show cars have multiple wax applications.
Guess they all want you to use more of their expensive wax!

I will say this, the ONE TIME I did a multiple wax application was to a silver grey Chevy Malibu with AutoGlym`s High-Definition Wax (Yes, THAT wax many Autopians bought when Walmart was clearance selling out that line, which is where mine came from) Did it make a difference?? Incrementally, yes. I did it for two reasons: 1) To ensure I had complete coverage everywhere, which was hard to see on this silver grey; 2) Extra protection for longevity (at least in my mind. Autoglym HD is NOT a protection wax but a beauty wax and it showed on this silver grey)
 
I think it really depends on the solvents used. P21s might layer but a heavy solvent wax probably will remove most of what`s been previously applied or result in a slightly thicker layer. Water based products are probably the most likely to layer.
 
Zaino reaches it max potential at 20 coats. Never saw a difference after that.

I have seen many Zaino regional reps vehicles with a LOT of Z2 and Z5 Zaino on them and they looked incredible !!! It was like extra clear coat on their paintwork..

I never had the time to apply more than their recommended 3 Thin Layers with ZFX, and it always worked great..
Dan F
 
It`s not that hard to DIY a properly controlled Layering Test and determine any benefits/not for yourself. Then you`ll *KNOW* and can happily disregard the comments and opinions of others. Which is what I generally do, but for a Meguiar`s rep to say, *categorically*, that it doesn`t work?!? Eh, :rolleyes:

Yes, with many products you do have to go about the Layering the right way.

Specific to Meguiar`s Waxes, anybody who says that M16 can`t be layered is wrong. Period. It was an *OBVIOUS* and dramatic difference that I have *decades* of experience with. Maybe that one wasn`t considered by the Rep since it`s no longer available...

I haven`t tried Layering their UQW (the only other Meguiar`s LSP I use) in any serious way, but the very similar OCW *CAN* also be layered, so it wouldn`t surprise me if the UQW/D156 can be also. But OK, I don`t know for sure since *nobody* knows such stuff for certain unless he`s tested it himself (if only due to diffs in application technique).

Heh heh, I wouldn`t waste one minute of my life layering something if it didn`t work (other than when doing the test ;) ).
 
I have seen many Zaino regional reps vehicles with a LOT of Z2 and Z5 Zaino on them and they looked incredible !!! It was like extra clear coat on their paintwork..

I never had the time to apply more than their recommended 3 Thin Layers with ZFX, and it always worked great..
Dan F

I really was joking. I think there comes a point where it reaches diminishing returns.
 
I really was joking. I think there comes a point where it reaches diminishing returns.
Absolutely, but it seems pretty mighty of the rep to claim that more than 1 is useless. Unless he did have a specific Meguiar’s wax in mind, but even then he’s assuming everyone applies perfect on the first try.
 
I think it really depends on the solvents used. P21s might layer but a heavy solvent wax probably will remove most of what`s been previously applied or result in a slightly thicker layer. Water based products are probably the most likely to layer.

I`ve always wondered about that too. When I used 845 I never bothered with layering because not only did one layer last me plenty long for my needs, but I was pretty sure all the solvents in that stuff wouldn`t do any pervious layers any favors.

The only product I`ve seen any gain from layering was Klasse SG. Years ago, when I still used it, I had one vehicle with two layers and one vehicle with one layer. The two layer vehicle demonstrated noticeably more evidence the product was still present despite that vehicle living a much harder life than the one layer vehicle.

Everything else I`ve used didn`t really offer any extra durability or improvement in appearance by adding additional layers.
 
I`ve always wondered about that too.

Then exepriment :D

When I used 845 I never bothered with layering because not only did one layer last me plenty long for my needs, but I was pretty sure all the solvents in that stuff wouldn`t do any pervious layers any favors.

845 layers fine for me, and doing that improved the durability *almost* enough for me to be satisfied, though it never equaled what I got out of 476S (which also layers, including in combos with 845).
The only product I`ve seen any gain from layering was Klasse SG. Years ago, when I still used it, I had one vehicle with two layers and one vehicle with one layer. The two layer vehicle demonstrated noticeably more evidence the product was still present despite that vehicle living a much harder life than the one layer vehicle.
I got decent durability out of 4 layers of KSG, much better with 6 (never tried more IIRC, looks quit improving after the 4).

Everything else I`ve used didn`t really offer any extra durability or improvement in appearance by adding additional layers.
Interesting, as many LSPs and even some AIOs layer for me...eh, lots of application/etc.-related variables though.
 
I`ve been thinking about layering UQW/D156...I use it as a Drying Aid at every wash (for at least *something* on each vehicle). Used to be that it was *DEAD* every time; prior to redoing it gave no obvious evidence of having survived the wash. BUT, these days it still beads/feels slick/looks decent before I redo it, so *something* is building up in a way that I like. Not as obviously as the OCW layers on paint, but still something.
 
Is this on a daily you expose to your lovely Ohio winter weather?

If you are going to go the way of layering spray sealants, what about some of the products with a reputation for multi-month durability? I haven`t used any of them, but acuRAS82`s testing he documented here might provide some ideas.

I`m not against UQW, but never really though of it being more than a booster type product and am not sure it will be durable enough for you. I could be wrong. I never used it by itself, but the improvements I saw when using it as a topper never seemed to last more than a couple weeks.
 
Desertnate- Yeah, the Daily Drivers as well as the Garage Queens get the OCW and UQW on certain select areas.

I only use the UQW on surfaces like (generally black) trim, don`t like it at all on paint (though the OCW is OK with me). I *do* think the UQW, either by itself or over Ultima TTG+, looks *exactly* right on those surfaces (on *our* vehicles, might be a different story on something else).

And...heh heh, True Confession time ;) ... I use UQW primarily because the in-laws give me a year`s supply every Christmas ;) If I had to actually *pay* for it I`d use something else with better durability (or at least buy a gallon of D156). Well, I`d use something else if it worked out to be cost/effort-effective. For *what little I expect from it* the UQW works fine but no I don`t think it`s anything great.
 
Most Megs waxes(not all) are a cleaner type wax even if they don’t say it on the bottle. So there is a very light abrasive or chemical that will remove the previous layer. Hence the recommendation of only one layer.

The layering topic can become a worm hole. Other companies state their wax can be layered. So I’d stick with manufacturers recommendations! Or you can always experiment.......
 
Dr Oldz- Those experiments can be pretty enlightening...in my case, especially so regarding that ".. very light abrasive or chemical that will remove the previous layer.." which doesn`t always preclude effective layering. At least, not if you do it right. NEVER woulda thunk it, glad it decided to find out for myself.

BUT note that..."
I’d stick with manufacturers recommendations!" is exactly what lead me to do the experiments that showed it could work! So even though I take all of those manufacturer recommendations with a little pinch of skepticism, even *I* have learned to at least give `em some consideration.

(FWIW, the AIO that "shouldn`t layer, but does" is Autoglym Super Resin Polish, which I kinda doubt anybody else here likes/uses.)
 
I`ve layered 2-3 coats of P21s and Souverain and definitely noticed a difference, although I didn`t really like what it did with the P21s; made the champagne gold color of my `60 Cadillac "glow" but in an artificial, overdone way. A couple of coats of Souverain gives a real nice shine on that car.
 
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