My impressions of NXT durability at the nearly 2 month point

S

Scottwax

New member
Regarding NXT durability-



I polished out a BMW 545 (pics in my gallery from that detail) on January 23rd and topped with NXT. I washed it today and it was still beading very well. I also asked my customer and he says it is beading when it rains. He normally takes it through one of the local car washes about once a week and has me give it a hand wash monthly. A 1995 Lexus LS400 I wash every two weeks was waxed with NXT on January 25th (either in my autopia or photohost gallery) and it is also beading very well. I might also mention we had 15 days of rain and a day and a half of snow during this time.



Appearance-wise, both cars still look very good, NXT seems to really hold it's look. I went over an LS430 at the same office as the LS400 today and nearly two month old NXT may not have looked quite as good, but held it's own in comparison. Slickness is only so-so though. At this point, Clearkotes Carnauba Moose is noticably slicker.



At the nearly two month point, I'd grade NXT this way:



Beading- B

Appearance- A-

Slickness- C
 
I am beginning to wonder how relevant "slickness" is. We had another lousy week of weather and I looked at the 4 panels I did last weekend on my daily driver. "Slickness" diminishes rapidly.



( test )



I walked around the car this morning and it was covered with ice and snow. The untreated side of the car looked no better than the opposite side which was treated last weekend....the ice and snow were clinging with tenacity on both sides....no difference.:(



I washed the car this afternoon and the 4 panels looked good. The NXT section may have looked the best but the sun was going down and it was hard to say.



Only time will tell....
 
Scottwax said:
Regarding NXT durability-



I polished out a BMW 545 (pics in my gallery from that detail) on January 23rd and topped with NXT. I washed it today and it was still beading very well. I also asked my customer and he says it is beading when it rains. He normally takes it through one of the local car washes about once a week and has me give it a hand wash monthly. A 1995 Lexus LS400 I wash every two weeks was waxed with NXT on January 25th (either in my autopia or photohost gallery) and it is also beading very well. I might also mention we had 15 days of rain and a day and a half of snow during this time.



Appearance-wise, both cars still look very good, NXT seems to really hold it's look. I went over an LS430 at the same office as the LS400 today and nearly two month old NXT may not have looked quite as good, but held it's own in comparison. Slickness is only so-so though. At this point, Clearkotes Carnauba Moose is noticably slicker.



At the nearly two month point, I'd grade NXT this way:



Beading- B

Appearance- A-

Slickness- C
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Same opinion here.



I agree the CCM does stay slick for a while.
 
As far as slickness goes, it is mostly a personal preferrence that the paint remain slick so that washing is easier.
 
Scottwax said:
As far as slickness goes, it is mostly a personal preferrence that the paint remain slick so that washing is easier.
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Yeah, that really pays off up here in the north when we get all the road salt on the roads.:up
 
WOW! You have had incredible luck with the NXT. I have been using a couple 3' square painted test panels over the past couple months and have noticed some interesting things.



It obviously has some fine abrasives in it because it polished the surface upon application. It also has a fair amount of solvents in it which helps clean the surface. These two things alone would help make the surface shinier even if it had no residual protection at all.



I found NXT to have a great shine, initially, but it diminished extremely fast telling me that it is pretty rich with silicones and/or other oils. A hot wash of a freshly waxed panel would pretty much take the panel from a water beading surface to a sheeting surface. Cold washes faired better but the protection still diminished rapidly. I felt the panel was ready for a rewax within three to four weeks. It wasn't what I had expected for a polymer product. In fact, in my tests it really acts more like a carnauba. This isn't a bad thing, but I don't see this as a product that will last many months.



It goes on very easily and polishes off with no effort. I really like the cleaning ability of the NXT shampoo and am certain that it would boost/extend the life of the wax. Use of the QD/spray wax would obviously do the same. Using both these associated products on a frequent basis would be the best bet to get more life out of NXT.
 
I'm really amazed at what seems to be.......... complete opposite results. Could it have something to do with the type of car wash...... or water used in the wash? The prep? Something just doesn't make sense?
 
For the record, I use paint test panels that are stripped with a alkaline detergent wash prior to any testing. The panels are exposed to everyday conditions. One panel is outdoors 24-7. The second panel is taken inside a heated garage every evening to simulate a garaged car. Applications are always done following the manufacturers instructions. The panels are washed weekly with a cotton mitt, warm water and cold variations. The water is untreated and not hard. Drying is done with MF waffleweave. I have dark painted panels so I can easily track scratching and swirls. I don't use shampoos and quick detailers on wax tests as they tend to skew the actual durability factor of the wax itself.
 
"I'm really amazed at what seems to be.......... complete opposite results. Could it have something to do with the type of car wash...... or water used in the wash? The prep? Something just doesn't make sense?"



Subjective testing vs Objective testing
 
White_F150 said:
I'm really amazed at what seems to be.......... complete opposite results. Could it have something to do with the type of car wash...... or water used in the wash? The prep? Something just doesn't make sense?
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:nixweiss I have always used a glaze or polish prior to using NXT since it is supposed to be a last step product and its cleaning/polishing ability is pretty mild. I normally wash cars with QEW, except at the office with the pressure sprayer and water deionizer. QEW apparently has a light wax content from what I have been told, but on an unwaxed surface, QEW will not bead at all, it just lays flat, which is why they recommend using it only on waxed/sealed paint. The guy with the BMW only has me wash the car once a month, so I have no control over how he washes it the rest of the time, which makes it an even truer test, IMO.
 
I've found that slickness with sealants is relative - my water is very hard here and after hand washing and Waffle weave dry it can kill the slickness of anything - when I follow up with Poorboy's Spray and Wipe..then I know if the slickness is there or not - (although I agree with your NxT findings - I've found it to be back on my metallic - seems to almost kill any of the sparkle I get with other products)...but on my roomate's black ford ranger is looks good
 
"I have no control over how he washes it the rest of the time, which makes it an even truer test"



How does that make it a truer test? He may wash it using a wash-wax product or may get the additional spray/glow wax option at the car wash place.



Do you measure the quality of the bead (size and number) on a treated part vs an untreated section right after or within 48 hours of wax/polish application?



The next time you do your observations is this after or before using QEW?



What is your exact methodology for determining whether a product is beading or beading the same/similar as when it was originally applied?



Has there been any beading degradation over the period you did your observations?



I have a friend who leases ("smartbuy" now, but that is another story) cars every four years. He never waxes or polishes his car, just uses Gliptone Wash and Glow soap and washes weekly for the most part. His car always beads but the quality of the beads are nowhere near the quality of the beads on my cars that are waxed/polished.



I have always observed that his car beads when it rains and he never waxes/seals it.
 
tom p. said:
I am beginning to wonder how relevant "slickness" is. We had another lousy week of weather and I looked at the 4 panels I did last weekend on my daily driver. "Slickness" diminishes rapidly.



( test )



I walked around the car this morning and it was covered with ice and snow. The untreated side of the car looked no better than the opposite side which was treated last weekend....the ice and snow were clinging with tenacity on both sides....no difference.:(



I washed the car this afternoon and the 4 panels looked good. The NXT section may have looked the best but the sun was going down and it was hard to say.



Only time will tell....
Click to expand...



I think NXT has a lot of problem bonding when its too cold or maybe because of the snow/sand/salt problem we have here. I also had given my car a coat of NXT last sunday before the storm. I finally washed it today and found my paind dull again, and not only that, but residue of wax all over the car. Guess NXT didnt hold up to the paint. Ill have to go as I had planned, AIO/SG and on summer some NXT topper, or #26, both look the same on my car and have about the same durability.
 
RIC said:
"I have no control over how he washes it the rest of the time, which makes it an even truer test"



How does that make it a truer test? He may wash it using a wash-wax product or may get the additional spray/glow wax option at the car wash place.
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I asked him specifically about his washing habits. He just gets the basic wash at a local car wash. He doesn't get the wax because he said on his previous car, a BMW 540, the wax would spot his plastic trim. He also does not use a quick detailer. I wanted to know exactly what he was doing since the car was still beading nicely and I am fully aware of the durability issues some are having with NXT.



Do you measure the quality of the bead (size and number) on a treated part vs an untreated section right after or within 48 hours of wax/polish application?
Click to expand...



I am basing initial beading on how well NXT beads on my own car and my brothers. It rained the within the first few days after I first used NXT on both vehicles.



The next time you do your observations is this after or before using QEW?
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Before, using plain water.



What is your exact methodology for determining whether a product is beading or beading the same/similar as when it was originally applied?
Click to expand...



If you mean do I take pictures and compare them, no. I base the beading comparison on how it is currently beading vs how a freshly waxed vehicle beads.



Has there been any beading degradation over the period you did your observations?
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The beading is not as tight and round as you would expect a freshly waxed surface to be, but the beads are not large with irregular borders or flattening out significantly.



My grade of 'B' is how NXT beads at this point compared to other products at the same point. I would give CMW, PB's EX or Klasse SG an 'A' and 3Ms Perfect-it Paste a 'C' at the 6-8 week stage for example.



I have a friend who leases ("smartbuy" now, but that is another story) cars every four years. He never waxes or polishes his car, just uses Gliptone Wash and Glow soap and washes weekly for the most part. His car always beads but the quality of the beads are nowhere near the quality of the beads on my cars that are waxed/polished.



I have always observed that his car beads when it rains and he never waxes/seals it.
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I have noticed that mostly with Suburbans and Tahoes. They seem to bead for a very long time even when you don't wax them. Not as well as properly waxed vehicles of course.



The LS400 is a 9 year-old vehicle so there is no way that it is beading simply because it has new paint. I have been taking care of that car since it was new; I wash it every 2 weeks and polish and wax it 3-4 times a year. When I used NXT on it, I polished the car first with American Shine's California Clear Coat, which should have removed any protection that the previous coat of VM/CMW was providing. The paint still feels pretty slick as a towel passes over it, but not nearly as slick to my skin as other products do at this point.



The BMW is a new car. I had to polish out the dealer installed swirls using DACP and SFP before glazing with American Shine's CCC and topping with NXT. Whatever product the dealer used to wax the car was (I'm sure) removed by the multiple polishing steps. I am fully aware that new paint beads on it's own for some time which may affect the results on the BMW, but certainly not the Lexus.



I am trying to properly evaluate how NXT holds up so I can determine if it will be a product I will regularly use on my customer's vehicles. If it doesn't hold up at least a full three months, I won't use it. I don't want a call from a customer saying I waxed their car 5-6 weeks ago and it doesn't look good or isn't beading. I have no dog in this hunt. I do not work for Meguiars nor do I recieve any financial compensation from them. I will however, give NXT a fair evaluation since it is my reputation on the line when I use it, not Meguiars.
 
Scott, my experience with NXT has been very similar to yours. I applied it to my Mustang back in mid January. I have done nothing to it but wash it with NXT car wash weekly. It has been through an ice storm and a couple days of snow with the accompanying road sand/salt mix. The car is a daily driver, I commute two hours a day although it does sleep in a nice warm garage.



I did not do any prep work whatsover before applying NXT other than a wash.



It is still beading nicely with nice round beads although as Scott has said, the surface is not as slick. The look is still awesome. I normally don't let my car go this long but, I really wanted to see how long it would last and I am very pleased with it.
 
So I took a look at my car again after washing it today. Looks good, but not that good as when it has a fresh NXT coat. Beading is normal, like large watter beads, so in one week it has diminished itself. So, I decided to do AIO + SG on my car. Damn car looks so much better. AIO adds reflectivity, NXT depth. Also, AIO seemed to pull that NXT wax off with no problem. Could it be that NXT cant bond on top of SG? I remember I had done 1 coat of SG week before doing NXT.
 
Scottwax,



I've noticed pretty much the same results you have recorded in your original post. In fact at about 2 weeks winter driving mine wasn't very slick though it beaded very well. I put a little final detail on after a wash and quit trying to figure out what happened. 2 months after original application it still beads water well.
 
GoodnClean said:
I wonder if it may have something to do with the type of industrial fallout...
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It may. I seem to get better results with S100 too. Maybe a combination of QEW and a lack of acid rain, industrial fallout and road salt.
 
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