Product Review: Wheel Wax...

J

jayder456

New member
Just rec'd Zaino system and over the coming weeks will be applying to my silver Maxima and wife's silver Odyssey. Last thing yet to acquire are new towels. I know Sal recommends 100% cotton towels, but he also said he was testing MF towels, but did not offer an opinion. I've no experience with Charismas or MFs.



I'm soliciting comments/opinions regarding towel types and brands, sizes & grades for tasks, and where to purchase for the following uses. (Cost is an important factor.)



1. Large (what recommended size?) for drying after washing - I just bought a Ca. water blade, so plan to use drying towel after the blade;



2. For removing Z1/Z5 and Z2 and all the other Zs;



3. For QD;



4. For cleaning windows.



Many thanks for your opinions, insights and suggestions....

-KCD-
 
1. Charisma Bath towel works well after drying with the Ca water blade. Other people use Mf towels to do this follow up. (BE CAREFUL with the Ca blade when drying.)



2. I use 100% cotton towels to remove product from the car. Other people use MF's. It depends on your preference. Again for cotton, Charisma's are tops.



3. I only QD after a nice through wash. I use a 100% cotton towel. Others on this forum rely only on MT's for QD'ing.



4. I use terry cloths with EF Clear Vision for the first pass, and a damp terry MF for the second pass, then a dry suede type MF for the final pass.



Hope this helps,

Jason
 
Charisma are the best cotton towels that I have found. You can find them in some department stores, but they have a retail price of $24.99-$27.99 per towels depending on where you buy them. Sometimes you can find them on sale for around $19.99. But most here get them from the outlet store. They are irregular, but there is not much wrong with them, and you can get them for cheaper.

www.fieldcrestcannonoutlet.com
 
While your on the outlet store site mentioned above, be sure to check if there is a local one near you. I bought the Charisma's at a local Fieldcrest Outlet for about half of what the online outlet charges.
 
things are horrible and known to cause scratches in paint jobs. Imagine dragging a reletively hard product across your paint, it's bound to get that errant dirt particle stuck on it and scratch your paint. Most guys here have scratched their paint and gotten rid of it, although AFTER the damage was done. Do yourself a favor and get rid of it NOW, before you regret using it. As for towels Fieldcrest happens to be the best, or thickest, plushest. MF is "OK" but cotton is best used for almost all of the jobs you described. QD'ing with MF is ok, but that is about it. Most MF is too thin and has too little knap to use as a buffing towel due to "clogging" up reletively fast. Unless you have tons of them (MF), use a thick cotton towel for most of these tasks.
 
Linens 'N Things is having a sale on Fieldcrest RV's for $5.99....at least the one near my house is. Not sure if it's nationwide. About a year ago, my wife bought a half-dozen or so Ralph Lauren bath towels at their outlet store in SoCal for $6.99 each and they are the softest, thickest towels I have ever felt. Too bad she won't let me use even one of them for detailing and that outlet store is about 120 miles from where I live.



I clean my windows by using either "Invisible Glass" or a wet MF towel and then wiping it off the old fashioned way using a newspaper. It leaves absolutely no lint. Another alternative would be to use Klasse for your windows and then buff off with an MF.
 
I appreciate and have noted your comments along with what I could find in archives related to the topic. Like the Klasse and Zaino camps, there seems to be no consensus between really good coton towels and good MFs. Nor for the least expensive route.



As I suspected, I'll have to ease into trying both. Ditto with water blade, I will probably use it carefully on the van (that is a moderate pain to dry and polish), but not on my maxima.



-Doug-
 
You can get a 30''x52'' Charisma bath towel from the outlet for $9.99. Thats not bad considering what some MF towels cost.
 
for the buck when you can get several charisma's and cut them into 4's, all of a sudden you are only paying about $2.50/towel. Doesn't get any better than that. You will need to serge the edges or fold them over and seal the exposed edge with a zig zag stitch to minimize fraying.
 
Thanks for the additional posts about Fieldcrest. I just stopped into a Bed, Bath & Beyond, they had some irregular Fieldcrest 100% cotton towels, no model line designation, for $5.99. (Some were egyptian cotton - whatever that is.) These were standard sized bath towels, I wouldn't characterize as plush, but they felt soft and reasonably thick. Any thoughts or insights on these?



Also...same store had some clearance Fieldcrest Supimas for $7.99. - regular sized bath towels with a decorative band. They felt a tad thicker than the $5.99 Fieldcrests, but I still wouldn't consider them the ultra weight that I associate with "plush."



They also had other Fieldcrest Supimas, not on sale, for $14.99 & $16.99 that were a bit larger and noticeably thicker pile. Go figure - same label name, but different design and heavier.



I could not find any Fieldcrest Charismas at this store.



Since they are Fieldcrests and immediately available I may try a couple and see how they work.



Tally Ho,

-doug-
 
KCDoug -- Hi! You might check out the thread I recently started on "Charismas vs. Charisma Select." http://216.147.22.29/forum/showthread.php3?s=&threadid=3511

The Charisma Selects are made of this Supima cotton. I do not know if the Supima Cotton towels you encountered are the same thing as Charisma Selects. If you do not already have good towels, you might want to volunteer as our experimenter and buy a Select and a Supima and let us know the reuslts.
 
After watching Todd's video of Wheel Wax, I felt like it was a pretty good product, so I decided to give it a shot.

Application: I used a foam applicator and wiped on the product and let dry until it hazed. VERY easy to apply, and I used so little for 4 wheels, that it looks like this little jar will last forever! A dime size dob will do an entire wheel, including the backside of the wheel.

Drying time: Almost immediately. l let it dry/haze for ONE MINUTE.

Removal: It removed very easily with a soft microfiber, no pressure, no streaking, no dusting.

Slickness/Shine: 10 out of 10 in this category. The wheels have never looked so good.

Scent/Color: Wheel Wax is a buttery yellow and smells like bananas.

Cost: $14.99 for the tub. Very reasonable for what you get.

Durability: Don't know yet.

Overall Impression: If you read the other categories, you should know that I loved it! I applied Wheel Wax over BFWD, which was applied a few weeks ago. The wheels look fantastic.

Would I recommend? You betcha. High points include ease of application and removal, and the little amount I had to use for the entire wheel. You won't be disappointed.:clap:

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Completely agree with Bill's assessment on Wheel Wax!

I would add that its best to not wait too long to buff it out - just makes for more work. One time I thought I would be smart and wax up all four wheel and come around and buff them out - by then the wax had dried and I really worked up a sweat getting it buffed out of all the nooks and crannies!

As far as durability goes I measure it by how easy it is to wash the brake dust off the wheels. When the Wheel Wax is fresh the brake dust washes right off, after about three months of regular washings it needs to be re-applied. At least that's my experience with the chrome wheels on my Benz.
 
Nice review Bill. I was on the fence about this. After reading your review, I think I will give it a try.
 
bmw5541 said:
Nice review Bill. I was on the fence about this. After reading your review, I think I will give it a try.
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I've always read about it and just never reallized that it's probably the best product out there for wheels. Just remember to remove it immediately after it hazes. (Don't let it sit for a long time - See MB Fan's post above.):wink:
 
I've used WW one time on a customer request and made 2 very bad mistakes with it. First I applied it a little too heavy and second, I let it really dry before buffing it off. The combination of those 2 mistakes resulted in what was like removing plaster! Heed Bill and MBFan's advice! Apply it thin and don't let it sit too long. The stuff is remarkable though and it lasted until I saw that customer again.

Those Vette wheels look great BIll and I'm anxious to see the durability with a KC onslaught of conditions.
 
MB Fan said:
I would add that its best to not wait too long to buff it out - just makes for more work. One time I thought I would be smart and wax up all four wheel and come around and buff them out - by then the wax had dried and I really worked up a sweat getting it buffed out of all the nooks and crannies!
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Good to know... I was sitting on the garage floor and, since it was hazed in just over 1 minute, I decided to wipe it off immediately. Worked out great. VERY easy to remove.

As far as durability goes I measure it by how easy it is to wash the brake dust off the wheels. When the Wheel Wax is fresh the brake dust washes right off, after about three months of regular washings it needs to be re-applied. At least that's my experience with the chrome wheels on my Benz.
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3 months on wheels is excellent! I've seen waxes on wheels, that's gone in a week! I think it's heat that causes the fast denegration of most waxes.
 
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