A wax test

I decided to do a wax test on the hood of my Dakota before I polished it out in a few months.

I applied in left to right:
1. Natty's Whiite (on fender)
2. 1z Glans
3. Meg's NXT 2.0
4. Mothers Reflections + Top Coat
5. Mothers Reflections
6.Collinite 476
7. Mothers Carnuaba Wax (fender)

The truck has sat outside under pine trees and with a heavy coat of pollen since March 15. I washed it this weekend for the first time using PB SSS (1 oz per 3 gallons) and picture 2 was just after the wash but prior to drying.

Shortly after the wash pic was taken (by the time I put the camera up), the collinite section has sheeted most of the water away. There was also not much on the Natty and Mother pure wax sections (both on fenders). The other sections did not show much sheeting. I probably should have done the hose test just after waxing to observe beading/sheeting properties. I did not use the flood method to help remove the water.

It rained this morning (the second day after washing) and all sections do seem to bead decent beads under light rain. No real difference between the sections.

I could not tell any obvious difference visually or clear differences in slickness upon initial application. After 1 month, I could tell all was aged and the sections that sheeted best did not look or feel much different .

 

Still proves collinite is worth its weight. And still cheaper than a lot of other waxes.

 

NICE...Thanks for the review...I have all the Mothers products mentioned and Always had good luck with them along with the 476...It was cool of you just to think of that and do it. Way to go...:thumb:

 

Bunky, I presume you've forgotten clean paint with no LSP will bead just fine, and sheet water too?
I'm failing to see what you're proposing here or what findings you've made.
Beading is an aesthetic quality only, and serves no other purpose other than to look pretty.
It certainly won't tell you if the section of the panel has any LSP still on there, and each designated area will also have a different amount of bonded contamination to it, in all likelihood, not to mention a different angle for the water to adhere to.

If you have a piece of HD foam, then drag that over the bonnet, and see if it squeaks when wet. If so, then your LSP has gone.

 

I did observe beading (notice it rained the day I was waxing in the garage when I pulled it out). When just waxed, The collinite beaded but beads would slip after the acquired some size faster than other waxes. The other sections just accumulated slightly larger drops but also they all have drops run off the hood once they achieved some size.

The LSP was present on all panels but just 476, Nattys', and Mothers step 3 seemed to sheet the most. That is why I commented on slickness after a month and the beading the following day.

I will continue but try some different techniques next time I wash. People make all sorts of claims on durability so I wanted to understand more.

 

Thanks for taking time out to do this. So many products and which one to chose , will always be open for debate. Continued good luck .

 

Thanks for sharing this Bunky!

 

It is very difficult to capture in a picture what you can see with your eyes. And yes, Collinite is a very fine wax out there, if you seen Dave KG wax test, it was second place (Collinite 915) after Vintage...

 

:thumb:

For more information see article“Water Beading and Durability” in the Detailing School section