Waxes as Rated by CR
As I expected, the most expensve and glossy lablled products did not perform as good as the less expensive stuff.
CONSUMER REPORTS RATINGS The CR Ratings list the tested PRODUCTs in two groups: waxes in the first group are OK on any car. Waxes in the second group are best used on cars with somewhat weathered paint. Within groups, products are listed in order of overall SCORE, based on gloss, durability, ease of use and cleaning. Scores are on a scale of 0 to 100: 80 to 100 is excellent, 60 to 79 is very good, 40 to 59 is good, 20 to 39 is fair, 0 to 19 is poor. TYPE indicates whether a wax is in liquid (L) or paste (P) form. GLOSS is CR's judgment of gloss after one coat. DURA is the judgment of durability after one coat. EASE is the judgment of ease of use, based on application, buffing and whether the wax streaked, smeared or powdered. CLEAN is CR's judgment of the cleaning result from our waxing of actual cars. Numbers in the GLOSS, DURA, EASE and CLEAN columns are on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being better and 1 being worse. PRICE is the estimated average, based on prices paid nationally in recent months. A * indicates the price CR paid. Ratings: Car Waxes 34 tested Better 5<---->1 Worse SCORE PRODUCT TYPE GLOSS DURA EASE CLEAN PRICE 81 Meguiar's Cleaner Wax Liquid A-1216 L 5 3 5 4 $5.38 80 Nu Finish Soft Paste NFP-80 P 3 5 4 5 5.97 74 Turtle Wax Carnauba Soft T225 P 4 4 4 4 4.99 71 Nu Finish Liquid NF-76 L 3 4 5 4 5.27 67 Rain Dance Premium Paste 02450 P 4 3 4 5 5.97 66 Turtle Wax Plus with Teflon T28 L 3 3 5 5 4.99 65 Turtle Wax Super Hard Shell T123 L 3 3 5 5 3.99 64 Liquid Lustre Ultra Hi Gloss 440016 L 3 3 5 5 9.99* 63 Simoniz Ultimate AS-991 L 3 4 5 3 5.48 62 Rally 05140 L 3 4 4 5 4.30 61 Rain Dance Advanced Formula 02430 L 3 3 5 4 7.97 61 Rain Dance Premium Liquid 02410 L 3 3 4 5 6.49 61 Finish 2001 T-27 L 3 3 5 4 3.73 60 Quad 02670 L 3 3 5 4 6.30* 58 Blue Coral Blue Poly Paste Sealant BP30 P 1 5 5 3 9.78 58 Mothers Clear Care 09100 L 3 3 5 4 7.99 58 Simoniz Ultimate Carnauba AS-990 P 3 3 3 5 6.00 56 Rally 05120 P 3 3 4 5 4.50 56 Kit Pre-softened 02662 P 3 3 5 2 3.14 56 Liquid Crystal T-33 L 3 3 5 3 13.97 55 Simoniz Super Blue AS-907W L 3 2 5 3 4.14 50 Finish 2001 T-26 P 3 3 4 3 3.47 47 Kit Creme 02666 L 3 3 4 2 4.29 47 Eagle One Carnauba Wax 2030014 L 3 2 4 3 6.40 44 Eagle One Carnauba with Cleaner 2045012 P 3 3 4 1 7.40 41 ArmorAll 20160 L 2 3 5 2 3.96 37 Meguiar's Cleaner Wax Paste A-1214 P 2 4 3 2 5.47 19 Prism Spray Away AS-911 L 1 3 3 1 6.97 The following six waxes left slight scratches or haze on new or near-new paint. 83 Blue Coral Blue Poly Sealant BP25 L 3 5 5 5 $10.88 78 TR3 Resin Glaze 12A L 5 3 4 5 9.48 55 Total Image AS910 L 3 3 5 3 6.99* 53 Simoniz Super Blue Soft AS902B P 3 2 4 4 3.49 52 Turtle Wax Super Hard Shell T222 P 3 3 4 4 4.34 51 Mothers California Gold Carnauba 05500 P 3 3 3 4 9.99 Note: Blue Coral Blue Poly Sealant BP25 and TR3 Resin Glaze 12A have been discontinued. CONSUMER REPORTS RECOMMENDATIONS For gloss and easy application, try top-rated Meguiar's Cleaner Wax Liquid ($5.38 for 16 ounces) or Turtle Wax Carnauba ($4.99 for 14 ounces). Although fourth-rated Nu Finish Liquid ($5.27 for 16 ounces) was especially easy to apply, it earned a mediocre score for gloss. If you hate to wax and won't do it often, consider Nu Finish Soft Paste ($5.97 for 14 ounces), which earned top marks for durability and cleaning. But, like its liquid brandmate, it left a weathered finish slightly less glossy than some of the other tested products. If the car is new and water still beads on its finish, you may not need to wax at all. Simply wash the car regularly. Once you begin to wax, look to the high-rated products among those in the first Ratings group and avoid products in the second group, as they left mild abrasions or haze. If the car's finish is weathered, it's safe to look also among the second Ratings group of slightly abrasive products. Blue Coral Blue Poly Sealant BP25 and TR3 Resin Glaze 12A have been discontinued. Next best were Total Image AS910 and Simoniz Super Blue Soft AS902B. Note: If you wash your car often, you shouldn't need an abrasive wax. Most of the tested car waxes guarantee satisfaction or a full refund. One caveat: Waxing the car is no substitute for regular washing, which is vital to keeping up a car's looks. "COLOR" AND FANCY WAXES In preparing this report, CR's shoppers rounded up three relatively new products, liquid "color" waxes called Color Magic, Color Match and Colorcote 2000. All leave behind a dye that supposedly masks minor scratches, nicks and chips in a car's finish. They come in eight, nine and 15 colors, respectively. A 16-ounce container of Color Magic or Colorcote 2000 costs $5 or so. An 8-ounce container of Color Match costs about $6. Despite the boasts of their manufacturers, including "makes scratches...disappear like magic," "a paint job in a bottle" and so on, these products generally performed no better than many standard waxes when it came to gloss and durability. Color Magic, the best of the lot overall, would have come out in the middle of the Ratings. Worst was Colorcote (but its formula changed after CR tested it). Although colored waxes did make minor scratches less obvious on dark-colored cars than did plain waxes (which usually dry white), we see little point in buying them. A high-rated regular wax works better than color waxes, touch-up paint protects a deeply scratched finish better and a good polishing compound can fix slight scratches more effectively. Fixing serious scratches can be tricky in any case and is best left to an auto-body expert. The colored waxes had another drawback: They were messy to use. It was hard to follow the manufacturers' suggestion that they be kept off skin and clothes. When they got on CR's testers' skin, all three products stained. It took repeated, vigorous soap-and- water washings to remove them. CR's shoppers also bought a couple of fancy car waxes, the kind Testarossa owners may favor. Klasse All-in-one liquid claims it's not abrasive and that it protects with an "elastic, non-chip, shrink-proof, heat and scratch resistant acrylic finish." Zymol paste says it's solvent-free, with all-natural oils and extracts and high concentrations of natural carnauba wax, too pricey for most car polishes. It comes in special formulations matched to the car's color, make or national origin. For a few thousand dollars, Zymol's maker will even create a one-of-a-kind formulation, basing the wax on such variables as paint thickness and what's under the paint. When CR ran Klasse All-in-one and Zymol through tests, both were impressive overall. Both gave car finishes a superior gloss. Both improved the look of weathered panels more than any tested wax, except the top-rated Meguiar's Cleaner Wax Liquid A-1216s and the discontinued and slightly abrasive liquid Blue Coral Blue Poly Sealant BP25. Both Klasse and Zymol were very expensive. We paid $23 for 17 ounces of Klasse and $40 for 8 ounces of Zymol (plus $8 for a Zymol "pre-cleaner"). We'd suggest using a good regular wax instead. WASHING BEFORE WAXING Frequent washing removes dirt from a car's finish before it can do lasting damage. Before you wash, consider the weather. Never wash in direct sunlight or when the paint is hot to the touch. That can soften the paint, making it easy prey for abrasion, or leave water spots on the finish. If sunshine is inescapable, wash either early or late in the day, when the sun's rays are less intense. Before washing, remove any heavy deposits of tree sap or road tar with a soft cotton rag that you've dampened with mineral spirits or a cleaner specifically designed for the job. Rinse the area immediately. While the car is still wet, use a lambs-wool mitt or soft cotton cloth (not synthetic fabrics or brushes, which can scratch) to apply a mix of water and detergent. A cleaner especially formulated for cars should spare existing wax. The jury is still out on whether dishwashing detergent is too harsh. Wash from the top of the car down, so you don't have to clean lower areas repeatedly. Rinse the mitt or cloth often and the car periodically, before the suds can dry. Check the finish for beads of water. If the beads are bigger than a quarter or if the water forms sheets, it's time to wax. After the last rinse, dry the car with a soft cotton towel or genuine chamois. If you opt to take the car to a car wash instead of doing the job yourself, choose one with a brushless system, which won't scratch. |
Interesting read- is this in the newest CR?
I'm a little surprised they didn't rate the new "high tech" waxes like Meguiars NXT, eagle One's NanoWax and the other newcomers...... maybe they're TOO new? as an aside, I do like the NXT wax for all of the above criteria, except price- $15 for a bottle and it seems like it takes a lot to do the job... it left my yellow OZ looking a little "wetter" looking and a little brighter than the "Tough Stuff" (the old school carnuba in the brown bottle). It worked a fricking miracle on my wife's 94 dark blue Saturn. |
Its from their '98 rating, have to pay for their 2004 rating which I don't think is much different, NuFinish has been in that positon for the longest time I can remember over 15-20 years. I just spent over $26 today on a bottle of Presta Products Aurora 3000 glazing compound www.prestaproducts.com , so $15 for a bottle of wax ain't too bad ! I'm using stuff the pro detailers use and try to avoid most of the shelf crap you find in the local stores which most of the cost goes into advertising. I do find the pro series products easier to use and provide superior results.
Has anyone used boat or marine wax on their ride, I would like a report comparing car vs marine waxes. |
Originally Posted by EdT
Its from their '98 rating, have to pay for their 2004 rating which I don't think is much different,
If you are going to simply reprint an article, please at least make it a current one!! ;) |
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