Best Waxes & Sealants

A

akimel

New member
Based on the testimonies I have read over the past year and my limited personal experience, here are some suggestions for the "best" carnauba waxes and synthetic sealants under $250 (retail). With one exception, all can be purchased from retailers in North America (over-the-counter or online):





Carnauba Waxes:



$10-$15: Collinite 845, Optimum Car Wax, Meguiar's M26 Yellow Tech Wax, Meguiar's Gold Class Carnauba Plus



$15-$20: Natty's Blue, Natty's Red, Clearkote Carnauba Moose Wax, Collinite 476, Harly Wax, S100



$20-$30: Collinite 915, DP Max Wax



$30-$40: Lusso Oro, P21S, Victoria Chaos, Victoria Mayhem, Trade Secret



$40-$50: Pinnacle Signature, P21S 100%, Victoria Concours Red, AutoGlym High Definition



$50-$60: Blackfire Midnight Sun, Chemical Guys 50/50, Chemical Guys Pete's '53, Wet Obsession



$60-$75: Dodo Juices



$75-$100: Pinnacle Souveran, Rubbish Boy's Original Edition



$100-$125: Dodo Juice Supernatural, Zymol Glasur



$125-$150: Swissvax Saphir, Raceglaze 55



$150-$200: Wolfgang Fuzion, Zymol Concours



$200-$250: Swissvax Concorso



$250+: You must have very deep pockets!





Synthetic Sealants:



$10-$15: Duragloss 105, Duragloss 111, Mother's FX SynWax, Jeff Werkstatt's Acrylic Jet Trigger, Zaino Z-2 Pro



$15-$20: Meguiar's NXT, Mother's Reflections, Finish Kare Hi Temp Synthetic Paste Wax (1000p), 1Z Glanz Wax, Jeff Werkstatt's Acrylic Jet, Poorboy's EX-P, Zaino Z-5 Pro, Ultima Paint Guard Plus (4 oz.)



$20-$30: Blackfire Wet Diamond, Klasse High Gloss Sealant Glaze, Optimum Opti-Seal (8 oz.), Meguiar's M21 Synthetic Sealant, Menzerna Power Lock



$30-$40: Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant, Menzerna FMJ, Chemical Guys Jet Seal, Four Star Ultimate Paint Protection, Bilt Hamber Auto Balm



$40+: Why is it we are willing to pay so much more for a carnauba wax than a synthetic sealant?





Cleaner Waxes:



$5-$10: Meguiar's ColorX, Meguiar's Cleaner Wax, Mother's Carnauba Cleaner Wax



$10-$15: DuraGloss 501, AutoGlym Super Resin Polish



$15-$20: Optimum Poli-Seal, Jeff's Werkstatt Prime



$20-$30: Meguiar's M20 Polymer Sealant, Klasse All-in-One, Zaino Z-AIO, Jeff's Werkstatt Prime (Acrylic, Carnauba, Strong), M66 Quick Detailer Polish (gallon)



$30-$40: Meguiar's D151 Paint Reconditioning Creme (gallon)





Spray Waxes:



$5-$10: Duragloss 951 Aqua Wax, Meguiar's Ultimate Quik Wax, Mother's Reflections Spray Wax, Mother's FX Spray Wax



$10-15: Optimum Car Wax



$15-$20: Dodo Juice Red Mist, Zaino Z-8, Blackfire Deep Gloss Spray



$20-$25: Pinnacle Souveran Spray Wax





The above products can often be found on sale at various websites, sometimes at significant reductions. The comparative pricing is inaccurate in some cases, because specific products come in different sizes: for example, Ultima Paint Guard is listed in the $15-$20 bracket and Opti-Seal is listed in the $20-$30 bracket, but the former is sold in a 4 oz. bottle and the later in an 8 oz. bottle--with both a little product goes a long way. D151 is listed in the $30-$40 bracket, but it is only sold by the gallon (though Auto Detailing Solutions does sell a 32 oz. sampler for $14.95). I have not attempted to "equalize" products by pricing them by the ounce. Also remember that "more expensive" does not always mean "better." Shipping costs must also be taken into consideration.



Let me know if you see any errors or if I have missed products that should be included.
 
Nice post Al. To answer your question on why we pay more for nubas than sealants is because there are not many sealants that are over 50 bucks.
 
Legacy99 said:
Nice post Al. To answer your question on why we pay more for nubas than sealants is because there are not many sealants that are over 50 bucks.
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I think maybe he was asking 'why are carnaubas so much more expensive than sealants?' I could be wrong...but it doesn't really make sense that one 100% carnauba wax can be less than half the cost of another 100% carnauba wax, does it? Even if the formula is different...is it that much different? Haha.



Great thread, thanks for summing it up!
 
2k1AmberR/T said:
I think maybe he was asking 'why are carnaubas so much more expensive than sealants?' I could be wrong...but it doesn't really make sense that one 100% carnauba wax can be less than half the cost of another 100% carnauba wax, does it? Even if the formula is different...is it that much different? Haha.



Great thread, thanks for summing it up!
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There really isn't a 100% carnuba wax since natural carnuba is extremely hard. The differences in price come from a lot of things (A) type of carnuba (some are more costly than others) (B) carnuba content (I haven't seen anything with over 70% carnuba) (C) cost of the "fillers"/stuff that keeps the carnuba soft enough to apply to the car and (D) cost of branding/marketing/premium for same.



There are lots of other things you can do in a carnuba wax. For example, GlossHaus Perfect Carnuba has a very mild polishing element that allows it to be used as a 1-step and helps it go over top of a sealant wax.



Sealants don't generally carry rare substances, and aren't nearly as hard to blend reliably, hence the generally lower cost. Ideally, a sealant gives you longer protections, but layering carnuba on top gives you a much deeper shine.
 
The list in the original post has Duragloss #105, but not Duragloss #111. Just from reading these forums, it seems many say #105 looks better on dark colors and Duragloss #111 looks better on light colors.
 
I have the same thoughts! Why can we justify spending over $100 on nubas but if a sealant cost over $100 people would forget about it and would be an epic fail for a company...?
 
Hmm I dont see Megs #16 on the list. Its one of the best in ANY category.



Otherwise, nice work. Not sure Gold Class should be in the "best" category either, but

its obviously a case of preference.



Edit: Might want to add ZCS?



And maybe a section for spray waxes such as AW, Red Mist etc.
 
craigdt said:
Hmm I dont see Megs #16 on the list. Its one of the best in ANY category.
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I left off M16 because it's discontinued in the U.S.



craigdt said:
And maybe a section for spray waxes such as AW, Red Mist etc.
Click to expand...



Excellent suggestion about adding an additional section for spray waxes. Thanks. I just edited the list--see what you think.
 
Nice additions.



And good point about the #16. Its just so good! And it can be had readily from a number of sources.
 
Zymol, at one time, advertised that for a fee they would research the weather conditions at the time your European car was made (painted) and concoct a blend of wax, anyone else remember this?



Carnuba wax is the kind of product that made Billy a rich man-waxes are hype pure and simple and to this day I have yet to see any substantive difference when SG is topped with anything-even 80% double AA artic white carnuba fortified with various sea creatures and fruits and vegetables (organic of course).



Does anyone really put up the cost of a Flex for a can o wax???



I have long suspected that the beverage being consumed while one is working is the sole determinator of the reading gotten on the 'shine meter'.



No offense intended and I hope none taken.
 
craigdt said:
Nice additions.



And good point about the #16. Its just so good! And it can be had readily from a number of sources.
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I'd like to try some M16. Where is the cheapest/best place to order it from? Feel free to PM me if it's not cool to post this info...



Thanks! :)
 
You might try posting in the classifieds that you want to buy some. I know a lot of guys, me included, bought a ton of the stuff, and they might be inclined to sell you a tub or two.
 
So nobody uses Malm's liquid wax any more? If I didn't already have six lifetime's worth of LSP I'd buy some for when I wanted to use a liquid other than 845 for some reason.



Sorta like the liquid version of #26 but it doesn't darken as much and IMO lasts longer/beads better. Zero trim-staining; it's the first wax I tried on the Jag's rubber and plastic. Nice stuff for ~$25.
 
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