Quick Review: Waxco Hi-Tech Water Wax

It has been a while since I last did a review for spray waxes. Most of the products I tested so far are from overseas - USA, UK & Japan. And boy, they are expensive stuffs due to the currency exchange. So, I thought that I could skimp a little and buy something more affordable to test.

Waxco is a local brand that has many products. They have a few products in the hardware DIY line that I use regularly but this is not our topic of discussion here. In recent years, they have released a few products for car care - from shampoo to polish. I never really thought of trying their product because they do not have any history or rich legacy in car care product. Then again, legacies are not built in one day. So, I decided to try one of their products for car care. Something wallet friendly and easy to test with almost immediate result. Their spray wax or what they call the Water Wax.

Well, it is packaged in a bright orange-red bottle. Very eye-catching but there is one thing that is a little unappealing in my opinion. All the labels on all the bottles on the shelf do not stick well and all seem to be peeling off on their own. See the top right corner of the label. This was the best I selected from the shelf. This gives a sense of a poor quality product. It shows the lack of attention to detail and it seems to me that Waxco simply slap on a cheap label just to sell their product.

Another thing that some companies tend to make mistake is that they try too hard to sell their product. Overselling. Look at the label!

- power glass coat?

- always sparkling shine body?

- nano tech?

- new innovation technology?

Frankly, this kind of over-selling seems bogus. Reminds me of snake oil products.

Okay, maybe I was a little too harsh there. Maybe they intend to keep the packaging cost low to keep the overall cost low. Let's hope the ingredient inside is good. 

Well, the back label shows the instructions. Nothing too bombastic here. And yup self-peeling label and a QC passed sticker.

After giving my wife's daily drive a good wash and thorough drying, it was time for the show to begin.

Squirt! A purplish or pinkish liquid came out. The liquid has some viscousness and is not very watery. The viscousness did give me some sense of confidence that this product would be good.

After spraying and wiping off the entire car, the surface did not feel slick when I ran my fingers on it. Comparing to other products like Autoglym Professional Express Wax or Meguiar's Ultimate Quik Wax (see Spray Wax), they always feel slick. Not a good sign. And yeah, the whole body did not sparkle (tongue and cheek).

Well, after spray waxing the car it rained the next day. In fact, in rained for the entire day. Checking the water droplets on the car surface, there was no beading and there was no apparent improvement in water sheeting (Sorry no picture here. I guess you'd just have to take my word for it). It seems to me that there was nothing added on to the surface.

What a disappointment. The viscous liquid really did give me some confidence that this product would work; at least to a certain degree; but sadly nothing. Well, purely looking at the price of this product, I could not say much about it as it is about half the price of Turtle Wax Express Shine. For that, I would say save on something else (eat a meal less :D) and buy a decent reputable spray wax. The money saved is not worth the effort wasted.

That's it for this post.
As usual, the above are only my personal opinions from my personal experience.
Happy detailing.

Fireball Premium Easy Coat Review - Laziness with a great cost

I was eager to try this out after reading many praises on various forums. Before I got this, I thought that it could be something similar to CarPro Reload but when I finally got it, I found out that the application method is very different. In fact it is way too easy. This is a plus point for lazy people (oops, busy people). I am a big fan of spray wax. This is literary high-speed spray wax.

Product Detail 

Let's see what the manufacturer claimed. 

"Fireball's Premium Easy Coat has to be the easiest way to apply a Superhydrophobic coating to ANY surface.

Simply spray unto a wet surface, leave up to 30 seconds (no longer!) and blast off with water - it's that easy.

Premium Easy Coat has been designed to be used whether your car has a pre-existing coating or none at all. 

Premium Easy Coat can be used on all surfaces and not just paint, plastic trim and even your home windows

High quality nano technology coating comparable to similar higher priced Gyeon coatings.

Supplied with spray trigger for 500ml."

So, nothing was mentioned about the active ingredients but from the application method it seems to be some kind of SiO2 coating that might be similar to Permanon. I could be wrong.

This so-called coating came in a 500ml bottle with a spray trigger provided separately. This is good packaging method for mail order which I did as there would be less chance of spillage during delivery. It cost me about RM70 including postage.

The content is a yellow liquid that has a pleasant scent. No harsh chemical smell.

One thing I that make me felt uneasy is the lack of security seal. Maybe Fireball could improve on that.

Product in Action

Applying the product is very easy. Wash the car, rinse, and apply on when wet.

Due to the warning of "no longer than 30 seconds", I sprayed the coating section by section and rinsed off from top to bottom.

Once "blasted" off, I could see water "running off" easily from the surface.

Beading looks nice too though not as tight as normal wax or sealant.

Looks good.

Great Laziness Comes at Great Cost!

High Consumption

So, my first attempt in using this Easy Coat costed me 2/3 of a brand new bottle to cover the entire car.

Unlike normal spray wax where 2-3 sprays per panel would suffice as it would be spread by a towel, I had to do multiple sprays per panel to ensure even coverage. And since it was so easy to spray, I might have overdid it. I am not sure if it would work if I use a towel to "spread" it after spraying.

Disco Windscreen Wipers

Avoid spraying this on the front windscreen. This caused my wipers to judder like it is a disco party every time I turn them on. I am using PIAA Aero Vogue silicone wiper. Yup those so called high end ones :-p that should not judder. I had to polish to windscreen to stop the juddering.

The Dark Side

There is another major issue about this product that I could not really confirm it. After a week of washing, I noticed that there are dark stains on the top-facing surfaces and "bleeding marks" on the side surfaces. There is one day of heavy rain during that week and I was caught in it while on the road.

See below for the "bleeding marks". The marks are more obvious through the naked eyes than through the camera.

I tried washing the car with my favorite waterless wash but the stains just would not wash off. I had to use a conventional wash to remove those stains. Luckily no polishing was needed. Phew! I am not sure if this is an isolated case but I do not see this issue when using normal spray wax.

Also, I have seen some discussions about how coated cars tend to get worse watermarks compared to non-coated cars. If you are interested, see this well-written post on Wetshine here. It is a pity the author stopped writing before posting the results but if you scroll through the comments, the author replied that:

"So far the updates for coating test is all still cannot resist the effects of waterspotting". 

"Short update. More watermarks on coating than collinite wax. Will most likely conclude that coatings are not suitable for malaysian weather. It is not because they do not last but the fact that it is more prone to waaterspot etchings defeats their selling point of being ‘best paint protection system in the market today’."

Anyhow this is inconclusive. I am not sure if I would be doing any more test on this product but if I do, I will update this post.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

- easy to apply

- great water sheeting

Cons:

- not that cost effective

- causes wipers to judder if applied on windscreen

- tends to cause dark stains and "bleeding" marks (inconclusive)

As always, the above is just my opinion based on my personal experience. Results might vary under different weather conditions. There is no absolute right or absolute wrong in car care.

That's it for this post.

Happy detailing.

Quick Review: Autoglym Professional Express Wax

This a quick review of Autoglym Professional Express Wax. This is a bulk packing (or professional) version of Autoglym Aqua Wax. 5 liters. Please visit my previous post on spray wax for other spray waxes reviews. I got this for about RM350 from eBay including delivery from the UK. This is a lot more economical than buying the standard packing version that costs around RM170 for 500ml that is sold locally. Check Lelong.com or Lazada to see for yourself. Crazy, right? The standard packing includes two microfiber towels but it is still way too expensive.

Results

I followed the instructions of spraying the wax on while the car is still wet (with excess water wiped off first). This wax does not behave like other spray waxes that I have used before. It feels grabby when wiped on. I think it is actually a good idea to spray it on a wet surface because of the "grabbiness". This is not a normal wipe on, wipe off product. After drying the car with this product, I could see smearing or streak mark appearing. I was like uh-oh...

Following the instructions, I then used another dry towel to buff the wax off. Buffing this wax off feels like buffing off a traditional wax. The towel felt grabby. After buffing the wax off, I was like wow! This wax seems to make the car shine more than other spray waxes I have used. The gloss is deep and the shine is excellent. The surface feels ultra slick, almost as slick as a traditional wax. I guess this is the reward for the extra buffing.

I then left the car outside after dressing the tires, sun-baking the car. The gloss became more pronounce after "curing". However, it started to rain after about 4 hours of application. I drove the car into the car porch and was amazed by the beading. Looking at the previous post here, the sealant on this car has become quite weak but this Express Wax managed not only to enhance the gloss but to create a good hydrophobic barrier. I am impressed.

As for durability, I do not know yet as this is my first time using this Express Wax but anything that can last a week or two is good by my standard.

Will I use this after every wash? No, because it takes some effort to buff off. I would continue to use other spray waxes after every wash and maybe use this once a month.

That's it. Happy detailing.

P/S: I was only planning to post this today but due to a great revelation, I ended up posting this and another post on the same day.

Spray Wax

I have mentioned spray wax a couple of times in my previous posts. Now, let us take a look at it.

Spray wax as the name implies is something that we spray onto car surfaces. Unlike traditional paste wax or liquid wax (or sealant), spray wax is very watery. It has properties that provide protection to car surfaces and to enhance shine and gloss. It is very easy to apply. Just spray on and wipe. That is why I would recommend to spray wax after every wash.

Although it is easy easy to apply, it does not last very long. A few days maybe. A week at max. Although some manufacturers claimed that their spray waxes can last for months (Optimum and CarPro), I do not think it is the case here in our Malaysian climate. So, that is why I recommend spray waxing after every wash. And it is easy. I can wax an entire car in less than 15 minutes.

Start by spraying some spray wax on a clean damped microfiber towel to sort of prime it. Then spray onto car surfaces in small panels (say 2' x 2') and use the "primed" microfiber to wipe. Flip to a clean side of the microfiber towel or use another clean dry microfiber towel to buff off. Shake well before each spray.

Since this is not traditional wax, do not let spray wax dry on car surfaces. If it does, add more sprays and wipe off.

My Spray Waxes

These are the spray waxes that I currently have in hand. There is another brand that I used before and I quite like it but I ran out of it and threw the bottle away for recycling. So I do not have a picture of it. So, an honorable mention to Simoniz Instant Wax/ Simoniz Instant Shine (I am not sure if both are from the same Simoniz company as their packagings look vastly different and they smell different too).

From left to right: Meguiar's Synthetic X-press Spray Wax, Meguiar's Ultimate Quik Wax, Meguiar's Gold Class Quik Wax, 3M Auto Essentials Wax, Turtle Wax Express Shine, CarPro Reload.

Meguiar's Synthetic X-press Spray Wax & Meguiar's Ultimate Quik Wax

These two are almost the same thing. One is in a gallon-form for so-called professional use a the other is for normal consumer use. However, they have a different scent. After much calculations, I decided to go for a gallon for more savings as I will be using spray wax regularly. It is around RM70 for 15.2oz and RM330 for a gallon or 128oz (from Amazon or Lazada). This spray wax is easy to apply. Just mist wipe and buff. It creates a slick to touch surface that I like very much and the shine is good.

Meguiar's Gold Class Quik Wax

This; to me; is almost the same as their Ultimate Quik Wax but it is listed to come with Carnuba for that extra deep gloss for darker cars. One of the main reasons for me trying this is that it is slightly less expensive than Ultimate Quik Wax. I also noticed that it is less likely to streak on dark coloured cars. With Ultimate Quik Wax, I will need to buff a little bit more to prevent streaking (greasy/ oily marks on car surfaces) but with this it is easier. Same thing, mist on wipe buff. A little goes a long way. This Gold Class Quik Wax costs RM60 per 16oz.

3M Auto Essentials Wax

I personally do not recommend this product. It seems more like a "fragrance water" to me. It does not feel slick after applying and it does not give a me a feeling that there is a layer of protection on my car. The car surfaces feels exactly the same before spray waxing. This is actually my second bottle. I bought the first one and thought it was a bad batch but the second bottle confirmed my observations. It is a total disappointment! Don't waste your money on this stuff.

Turtle Wax Express Shine

This is the most affordable product among all my other spray waxes. I can get it for less than RM35 in Tesco (16oz per bottle). It performs well too. Slick and shinny. However, the endurance is slightly less than Mequiar's spray waxes but it is still great value for money. If I can buy this in bulk, I will definitely go for it. I still buy this regularly as I can use it on my wheel arcs, alloy rims, and engine bay. More on that later. Although not listed, I have tried using this as a drying agent when I am in a hurry. After washing, I sprayed this onto the wet surfaces of a car and dried off with a plush microfiber towel. The results were great. I think it is safe to say that this can be used as a "wax as you dry" product.

CarPro Reload

I got this several years back. In fact, this is a left-over bottle. Although it is meant to be used for cars coated with CarPro CQuartz, it is a good spray wax in general but very hard to get here in Malaysia and very pricey. The last time I bought this is for RM100 per 400ml (13.5oz). On the bottle, it is claimed to last for 4 months but again that does not apply in Malaysian climate. This product feels very "oily" and it can streak a bit. It can be diluted 1:1 with clean water for darker cars to reduce streaking.

Spray Waxed!

Here are some pictures of my just spray waxed daily drive. One of the beauties of spray waxes is that they can be used on any surface - paint, plastic, glass. Unlike traditional waxes, they will not stain plastic trims. They actually add more gloss and protect plastic trims. I have seen some detailer using a spray wax even for interior plastics like dash and door panels. It works but I have yet to try it myself.

Other Uses of Spray Wax

Alloy Rims

Since spray waxes can be used to protect literally any surface, I use them for my alloy rims and wheel arcs. 

For alloy rims, just spray the wax and wipe with a old microfiber towel dedicated for rims.

Wheel Arcs

I also use spray waxes for wheel arcs. Usually after cleaning wheel arcs with wheel cleaners, the black plastics on the wheel arcs will dry off to a whitish hue. I think this could be due to the strong cleaning agents from the wheel cleaners.

For wheel arcs, I would normally spray on liberally and leave it to dry. It will dry to a deep rich black.

Engine Bay

I also use spray waxes for engine bay. After cleaning the engine bay waterlessly (will be posting that in the near future), I will use spray wax to protect parts like plastic covers, hoses, painted surfaces and so on inside the engine bay. Why not use a dedicated engine shine or plastic trim shine for plastic parts, one might ask. Well, plastic trim protectant tends to be slightly "sticky" and will attract a lot of dust and dirt.

There are just too many uses of spray waxes. To me, spray wax is truly one of the most amazing inventions is car care world. If you are into cleaning and maintaining your car, grab a bottle and start spraying.

Updated 4th Sep 2016: Check out a new addition to my collection of spray waxes. Autoglym Express Wax. Click here.