thanks, I did kind of inadvertantly gloss over the differences you noted between the 2 Mequiar's waxes. I was using the cleaner wax, but also have an unopened bottle of the Gold Class liquid which I will try next time on the Volvo & Ford. Both are available at WalMart, very handy.

Could you elaborate on the point that water beading up is not necessarily indicative of a wax's protective properties?