I've heard rumor that the #26 Yellow Wax and the Premium Paint Protection might cause some clouding in darker MB paints. Has anyone every experienced this before? Thanks so much!

Hi

I have been detailing cars since 1986 or so, using Meguair's exclusively and have never seen this before.

Meguiar's goes to great lengths to make sure their products work great on "all" paints, not just domestic finishes. I get that from their head chemist.

More important than the wax you use is your surface prepartion.

The question is asked all the time,

"How long will a wax last"

The answer is determined by a number of things including but not limited to,

How well the surface was prepared to accept the wax (most important)
Type of wax used
How long wax was allowed to cure
How finish is treated after wax, i.e. washed with dish soap or premium wash, kept in garage versus parked outside, daily driver versus garage queen, climate or environment.

I would opt for the Medallion over the #26 because of it's bonding characteristics, (its an electric wax) and also has anti-static properties. #26 is a good show car wax, again it is a "Pure Wax", no cleaners at all and can only be used on a flawless finish as such. It does dry clear, and will increase the d.o.i. of a pre-polished surface which is something most/many waxes will not do.

Pre-clean the paint with the Medallion paint cleaner, use liberally, to insure good lubricatio. Then remove cleaner with very soft 100% cotton, terry cloth towel or microfiber polishing cloth.

Apply a coat of the Medallion, allow it to dry for at least 30 minutes to an hour. Remove with 100% cotton, terry cloth towel or microfiber polishing cloth.

In the GuruReports, Medallion was tested as a "Carnuaba" wax.

We here at Meguiar's got a good laugh out of that.

It is a synthetic wax and contains no carnuaba whatsoever.

Also, #16 was tested as a "Cleaner/Wax", it is a "Pure Wax".

It has a high moleculor weight and can be referred to as a "Heavy Wax". Used correctly, it produces an absolutely flawless finish. Problem is, most people don't know how to use it correctly and... it is very hard to wipe off, that's because it is a "True Hard" wax. I have used it on every show car I have ever prepped.

It works, if you use it correctly, it is only for finishes in absolutely "Flawless Condition", like after being put through a multiple-step machine cleaning and polising processs using one of Meguiar's paint cleaners like Diamond-cut with their W-7000 foam cutting pad, followed by their Dual-Action Cleaner/Polish using their W-8000 polishing pad, followed by their Swirl Remover 2.0 using their W-9000 finishing pad.

Then, I put the finish through another wax step, not #16, then #16 and then #7 right before display.

Flawless Finish.

I have a how-to book coming out this year on using the "Complete Meguair's System" for creating flawless finishes.

Hope this helps,

Mike Phillips

Mike,

What would you recommend for a Fire Engine red BMW w/no clear coat? I have clayed w/Meguires, use Scratch X, then #7 and finished with a number of different waxes/polishes including Klase, Eagle One and Turtle Wax Emerald.

The Klasse and Eagle one look great right after it's done, but seem to get a little cloudy after a week or so. Klasse seems to be the best, and it's easy to use because you don't have to worry if you get some on rubber or plastic. In fact, it makes them look better.

I'm going for depth of color and protection of the paint. Whaddya think? My 300SE Benz is silver, so it's easy to make it look good.

__________________
Mr. BILL

91 300E 120K
90 300SE 275K (sold)
92 BMW 525iM 120K
90 BMW 525iA 175K
85 300D 175K (sold)
84 300SD 245K (sold)

Hi Mr. Bill,

If this were mine, after washing, and working on a cool surface in the shade, I would use the Meguiar's Medallion.

This product should bring out the depth of color and full richness in your cars finish.

For a long lasting wax, try the Meguiar's #20 Polymer Sealant. This wax is highly water resisitant and holds up well to both inclement weather and frequent washings.

#20 is a good choice for the Silver Mercedes also. Your right about making a silver metalic look good. It is probably the easiest color to work on. Defects are hard to see on clear coated silver metalics, so it's not so much a factor of these types of paint being any easier to work on, just more forgiving to visual surface defects.

Are both of these cars daily driver?

If so,

Try the #20 on both of them, polish the red one with #7 first, a thin coat, well polished in. Then apply a coat of the #20.

Allow it to dry white and then another 20 minutes. It wipes off "Incredibly" easy so time is not an issure as far as 'hardening' is concerned.

You can also apply a coat of the #7 over a wax.

It is impossible to completely "Seal" a surface. Your painter couldn't do it with a paint gun and you certainly cannot do it with something you pour out of a bottle.

You can always push the oils in #7 past the wax and into the pores. This will make the color rich as well as help prevent oxidation.

I'm not going to use this as an "out" but some single stage paints, are not as "stable" as other single stage paints and definitley not as stable as clear coated finishes. It could be, Meguiar's cannot remedy the problem as well as nobody's product being able to remedy the problme.

Hope this helps,

Mike Phillips

p.s.

Remember, #7 is a non-drying oil. To make removing it easier, don't try to remove it like a wax, all at once in one place.

First polish entire car with #7,

Removal: Go around the car 2 or 3 times. The first time, using a terry cloth towel, "break" the continous film build by disrupting it. take off some #7, not all. Then move around the car repeating this.

Second pass, take off some more, third pass, use a microfiber and polish it all off.

Since #7 is a non-drying oil, it doesnt' really dry. Because of this, many people get into trouble trying to remove it all at once. What this does is agitate it, liquify it and cause it to smear all around, just like when they were putting it on.

When you only remove a portion of it and then move around the car what happens is the #7 "Skins", not dries, but skins, somewhat akin to what pudding does on the top surface after cooking and allowing to cool.

#7 is easier to remove after it has skinned versus, while it is liquified and your smearing it all over the place.

__________________
"Find a product you like and use it often"

Jack Anderson
Paint Instructor for PPG paints

I just finished doing both the 98 C230 and the 87 E300 with clay, and using a Porter Cable random orbital, went through the steps of Medalion paint cleaner, #7, and Gold Class. I used the Medalion instead of the #9 because Mequies call up service said it would work better than the #9 for the scratches the dealer left all over the cars (long story!). The Gold Class was chosen because Lee's previous posts mentioned it seemed to look the best on Smoke Silver paint compared to #26. The #7 does take 2 or 3 passes around the car - twice with clean cotton terrys, once with clean cotton T shirts (haven't tried the microfibers yet). Also, easy on the #7 and work it in seems to be fine.

Interestingly, while both cars have deep rich shines, under fluorescent lights it is easy to see the difference between the water base smoke silver on the 98, and the oil based on the 87. Though both have the same tone/tint/color, the 87 has warm buttery reflections and shine, while the 98 has a cooler more metallic reflectivity.

I haven't used or heard about the #20 polymer before. While gloss and shine are important, my main goal is long term paint protection and preservation. A number of years ago I used a synthetic product called Der Stuff. For me, it had very little paint protection, and has made me a bit leary of pure polymers. Admittedly, it has been 10 years, and chemistry marches on. How does the #20 compare to frequent applications of Gold Class for protection?

Thanks for any info.

__________________
John

2003 Firemist Red/grey leather SL 500
2015 Palladium Silver/black mbtex GLK 350
1987 Smoke Silver/burgundy mbtex 300E Sportline (SOLD)

Click to see 87 300E

"All things being equal, #20 Polymer Sealant is our longest lasting wax".

This is a quote from Barry Meguiar's from a '"Train the Trainer" class I attended in 1988/1989

At that time, we didn't have either the Medallion or the Gold Class wax on the market.

I have been told from our chemists that Medallion will outlast Meguiar's #20 Thats because it bonds using cationic action instead of crosslinking.

I will double check on that answer.

I know from personal experince, #20 is not only very easy to apply and remove, it does last a long time, it is probably as close as you can get to a "Once a year" wax, not that I or Meguiar's recommends that you only wax you car once a year, especially if it is a daily driver.

I have used #20 on every car I have ever detailed for my customers. For two reasons, one it turns the surface incredibly slick and does it NOW! and two, to "seal" the pores of the paint.

After machine buffing with a rotary buffer, usually three, but sometimes only two times using the Meguairs' paint polishing system, the finish is incredibly smooth, but it is not a "dry slick", thats because of the high oil content in their paint cleaners, which by the way is a good thing, it's better than a high solvent content.

So I use the #20 to seal the pores, and turn the surface slick. I feel this always helps met to reduce towel inflicted scratches from the next step, applying and removing, (key word here being removing), the #16 Pure Wax.

Works for me, I have buffed out a kajillion cars, and it has never... never.... let me down.

I buffed out a car called SCRAPE, once, used the #20 followed by the Medallion, for it's anti-static properties, worked just as well.

(SCRAPE was on display all of the time and prone to lots of dust kicked up by foot traffic)

Try the #20, just be sure to shake it up very well before and during use. I used to pick up returns at different warehouses in Oregon, once in a while I woudl get a bottle of #20 and a note attatched to it that would read, "Looked Milky"

Duh.

If you don't shake it well, it will look milky, thats because many of the ingredients separate out. Not a bad thing, just the nature of Wax Chemistry 101

I have a book coming out this year on how-to polish paint using the Meguiar's "System", should be interesting to see peoples reaction.

Hope this helps,

I will ask some of our chemists for the latest on #20 versus, Medallion versus, Gold Class

Mike Phillips

__________________
"Find a product you like and use it often"

Jack Anderson
Paint Instructor for PPG paints

Mike,

Very interesting. Yes, both cars are daily drivers, although the silver one is now relegated to infrequent short range maneuvers. You suggest using Medallion, is that the cleaner? Medallion is hard to find around here in Austin, TX. Are you saying on the red, Medallion cleaner, #7 polish then #20 or Gold Class? I don't mind waxing monthly.

Also, I noticed your quote from a PPG instructor. My first sales job was a for a jobber who sold Ditzler products. I went to a program in 1975 at the factory I think was in southern Ohio. There was a guy named Bernie who was a real zen master of paint finishes. I learned alot.

I also sold and used Meguire's #7 back then on my candy apple red Corvette. Not many people knew of it back then. I'd go to a show and ask if I could do a fender with #7. It didn't matter what they were using, the #7 always looked better, a lot better. I'd end up selling them a couple bottles, I think it retailed for less than $5.00.

As you can probably tell, I get into this stuff. It's my hobby.My yard looks like crap most of the time, but my cars look great!

Bill

__________________
Mr. BILL

91 300E 120K
90 300SE 275K (sold)
92 BMW 525iM 120K
90 BMW 525iA 175K
85 300D 175K (sold)
84 300SD 245K (sold)