I see they have different percentages of yellow/white. They have a 56% caranuba (100% yellow) Glasur recommended for Porsche, then the Ital is 47% caranuba but (90% white). Is paint really that different between manufacturers? Does this give a different look/depth or protection? How is it to apply in your hand vs an applicator?

I have used Pinnacle Souveran for years, it's a great product & simple to apply (smells good too!). I haven't found anything I like better for finish or especially ease of applying; doesn't take much elbow grease. Autogeek.net had even asked me to use some of my pictures on their website a couple years ago that I had posted on another forum.

I just had a look...pics are still there. (Yellow C6)

http://autogeek.net/carnauba-wax.html

http://autogeek.net/pinsouvwax.html

 

The difference between all the waxes are the concentration of carnauba and the quality of the carnauba. White carnauba is the rarest and most desired because of its quality and durability. White carnauba from zymol is harvested from the newest frawns of the tree. The reason it's so rare and expensive is because if you cut too many of the frawns off, you kill the tree. Therefor, only a select amount of the new frawns can be cut. Yellow carnauba is yellow because it has aged and has more impurities than the white carnauba. As far as concentration goes, the higher the % of carnauba, the more protection. Most waxes on the market will only have 3-8% carnauba by volume; the rest is fillers and other ingredients. As far as I know, zymol is making the highest concentrated line of waxes in the world. Their line ranges from 12%-79%. Bottom line, I would not go below the Estate Glaze Line. It starts from Titanium and goes to Royale. The wax of choice for the DIY is Concours. It's around $175 per 8oz jar. Each 8oz container of zymol is good for life if kept in a cool and dark place and will yield 50 application. The higher quality the wax, the less often you need to apply. Concours can be applied 2-3 times per year depending on care of the vehicle. So basically, your $175 investment yields you 16-25 years of wax. The high end waxes are applied by hand because the warmth of your hands melts the raw white carnauba in the wax. Another benefit of waxing with your bare hands is that you can feel the paint and make sure you've done an excellent job of prepping. By the way, it's probably one of the coolest ways to bond with your car. It sounds kindda weird, but I really enjoy massaging the wax into the paint. It becomes a more personal and caring way to treat your car. Think about it. The higher-end and exotic the car, the more passion has gone into making it. You're now carrying the torch and should treat the car with the same respect as the designers, engineers, and others did making it. I hope this helps answer your questions.

 

Concours is just simply amazing, the shine and protection is great. I wash my cars every week and they are normally covered with salt and dirt. The wax is about 3 months old and the cars repel water like the day after I waxed them.

Either they are waxing very small cars or I am using way too much, I might get 15 waxes from the jar.

 

WAY, WAY to much, I have a jar of Concourse for about 4 years now, & I can't count how many cars it has done.

However, I will disagree with Moe, it doesn't last very long, especially if you are out in the sun & don't park inside. IMHO, it last about a month, on a normally driven car.

 

Thanks guys, nice explanation Moe. So I should pick the Concourse over the Glasur? Obviously I want the best depth, but I wonder if there is a durability advantage with the Glasur? Even my GT2 will be a dd...it's always dusty at work, I'm in an industrial park...need to get a damn garage built this spring.

 

Concours should easily last 3 months on a daily driver. The trick is using zymol clear as your soap and using zymol field glaze as your liquid carnauba spray. Try that and you'll see the difference.

 

Glad to hear you like the wax Frank. Concours is, in my opinion, the best value wax zymol makes for the DIY detailer. As far as getting 15 applications out of one jar, you're using way too much. Are you applying it by bare hands or using a pad? Remember, the application should be done by bare hands and you want just enough to make the paint hazy. Any more and you're wasting the wax. Also, try putting on 3 layers. Wait about a day between each layer. All zymol waxes take on a completely different look and level of protection after the 3-layer threshold.

 

Then it is not concours lasting 3 months is it? No, it is the weekly addition of the field glaze.

 

Field Glaze is used to maintain and prolong the concours application. The jetness or colour and depth is the result of concours and hd cleanse. Field Glaze assures the results are not compromised. It's an added level of protection that becomes the sacrificial layer instead of concours. As you know, washing is the best thing you can do to protect the paint and prolong the wax application. Concours will easily protect, as noticed by the beading, for up to 6 months if garaged and well cared for. It's the depth and clarity that deminishes around the 3rd to 4th month. But considering most waxes don't last more than a few washes, that's saying something.

 

Apparently my mileage varies, or your saying field glaze is a fantastic product for a spray wax.

 

I'd give him some credit...

 

Field glaze, is a liquid Carnuba, so yea, you can extend it quite a while. But MY experience is the Sun & being outside drastically cuts down the life of a pure Carnuba. But being inside it will last quite some time. So I can see a garage queen lasting 4-6mo.

Moe, up here in the NW, it just doesn't last, even with many layers. I would wax the M3 with Vintage once every 2 weeks in the summer, any rain storm, & the lowers would not bead, & looked duller then the rest of the car.

I to, was trained by Chuck, & passed on being the NW Zymol Factory detailer, & also have prepped cars for Pebble Beach. I do have quite a few local & a couple national concours wins under my belt.

 

I take it that was directed at me? I think you missed the point and are over thinking it by half. Simply put, durability should be rated on washes alone. Not on weekly updates of this detail spray or that.

When talking with manufactures I often have to nail them to a wall almost to get the best guess on durability of certain sealant and waxes. It seems every manufacture has a prescribed process to ensure the longevity of their wax/sealant. etc.

The problem is when you do top a sealant with another sacrificial barrier, then it really is not the sealant taking the brunt of the environmental forces. This is true for any wax or sealant. For instance you can take Maguires quick detailer and make any clayed car bead for 6-7 days. If you just wash it properly and apply more Quick detailer it will continue to bead for 6 months, or until there are enough paint contaminants that keep it from beading.

My original post was meant to start a discussion on how durability is measured, and qualified in the detailing community. For instance i know zaino detailers who claim a year or better durability when using their prescribed method. Which included new and repeat applications of sealant. Or guys who swear that megs 21 topped with 16 will do 7 months in dallas heat, when washed regularly and topped with duragloss aqua wax.

I have started doing my best to give out more realistic numbers. in general a sealant by its self washed once a week should provided 12-15 weeks of durability.

A carnauba, high or low end should give you 3-5.

m2c

 

My cars are always dd's..Pinnacle w/o using detailer lasts 3mths.

 

I applied by hand, I would take a bead about the size of a pea, maybe just a little larger and I would get about a door of the Pepper, I think it took about 2 of these amounts to get the hood. Does this sound about right? The 3 vehicles I waxed were all suv's.

My X5 sits out every day from 6A to 7P and a round trip to work is 100 miles, lately the roads have a lot of salt and sinters on them, the car is a mess by wash day. Like I said earlier it still beads/cleans up as well as the day I waxed it almost 3 months ago and have not used any glaze.