Battle of the AIOs (and a couple that aren't...)

[wfedwar]

Head to head test of the AIOs I have in my garage (I didn't test DG 105 or Prime Strong, due to similarity with others in the test):



Klasse AIO

Werkstat Prime Acrylic

Werkstat Prime Carnauba

Duragloss 501



and threw in LSPs for comparison:

NXT 2.0 (liquid)

Collinite 915



Photos below. This is on the roof of my 1999 F150, which has plenty of hail damage, etc. and seems to be fairly prone to water spotting. It sits in the weather 24 hrs a day and I drive it to work most days. I wiped the surface down with IPA, polished it with 106FF, then wiped it down with IPA again, just to try to be sure I was starting from a clean surface that wouldn't influence the results. I applied each with a separate applicator and buffed with a fresh surface on a microfiber cloth. Only one layer was applied and nothing was used on top. I usually wash the truck every 1-2 weeks and plan to continue that for this test. I'll post periodic updates showing beading, any water spotting, and I'll try to report slickness on a scale of 1-5 (5 being most slick).



It's overcast today, and I can't tell much if any difference between any of these except a slight difference in slickness. They all went on easily, probably KAIO and Prime Acrylic were easiest, but none were hard at all.



Slickness immediately after buffing:

Klasse AIO...........................4

Werkstat Prime Acrylic..........4

Collinite 915.........................5

Werkstat Prime Carnauba......4

Duragloss 501......................5

NXT 2.0 (liquid)....................5

Klasse AIO:

Werkstat Prime Acrylic:

Collinite 915:

Werkstat Prime Carnauba:

Duragloss 501:

Meguiars NXT 2.0:

 

[imported_Gears]

Nice to see that you are doing your test on the roof of your truck. I hate it when people do this kind of testing on a car hood. I've always found that different sections of a car hood will have differences in durability even when using the same lsp.

 

[Alfisti]

Nice to see that you are doing your test on the roof of your truck. I hate it when people do this kind of testing on a car hood. I've always found that different sections of a car hood will have differences in durability even when using the same lsp.

Heat from the engine I suspect.

 

[evolutionwc3]

Heat from the engine I suspect.

__________________

Paul Marmarinos

Flawless Prestige Car & Boat Detailing

I was on Autopia before the stars were torn down.







I totally agree. I never judge an LSP's durability using my hood as the sole source of info. Especially on my Cherokee since they're notorious for having horrid heat soak problems.

 

[Dan]

Well, the center of the roof always loses its beading faster than the edges too. And beading doesn't mean its still protecting.

 

[wannafbody]

Well, the center of the roof always loses its beading faster than the edges too. And beading doesn't mean its still protecting.

Well, if it's beads initially and the beading continues then using the process of deduction would cause one to conclude the product is still there. Now, if you believe that the product offers no protection initially, then why would you bother to use it ??

 

[rcfishy]

I love Klasse AIO.......QUESTION....would NXT 2.0 make a good topper for the Klasse AIO?



I'm looking for something I can buy locally to use as a topper, except most seem to be cleaner waxes (no carnubas)m so would the NXT 2.0 work?

 

[wytstang]

You can pick up Duragloss at Napa

 

[wfedwar]

1 Week



It rained a little bit here, but all in all the weather has been pretty good. The truck was washed with DG901 wash. Unfortunately, my wife lost the camera, so all I had was my cell phone for this update. Hopefully we can find the camera soon so I can get some better pictures. The picture below is at an odd angle because I couldn't take it straight on without casting a shadow. Anyway, it looks like Collinite is the clear winner if you're looking at beading, with DG 501 in second place. The arrangement is:





KAIO |Prime Acrylic |Col915

Prime Carnauba|DG 501 |NXT2.0

None were as slick as they were on initial application, and they all felt about the same. I'd give a slight edge to the DG, though.



Klasse AIO...........................3

Werkstat Prime Acrylic..........3

Collinite 915.........................3

Werkstat Prime Carnauba......3

Duragloss 501......................4

NXT 2.0 (liquid)....................3



No water spots were apparent on any of the test areas.

 

[Scottwax]

Well, if it's beads initially and the beading continues then using the process of deduction would cause one to conclude the product is still there. Now, if you believe that the product offers no protection initially, then why would you bother to use it ??

Could be whatever the carriers are that cause the initial beading. once they are gone the beading characteristics of the LSP are evident. :nixweiss

 

[Dsoto87]

Wow you can definitely see where the beading is different. Whats funny is I could see where the beading differs over the tape lines also.

 

[wfedwar]

Could be whatever the carriers are that cause the initial beading. once they are gone the beading characteristics of the LSP are evident. :nixweiss

Could be carriers, or maybe one component that gets washes away quickly. Some sealants/waxes just don't have the intense beading characteristics that others do, no matter how much is on there. I think for an indication of durability, you have to watch how things change over time. One thing I'm really hoping to get out of this is to find out if one of these is better than the others at preventing water spots, which is my biggest problem with this truck.

 

[Alfisti]

One thing I'm really hoping to get out of this is to find out if one of these is better than the others at preventing water spots, which is my biggest problem with this truck.

This interests me too. I'll be watching your results.

 

[wfedwar]

One more update--I took this picture last night (I found the camera) after a full day of light, misting rain. I thought this was especially interesting. Remember the arrangment:



KAIO |Prime Acrylic |Col915

Prime Carnauba|DG 501 |NXT2.0

It's very interesting to me how different this looks compared to the one taken immediately after washing in the post from 10-4. In that one, the DG501 looked like a tight beading sealant, and Prime Acrylic looked weaker than KAIO. In the picture above, Prime Acrylic looks the same as KAIO. Even more strangely, now 501 has big, flat beads. Of course, Collinite 915 is once again the stand out with small, tight beads that almost fold back up under themselves (hence the brighter look in this photo). So what's different between this picture and the last one? One day of rain, one day of dirt, rain vs. hose water... Can't think of anything else. Anyway, it's an interesting thing to keep an eye on.

 

[BobW]

I know I'm a broken record on the subject of Collinite but...IME nothing will out-last this stuff. I first discovered Collinite in 1968-69 when I bought a red 1967 Austin Healy 3000. Of course sealants weren't available then but Collinite was the only wax I could find that would keep that red paint from water spotting. Since then many things have changed but Collinite is still around and still the "endurance" champ.



There are lots of options now and some will give 915 a run in terms of shine, ease of use, etc. but if durability is important, and this includes preventing water spotting, then I don't think you need to look any further.

 

[Accumulator]

I know I'm a broken record on the subject of Collinite but...IME nothing will out-last this stuff..

Except *heavily layered* sealants, which do outlast Collinite by many months IME. But if you're just doing a few coats, then yeah, Collinite all the way :xyxthumbs

 

[WaxManRonnie]

I really don't see the greatness of NXT.. I've tried it on a few cars and

it wasn't nothing special. But some people think

it's the best since sliced bread.

 

[wfedwar]

Ok, I feel like this test has already pretty much run its course. Beading has dropped off to almost nothing for everything except 915. That to me indicates there's hardly anything left on the paint. I was surprised none of these (even 501!) lasted more than about a month. Over that time, it's rained 3-4 times and temperatures have been in the 45-85 degree range. Nothing extreme. It was washed 3 times with three different car washes. First, DG501 (1/2 oz/gal), then Carlack (1/2 oz/gal), then CG CW&C (1/4 oz/gallon--recommended for not stripping LSPs). When rinsing after the last wash, only 915 showed any beading at all. After drying, I misted some water on for the following photo (sometimes misting water seems to bead more intensely, and I was looking for some kind of comparison here).

As you can see, there's hardly any difference between the non-Collinites. You can't even make out the tape lines anymore. There was a bit of slickness left on the paint, but I could tell no difference between the different LSPs. I'd give them all a "2". I was also looking for some measure of protection, so I took some up close photos of each spot to check for water spotting, etc. Those are below.



Klasse AIO:

Werkstat Prime Acrylic:

Collinite 915:

Werkstat Prime Carnauba:

Duragloss 501:

Meguiars NXT 2.0 (liq):

The differences here are slight, but I believe they are real. Werkstat Prime Acrylic and DG 501 maintain a little more clarity. I saw that in real life and it seems to have come through in the pictures. You can see some white spots in the Prime Carnauba picture. These were also visible in the 915 spot, but that didn't really come through in the picture. If I had to guess, these spots are in the remaining LSP and not actually in the paint. The Klasse test spot really is a little hazier looking than the Prime Acrylic. Please note that all of these observations are very, very slight. I didn't see any water spotting in any of these, but that's not surprising due to the short duration of the test.



My conclusions:

None of the AIOs provide durable protection by themselves. The two test spots that contain carnauba (Werkstat PC and 915) showed some small hazy spots. That may be a coincidence, or it may have something to do with the nature of the wax itself. Duragloss 501 and Prime Acrylic looked the best after 5 weeks. Both of these would probably continue to look just fine if topped up with fresh sealant. Collinite 915 is obviously the most durable in terms of beading, but it showed some loss in looks and slickness. Between the two Werkstat formulas, I'd go with Acrylic on a daily driver. Between Werkstat and Klasse acrylic AIOs, Werkstat seemed to keep a better look while Klasse got a little bit hazy. Meg's NXT 2.0 seemed to lose its beading faster than any of the others, but in the end it pretty much matched some of the other AIOs I was expecting to do much better.

 

[willtothewong]

thanks for this test dude!

 

[MRM1]

Nice work. Ineresting results. Especially Since my Compulisive side just purchased JW Acrylic Prime Last month.