imported_Dave KG
New member
Following the Hybrid LSP test, we have now decided to test two waxes from the boutique ranges in a head to head on an every day car to assess looks, water behaviour, durability and general application, feel etc of the wax. Unlike the Hyrbid test, I will name the products from the off and give my own thoughts but please post up with your own views and discussion as well here and as the test progresses.
First of all, we have Zymol Glasur. In the circa £100 bracket, it has a reputation for being the wax to use and this reputation is well deserved for its record for durability is strong, ease of use is good and that Zymol name will always carry the right bragging rights if that interests you. Challenging it is Chemical Guys Celeste Dettaglio - higher priced than Glasur, but with a more unique and specially for you marketing angle to it, it has also been generating a reputation for itself on the show circuit... a fitting pairing then, both fighting in the circa £100 boutique wax market.
Cost
A quick cost comparison at this stage:
Zymol Glasur: £99.99 for 8oz (£12.50p per oz)
Celeste Dettaglio: £119.99 for ??oz (Only website I can find that states the volume of a Celeste pot is Clean Your Car who states 6oz, which would make it circa £20 per oz, but a conversation with david g at Car Wash and Wax says it is a 10oz pot which makes it £12 per oz - anyone who knows the actual pot size could chip in so this little comparison could be made, it would be great!)
Based on what we know so far, Celeste does seem to be the more expensive of the two products here and while costs are not a big focus in boutique waxes it is worthy of note here... Looking at the pots, and comparing it to the 8oz Zymol pot, the Celeste pot is wider but nowhere near as tall (the wax filled region), so 6oz may well be the correct volume, it looks no more than 8oz to me...
Application
The car was washed using Megs APC at 2:1 sprayed on twice to help remove as preivous LSPs (not a recommended wash technique!!), then washed with Shampoo Plus, then cleansed using Victoria Lite Cleanse as an independent pre-wax cleanser showing no favouritism to either wax applied here... Application of both products was easy but they had a couple of key differeces which I would summarise: Glasur was easier to spread, Celeste easier to remove. Glasur has an oilier feeling texture and spreads beautifully easily and gets a thin layer with ease, where as Celeste is more solid, chalky even, in the jar which made spreading the product more difficult (not a chore, but in comparison to Glasur, it was not as easy). When removal came though, the Celeste removed with more ease than Glasur which, perhaps being more oily, showed a tendency to smear a little more.
Over applying to see how forgiving the waxes are revealed that again, Celeste was easier to remove however when over applied, the product seemed to dust and chalk which I didn't like. Glasur's tendency was to smear when over applied and needed several passes with a microfibre and then a clean one to remove properly but it showed no evidence of dusting so despite being trickier to remove, I would say I preferred its characteristics. Each to their own of course.
In summary - both waxes easy to apply and remove, Celeste being the easier to remove and Glasur being the easier to spread... in a nutshell, hard to separate here, I'd personally give the nod to Glasur.
Looks
Well, this will always be very subjective and in fairness, seeing the car in person I find it very hard to separate these products on looks (and separate them from less expensive products too) - looks really is all about the prep, and we are talking nuances added by waxes, and this pairing are inseperable. Some photos, please bear in mind different sides of the car exposed to subtly different lights here, but if there are differences to see, thoroughly examining the car would show them.
Glasur on Driver's Side; Celeste on Passenger's Side.
Celeste side:
Glasur side:
Perhaps, and it is hard to really say, reflections slightly sharper from Celeste here. But to judge this, let's have a look at flat panels which have more level lighting on them:
Celeste side:
Glasur side:
Bootlid reflection from Celeste:
Bootlid reflection from Glasur:
In terms of the clarity of the reflection, very hard to judge, perhaps slightly truer colour from the Celeste side? Though, lighting may be playing a part here too, but so far for looks the nod seems to be going by a nat's hair to Celeste.
Moving round the front of the car, different angle here:
Celeste reflection on bonnet:
Glasur reflection on bonnet:
From a distance, there seems little if any difference and close up at the front the differences seem more down to different lighting: on the raised bonnet section there is no difference to be seen, on the lower section you get a difference reflection from both sides of the street. Picking one, the nod would go to Celeste so far by a nat's hair for perhaps slightly truer colour in the reflections, but given the lighting it is hard to say whether this is the wax or the lighting that is the cause here.
One more set of pics, back to the rear of the car:
Celeste on the left, Glasur on the right, my arm crossing the middle of the boot - any differences in clairty, colour depth etc...?
I would say here that the difference are nigh on impossible to spot and as such these products pretty much insepearable in looks. If I was pushed to choose a "best" here, I would give the nod (only just!) to Celeste for perhaps slightly truer colour in the reflections but it is hard to say if this is a real effect or just down to the lighting on the day. Ultimately though, there is no tenable difference that can be seen.
First of all, we have Zymol Glasur. In the circa £100 bracket, it has a reputation for being the wax to use and this reputation is well deserved for its record for durability is strong, ease of use is good and that Zymol name will always carry the right bragging rights if that interests you. Challenging it is Chemical Guys Celeste Dettaglio - higher priced than Glasur, but with a more unique and specially for you marketing angle to it, it has also been generating a reputation for itself on the show circuit... a fitting pairing then, both fighting in the circa £100 boutique wax market.
Cost
A quick cost comparison at this stage:
Zymol Glasur: £99.99 for 8oz (£12.50p per oz)
Celeste Dettaglio: £119.99 for ??oz (Only website I can find that states the volume of a Celeste pot is Clean Your Car who states 6oz, which would make it circa £20 per oz, but a conversation with david g at Car Wash and Wax says it is a 10oz pot which makes it £12 per oz - anyone who knows the actual pot size could chip in so this little comparison could be made, it would be great!)
Based on what we know so far, Celeste does seem to be the more expensive of the two products here and while costs are not a big focus in boutique waxes it is worthy of note here... Looking at the pots, and comparing it to the 8oz Zymol pot, the Celeste pot is wider but nowhere near as tall (the wax filled region), so 6oz may well be the correct volume, it looks no more than 8oz to me...
Application
The car was washed using Megs APC at 2:1 sprayed on twice to help remove as preivous LSPs (not a recommended wash technique!!), then washed with Shampoo Plus, then cleansed using Victoria Lite Cleanse as an independent pre-wax cleanser showing no favouritism to either wax applied here... Application of both products was easy but they had a couple of key differeces which I would summarise: Glasur was easier to spread, Celeste easier to remove. Glasur has an oilier feeling texture and spreads beautifully easily and gets a thin layer with ease, where as Celeste is more solid, chalky even, in the jar which made spreading the product more difficult (not a chore, but in comparison to Glasur, it was not as easy). When removal came though, the Celeste removed with more ease than Glasur which, perhaps being more oily, showed a tendency to smear a little more.
Over applying to see how forgiving the waxes are revealed that again, Celeste was easier to remove however when over applied, the product seemed to dust and chalk which I didn't like. Glasur's tendency was to smear when over applied and needed several passes with a microfibre and then a clean one to remove properly but it showed no evidence of dusting so despite being trickier to remove, I would say I preferred its characteristics. Each to their own of course.
In summary - both waxes easy to apply and remove, Celeste being the easier to remove and Glasur being the easier to spread... in a nutshell, hard to separate here, I'd personally give the nod to Glasur.
Looks
Well, this will always be very subjective and in fairness, seeing the car in person I find it very hard to separate these products on looks (and separate them from less expensive products too) - looks really is all about the prep, and we are talking nuances added by waxes, and this pairing are inseperable. Some photos, please bear in mind different sides of the car exposed to subtly different lights here, but if there are differences to see, thoroughly examining the car would show them.
Glasur on Driver's Side; Celeste on Passenger's Side.
Celeste side:
Glasur side:
Perhaps, and it is hard to really say, reflections slightly sharper from Celeste here. But to judge this, let's have a look at flat panels which have more level lighting on them:
Celeste side:
Glasur side:
Bootlid reflection from Celeste:
Bootlid reflection from Glasur:
In terms of the clarity of the reflection, very hard to judge, perhaps slightly truer colour from the Celeste side? Though, lighting may be playing a part here too, but so far for looks the nod seems to be going by a nat's hair to Celeste.
Moving round the front of the car, different angle here:
Celeste reflection on bonnet:
Glasur reflection on bonnet:
From a distance, there seems little if any difference and close up at the front the differences seem more down to different lighting: on the raised bonnet section there is no difference to be seen, on the lower section you get a difference reflection from both sides of the street. Picking one, the nod would go to Celeste so far by a nat's hair for perhaps slightly truer colour in the reflections, but given the lighting it is hard to say whether this is the wax or the lighting that is the cause here.
One more set of pics, back to the rear of the car:
Celeste on the left, Glasur on the right, my arm crossing the middle of the boot - any differences in clairty, colour depth etc...?
I would say here that the difference are nigh on impossible to spot and as such these products pretty much insepearable in looks. If I was pushed to choose a "best" here, I would give the nod (only just!) to Celeste for perhaps slightly truer colour in the reflections but it is hard to say if this is a real effect or just down to the lighting on the day. Ultimately though, there is no tenable difference that can be seen.
), is easier to remove but rather chalky on over application and has a slightly less mass-market feel. In truth, these waxes are damn hard to separate apart from possibly cost where Glasur hammers its biggest advantage home (though we'll wait until the Celeste pot sized is comfirmed! :lol