Guys, this is one of those $5 bottles of wax that, if used properly, gets you about 85% of the way there. It is extremely easy to use, giving it a VERY high results-to-effort ratio, thus making it one of those products that your friends will thank you for recommending.
I used this on my wifemobile, a 2001 Chev Impala LS in mahogany metallic red.
My intent was to do an "enlightened" Joe Average job on the car, which was last waxed in... November (shudder), with MPPC/MPPP.
I washed with #00, 2 buckets, and sheepskin mitts with the cuffs cut off. All the MPP* was gone, as evidenced by water pooling all over the car.
Instead of drying, I went right to claying, with the new Meg's Quik Clay. Nice stuff. I used 1/4 of a bar, and for once didn't drop the clay. When I was finished, I had a nice smooth surface to work with. I was going to ColorX with the PC, but instead I did what an enlightened Joe Average would do; I used a terry-covered pad to apply the product.
ColorX goes on fairly "wet"; it has a high water content. I found that I actually preferred using a bit more product than I use with other waxes for that reason; it seems to have a lower concentration of "active ingredient" compared to other products. It also has an interesting clean smell, one that I rather liked.
I applied the ColorX, working it in until it felt smooth under the pad, and keeping enough product on the pad to leave it feeling lubricated. I worked outside in the shade, on a 73* day with low humidity and light breeze. The product goes on very easily (due to the high water content) and dried VERY quickly under those conditions. I applied and removed CX two panels at a time, rather than doing the whole car and then removing. Removal of CX is like removing #20; wipe it off with a mf towel, with absolutely no effort. There is minor dusting, and I didn't notice any staining of trim. Total time to apply and remove was maybe half an hour to 40 minutes.
CX doesn't make any claims to remove swirls and spiderwebs, but this car doesn't really show them all that much. Not that they're not there, but the car doesn't show them. One application of CX had no noticeable effect on them. I would imagine that repeated applications, perhaps bi-weekly during the summer, would reduce them slightly.
CX isn't all that aggressive, like MPPC and ScratchX are. I would describe its cleaning ability as "enough". It will remove minor bug stains and minor sap and bird drop marks easily, but it won't deal with real etching at all (and of course you don't want it to). It readily produces a clean, even surface.
The finished look is pretty impressive, especially for a $5 bottle of wax. The most obvious characteristic for me is the amount of darkening that CX provides. I've used this on two cars now, and I noticed it on both. CX gives a very attractive dark and reflective look. It's not as liquid and glossy as the Meg's "wet" kings, #26 and NXT, but more the "handsome" look of Gold Class, dark and very "clean". It's the kind of look that lets the color of the paint through, and doesn't change it much.
This is the cleaner/wax that I'd reach for first, and it's going to be the Malibu's steady diet this summer, based on appearance and how easy it is to use.
Pictures? I dunno. All internet car pictures look good. It looks like a clean dark mahogany Malibu.
Tom
I used this on my wifemobile, a 2001 Chev Impala LS in mahogany metallic red.
My intent was to do an "enlightened" Joe Average job on the car, which was last waxed in... November (shudder), with MPPC/MPPP.
I washed with #00, 2 buckets, and sheepskin mitts with the cuffs cut off. All the MPP* was gone, as evidenced by water pooling all over the car.
Instead of drying, I went right to claying, with the new Meg's Quik Clay. Nice stuff. I used 1/4 of a bar, and for once didn't drop the clay. When I was finished, I had a nice smooth surface to work with. I was going to ColorX with the PC, but instead I did what an enlightened Joe Average would do; I used a terry-covered pad to apply the product.
ColorX goes on fairly "wet"; it has a high water content. I found that I actually preferred using a bit more product than I use with other waxes for that reason; it seems to have a lower concentration of "active ingredient" compared to other products. It also has an interesting clean smell, one that I rather liked.
I applied the ColorX, working it in until it felt smooth under the pad, and keeping enough product on the pad to leave it feeling lubricated. I worked outside in the shade, on a 73* day with low humidity and light breeze. The product goes on very easily (due to the high water content) and dried VERY quickly under those conditions. I applied and removed CX two panels at a time, rather than doing the whole car and then removing. Removal of CX is like removing #20; wipe it off with a mf towel, with absolutely no effort. There is minor dusting, and I didn't notice any staining of trim. Total time to apply and remove was maybe half an hour to 40 minutes.
CX doesn't make any claims to remove swirls and spiderwebs, but this car doesn't really show them all that much. Not that they're not there, but the car doesn't show them. One application of CX had no noticeable effect on them. I would imagine that repeated applications, perhaps bi-weekly during the summer, would reduce them slightly.
CX isn't all that aggressive, like MPPC and ScratchX are. I would describe its cleaning ability as "enough". It will remove minor bug stains and minor sap and bird drop marks easily, but it won't deal with real etching at all (and of course you don't want it to). It readily produces a clean, even surface.
The finished look is pretty impressive, especially for a $5 bottle of wax. The most obvious characteristic for me is the amount of darkening that CX provides. I've used this on two cars now, and I noticed it on both. CX gives a very attractive dark and reflective look. It's not as liquid and glossy as the Meg's "wet" kings, #26 and NXT, but more the "handsome" look of Gold Class, dark and very "clean". It's the kind of look that lets the color of the paint through, and doesn't change it much.
This is the cleaner/wax that I'd reach for first, and it's going to be the Malibu's steady diet this summer, based on appearance and how easy it is to use.
Pictures? I dunno. All internet car pictures look good. It looks like a clean dark mahogany Malibu.
Tom
