Meguiar's #26 Paste Wax, My Review

I've tried 26 on silver and white so far and agree that it gives a nice glow after application, not the sharpest reflection or the slickest touch but it looks good so far



i find that misting the foam pad with PB's S&W makes it easier to glide over the car and easy to remove
 
I have been playing around with #26 after I scored several jars from the Autozone blowout. I have been searching around to find that most people, in the Autopia product reviews and on MOL, have not had a problem removing #26. I thought I was nuts cause it was a chore to take off if you let it haze too long. Glad to see others have the same problem. Here are my findings. I have found that this applicator works great and applys super fast.



20868handigrip.jpg




It just barely fits into the jar and with just a little twist and product is on your applicator. I have found that doing one panel at a time works best and if it is hot do 1/2 panel then remove with mf. YMMV. I have not found a QD that helps in removing. My $.02



BTW Autopia sells this applicator but I got mine at Strauss Auto.



Cheers
 
You guys make me feel better. I too thought 26 paste was hard to remove. I read about this on Meguiars site and the respones seemed to indicate user error. It goes on easy and looks great when done but it does take an effort to remove.
 
mb300d said:
I have been playing around with #26 after I scored several jars from the Autozone blowout. I have been searching around to find that most people, in the Autopia product reviews and on MOL, have not had a problem removing #26. I thought I was nuts cause it was a chore to take off if you let it haze too long. Glad to see others have the same problem. Here are my findings. I have found that this applicator works great and applys super fast.



20868handigrip.jpg




It just barely fits into the jar and with just a little twist and product is on your applicator. I have found that doing one panel at a time works best and if it is hot do 1/2 panel then remove with mf. YMMV. I have not found a QD that helps in removing. My $.02



BTW Autopia sells this applicator but I got mine at Strauss Auto.



Cheers
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Hmm that looks like a decent applicator. I'll have to pick one up with my next order. Thanks for the recommendation! I like the Meguiars applicators, but they don't seem to fit too well in the jar. The one you posted looks like it would be easy to twist and fill with product.
 
PaPenguin said:
You guys make me feel better. I too thought 26 paste was hard to remove. I read about this on Meguiars site and the respones seemed to indicate user error. It goes on easy and looks great when done but it does take an effort to remove.
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Yes I have read that 26 was fairly easy to use as well. I guess when I am used to CMW, EX, and EX-P I expect similar results lol! I mean 26 was not incredibly difficult to remove, but it did take much more work than most paste waxes I have. It would not be a wax I would choose for a quickie type wax (or if I was border line debating on even waxing that day!).
 
wannafbody said:
someone posted that some #26 from last year was a bad batch-maybe you ended up with a can
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hmm, well for 99cents I cant really complain too much. I'll use this wax again for sure, but not on my Cobra (unless the durability is out of this world).
 
How long after #26 paste has been applied shoud you proceed to remove it?



Is there a universal rule for the time that all waxes should be removed?
 
I've not encountered the "hard to remove" issue and I've been a 26 user for several years. I suspect it is a batch thing too or perhaps it was not stored properly.



I apply a thin coat to the whole car, of course a cool car in the shade, and then remove with a few MF towels. I like applying and removing LSP's by hand so I save the PC for cleaners and polishes. 26 delivers one of the nicest looks on red, IMO. It delivers a deep warm glowing shine. It lasts 6-8 weeks for me.



I'd suggest that if you have some difficult spots to remove try spritzing with a bit of QD or hit the area with a bit more #26.



A good rule to follow when removing most LSP's is to use the "swipe test." Let it dry and haze and then wipe it with your finger. If it wipes clean and doesn't smear it is ready to remove.
 
The difference between P21S or S100 and #26 is that if you let them sit on the paint a while, #26 is a real pain in the butt to remove but P21S/S100 remains very easy.



The other issue I have with #26 is that imparts a warm glow to paint as Scott said. Now this can be asset on reds and blacks but I don't like the darkening on silver cars.



I used #26 for six years continually on my prior car (oyster pearl, silver with hint of gold, Lexus) before I discovered P21S and Souveran so I know the product very well.



It's okay to be a fan of #26 but I think people here are deluding themselves to believe this product is better than a modern wax like P21S or Souveran. There's a good reason Guru gave this #26 wax a C+ 2.23 score versus P21S score of B+ 3.18.
 
I still use #26 on some of my cars and I personally like the look, but then again, all my cars are black...



However, I switched to liquid #26 a couple years back because I find it easier to apply thin and I havent touched the paste #26 still sitting on my shelf since then. In hindsight, it was more likely my technique with the paste version (not applying it thin enough) that was my problem rather than paste vs. liquid.



With the liquid at least, I havent had any problems with extended drying times and difficulty in removal. I once forgot to remove it from the entire roof of my GX470 for 8 hours (brain fart...) and removal was no different from the regular 10-15 min dry time.
 
I think that the real challenge isn't in the removal, it's in getting the paste stuff to go on thinly; it seems to WANT to be thick. Even #16 is easier to get thin. The liquid is easy to get on thin, and it's easy to remove.



The typical cue that I use for thinness is first visual, but also how much the pad drags; when it starts dragging a certain amount, the product needs to be reapplied to the pad. IMO #26 paste is "grabbier" by nature, and I wind up remoistening the pad too frequently, leading to too thick an application.





Tom
 
the problem with directly comparing #26 and P21s is that chemically they are pretty different and on different colors 1 may look better than the other. 26 may look better on red and P21s better on silver and for that reason the Guru reports "looks" score is pretty much worthless-because "looks" is all personal opinon
 
Mosca said:




The typical cue that I use for thinness is first visual, but also how much the pad drags; when it starts dragging a certain amount, the product needs to be reapplied to the pad. IMO #26 paste is "grabbier" by nature, and I wind up remoistening the pad too frequently, leading to too thick an application.





Tom
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That was my theory as well. When I felt the applicator drag on the paint, I dipped the applicator in the jar for more product. I did this frequently as you mentioned, which may have led to thick coats. Honestly though, in appearance it didn't look any thinner or thicker than how I apply S100 (and S100/P21S is VERY easy to remove).
 
the problem with directly comparing #26 and P21s is that chemically they are pretty different and on different colors 1 may look better than the other. 26 may look better on red and P21s better on silver and for that reason the Guru reports "looks" score is pretty much worthless-because "looks" is all personal opinon
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Uh, that's not really fair to the Guru team. They looked at reflectivity and gloss and I believe they used dark colored body panels of the same color. Also, they averaged results from a team of members looking at each panel. In addition the scores for looks (performance) were 40% of the total score...60% being combination of durability, ease of use, and availability.
 
but if it was applied to a dark colored panel that has no bearing on how the product would look on a light colored panel. sure you could measure the reflectivity with a machine but again its apples to oranges in that consumers don't measure their waxes performance with a machine-they do so by eye-their eye- and in the end its their opinion. again looks are subjective. someone might like sharp reflections and some might like a softer more distorted look to declare one better than another is purely opinion. To be fair to the Guru guys it simply isn't possible to test any product in all the real world variables.
 
COBRyan said:
Hmm that looks like a decent applicator. I'll have to pick one up with my next order. Thanks for the recommendation! I like the Meguiars applicators, but they don't seem to fit too well in the jar. The one you posted looks like it would be easy to twist and fill with product.
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You can buy those applicators at Autozone too.
 
wannafbody said:
To be fair to the Guru guys it simply isn't possible to test any product in all the real world variables.
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Visually, I would tend to agree unless a product very obviously degraded the appearance of a properly prepped panel. Ease of use is also subjective. If I remember right, they let Klasse SG and Zaino dry a full 24 hours. Sorry but to me, a 24 hour wait would score an "F" for ease of use no matter how easily it wiped off the next day. When it comes to durability though, if the exposure, washing, etc is the same for all products then you have a pretty good idea what lasts a long time and what doesn't.



Testing waxes obviously is more difficult that you would first imagine. I know I wouldn't have the patience to do it.
 
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