It is an express wax in the fact that it sprays on rather than traditionally applied and removed by hand/polisher. Beading /protection didn't seem quite long lived for me at the time :dunno
My car made it 6 weeks sitting outside 24/7 in all the rain that we have had with very good beading and some slickness left to it. I have since applied other products that I'm testing so I don't know how much longer it would go.
No. The NXT spray wax is best applied with a foam applicator, left to haze then buffed off with an MF. (two step process and more time consuming). I like both products. The NXT leaves a brighter shine or brings back the NXT Tech Wax "pop" as some like to say. The Optimum is a quick way to a nice slick, shine although not as nice as the NXT IMO. The tradeoff is OPT is really quick for good results and some added protection.