The History of Meguiars M16

[Accumulator]

Anyone know the approx shelf life of M16 before it becomes troublesome to use?

I've never found shelf life to be an issue with #16, and each can lasts me at least a decade. The tin I'm using now was purchased sometime in '90s, probably the very early '90s.

 

[blacK20]

A decade! Wow. Good to know guys. I just didn't want to overstock on this stuff and find myself throwing them out 5 years down the road.

 

[Rob Tomlin]

Knowing what I've seen, I always find it interesting to read a post where a person singles out a product as being a dust magnet which paints the product in a negative light.



While this is done innocently, it can still bee seen that way.



That's why from time to time when I see a comment about such and such being a dust magnet I'll chime in and post what I've seen.



There may be products that are less prone to attracting dust, but I've never seen one that when tested on bare paint didn't attract more dust than just bare paint.

I don't think anyone was questioning whether paint that has wax or a sealant on it attracts more dust than non-protected paint, and I think what you said is true. But it is also true that some waxes definitely attract noticeably more dust than others.



When I had black cars, it was very easy to tell who the offenders were.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

I don't think anyone was questioning whether paint that has wax or a sealant on it attracts more dust than non-protected paint, and I think what you said is true. But it is also true that some waxes definitely attract noticeably more dust than others.



When I had black cars, it was very easy to tell who the offenders were.

You know, Jimmy Buffit would talk about the static buildup that Mike Phillips referred to, and would swear by connecting the chassis of the car to a water pipe using a jumper cable to dissipate the static charge that built up during buffing.

 

[Accumulator]

A decade! Wow. Good to know guys. I just didn't want to overstock on this stuff and find myself throwing them out 5 years down the road.

That shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure the lids are on tight and protect it from freezing (and I guess, *VERY* high, like well over 100F) temps.



I have a case of it set aside, and I'm confident that whoever inherits it will still be getting good wax IIRC, Mike has even more of it stashed away that I do!

As to applications by machine... I frequently spread some on a finishing pad and apply it with a PC and get excellent thin coats. You can use a spoon or butter knife to facilitate the transfer to the pad. It liquifies rapidly at speed 2-3.

Yeah, that works great :xyxthumbs



I use a slightly higher speed (around 4) myself when using the PC (usually use the Cyclo, which is probably kinda aggressive for this sort of thing), and sometimes give a *VERY* light spritz of Griot's SpeedShine on the panel first, as a "pseudo spitshine" technique. Makes for smaller, more spherical beads and a (very) slightly nicer look.