Costco Meguiars Polymer Wash and Wax Review

[RToyo86]

Meguiars pretty much always puts out good stuff. I personally avoid wash and wax formulas now. My belief is that a good soap with no residues or waxes should do the cleaning, then apply your protection as a dry aid/post dry.
That said it if works for you then use It, I am OCD about my paint and my system has worked for the past 3 years/75,000km .

I used meguiars gold class then started experimenting with the "pro" or less consumer known brands.

I go back and forth between optimum car wash, Adams car shampoo and carpro reset. Reset is the most expensive stuff but works amazingly well if you have a good ceramic sealant or coating already on the car.

The other two are solid soaps I use on and off. Optimum soap is cheapest of the three so I rent to keep a 32oz on hand and use that exclusively in my wheel bucket.

[spcmafia]

Originally Posted by ls1ac

You guys might look at the reviews of 303 graphene compared to waxes and ceramic coatings. Not the $1000 but the self applied.

Of course, this is just another alternative being that it was so cheap, for a huge bottle, that yielded great results. I'll probably buy that product and do another review.

[spcmafia]

Originally Posted by RToyo86

Meguiars pretty much always puts out good stuff. I personally avoid wash and wax formulas now. My belief is that a good soap with no residues or waxes should do the cleaning, then apply your protection as a dry aid/post dry.
That said it if works for you then use It, I am OCD about my paint and my system has worked for the past 3 years/75,000km .

I used meguiars gold class then started experimenting with the "pro" or less consumer known brands.

I go back and forth between optimum car wash, Adams car shampoo and carpro reset. Reset is the most expensive stuff but works amazingly well if you have a good ceramic sealant or coating already on the car.

The other two are solid soaps I use on and off. Optimum soap is cheapest of the three so I rent to keep a 32oz on hand and use that exclusively in my wheel bucket.

I was a bit skeptic at first too, but it was $15 so it was a win/win situation. I normally do the same as you, I normally use gold wash as it foams incredibly well ( I just like lots of foam) and it gives me a clean car to work on for sealant/wax. But I was impressed on how well this product made the car look even after the first rinse. Not to the mention the second rinse. I need to post an update and see how it hold against the summer weather with all the pollen and rains we get locally.

[RToyo86]

Originally Posted by spcmafia

I was a bit skeptic at first too, but it was $15 so it was a win/win situation. I normally do the same as you, I normally use gold wash as it foams incredibly well ( I just like lots of foam) and it gives me a clean car to work on for sealant/wax. But I was impressed on how well this product made the car look even after the first rinse. Not to the mention the second rinse. I need to post an update and see how it hold against the summer weather with all the pollen and rains we get locally.

If it works with your routine that's all that matters.
There is enough stuff out there that you can pretty much build your own routine and it'll more or less end up with similar results. Given you applied the ceramic paste wax with a buffer that is now your primary protection which will probably last a couple months on its own. The wash and wax can be a decent booster layer. I know megs sells a ceramic wash and wax. It probably has similar mixture as the paste wax, but who knows if there's any noticeable difference between the Costco variant and the ceramic one. Should be a good combination for you with good results.

I don't like mixing wash and wax with my routine as it messes with the hydrophobics of my ceramic coating and topper. You can really notice if a soap has residue or waxes in it as the paint doesn't sheet water as well after it has been cleaned.

If you like suds using optimum no rinse would throw you for an absolute loop. The first time I used it.. felt so wrong. After that I started to view suds differently as I was convinced I'd scratch my paint but it just works.
Now I try to pay attention to the lubricity of the soap in the bucket, though I do like my suds.

Asphalt is a PITA to maintain. It's lovely when it's clean but like black paint it shows swirls easily.



Up close it pops

[spcmafia]

Originally Posted by RToyo86

Asphalt is a PITA to maintain. It's lovely when it's clean but like black paint it shows swirls easily.



Up close it pops

My last car was black so I feel your pain, silver does a good job at hiding pollen, salt, and overall dirt. No matter that I did with my last car, the shine would never last more than a day.

[ls1ac]

For any of these products, preparation is key for lone life. I had to use a strong stripper before application to have it last. I had been using Nu finish, and getting it off was a problem. (I still use Nu finish on the trucks that sit out side all year. But may try the 303 on one next time.)

[Wally86]

Originally Posted by ls1ac

For any of these products, preparation is key for lone life. I had to use a strong stripper before application to have it last. I had been using Nu finish, and getting it off was a problem. (I still use Nu finish on the trucks that sit out side all year. But may try the 303 on one next time.)

I went wash/dry/clay/303

I just wiped down after clay but I guess I could try IPAing instead.

[ls1ac]

There are several good chemical strippers made by Mothers and others. The old waxes need to be removed. Polishing or paint correction is not needed, and could still leave wax residue.

[RToyo86]

Carpro iron-x works really well but does it ever stink. Not sure why they bother advertising scents when they all smell awful
I've got a bottle of carpro eraser which is a good out of the box paint prep. IPA mix is probably the way to go as a more cost effect alternative.

I have been meaning to try optimum ferrex but haven't got around to picking up a bottle. You can use Optimums clay towel in conjunction with ferrex which also acts as a clay lube. I watched a friend do it who's a opti-coat installer and it saves a bunch of time during the decontamination step as you combine chemical and physical decontamination together.

[RToyo86]

Has anyone heard of meguiars wash plus?
It was a gem of a soap they released 3-4 years ago and nobody bought it so they discontinued it. It was the sort of a stripper soap that had small abrasives in it. You directly apply the soap to a wash mitt and wash the paint vs Using a bucket.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by RayRay88

I wonder how it is compared to the Ultimate Wash & Wax. I've always been a fan of the Gold Class and just recently picked up a jug of the Ultimate.

I liked the Ultimate spray wax/detailers as well and have recently switched to the Hybrid Ceramic series.
All of these meguiars products are great. Easy to find, cheap and go on sale often. Hard to tell the difference in beading and color depth vs say Colonite or other traditional carnuba waxes and a fraction of the effort.

I have tried many detail sprays and found that the Ultimate Quick Detailer was the only thing that works at all with my ceramic coating. Everything else just sort of sat on top and didn't clean.
For washing the only thing I will use is the Gold Class shampoo since I don't want/need a wax while cleaning.
My car is easy but a product that will bring this result to the wife's poor neglected black beast will work on anything!

[RToyo86]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I have tried many detail sprays and found that the Ultimate Quick Detailer was the only thing that works at all with my ceramic coating. Everything else just sort of sat on top and didn't clean.
For washing the only thing I will use is the Gold Class shampoo since I don't want/need a wax while cleaning.
My car is easy but a product that will bring this result to the wife's poor neglected black beast will work on anything!

Crappy tire started carrying Adams products recently. You can get their car shampoo. I notived it was on sale this week.


Fiance and I had one of those for 2 weeks on loan. They drive decently but the top trim infotainment drove us nuts.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by RToyo86

Crappy tire started carrying Adams products recently. You can get their car shampoo. I notived it was on sale this week.


Fiance and I had one of those for 2 weeks on loan. They drive decently but the top trim infotainment drove us nuts.

They did a bunch of updates on the HU and now it is fine. There were some bizarre things for a while though.

[RToyo86]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

They did a bunch of updates on the HU and now it is fine. There were some bizarre things for a while though.

Does yours have the integrated Hvac controls built into the screen?