Americana Paste Wax versus the Competitors

[mathews31]

This is my first time posting a new topic so please be easy, also if there is another thread that already has this topic I'd be grateful for a redirect. So I started detailing my own car about a year ago when I came upon Adam's Polishes. I was just using some minor tools, like clay and microfiber towels and so recently I pulled the trigger on the Americana Paste wax and a few other goodies. Now because I live in NY I haven't gotten a chance to put them to a full test, but I figured I'd try to at least do a comparison between Americana Paste Wax and a Meguiar's Wax that I saw at a local store. After I finished I found it hard to tell the difference. Below I've detailed what I did. Any tips, expert or novice are welcome.

Keep in mind I have not washed the car since November so that probably played a part, I also did not paint correct because I don't have a machine.

Step 1: Cleaned the area with Mother's Showtime spray (that was all I could think to use, couldn't use water because of restrictions)

Step 2: Clayed the two spots with the same clay bar and wiped with a microfiber towel.

Step 3: Applied Adam's Americana Paste Wax as directed on the container. I left it on for about 5 or 10 minutes and then wiped it off.

Step 4: Apply the Meguiar's Wax in a similar fashion and then wiped off after 10 minutes.

DONE

This was done in my garage in a NY winter.

After feeling both areas and looking at the way they look, I don't really see a difference. Any advice is appreciated...I'm hoping I didn't get jipped for $50 on Americana Paste Wax especially considering I really like Adam's Products

Thanks. 

[mathews31]

This is my charger after full correction and Americana. Very good reflection, if I had a better camera you could tell.

What did you use to correct?

[Geebee]

Why would you need more than one layer if it's a good wax? 

Ask Adam. He stated that fact in one of his videos. Layering wax.

[shane@detailedreflections]

Why would you need more than one layer if it's a good wax?

I use two layers of paste wax to finish a job. I always go for two thin layers. It provides some extra thickness for protection, and gives me another look to make sure I haven't forgotten anything while also pretty much guaranteeing no spot gets skipped over for some reason (I'm sure we've all forgotten a spot on a car at some point).

 

Adam does say that you can get some dulling if you allow too many layers. I haven't seen it happen since I tend to follow my process.

 

For who asked about the layering, I can't imagine why you'd want to lay down a big number of layers of wax. I'm in the minority here I think and I use two layers. And that's after sealant and glaze. If you're concerned enough that you want to build a really thick layer of wax for protection, maybe you're a candidate for a coating? Food for thought.

Edited February 22, 2017 by medic001918

[Geebee]

I use two layers of paste wax to finish a job. I always go for two thin layers. It provides some extra thickness for protection, and gives me another look to make sure I haven't forgotten anything while also pretty much guaranteeing no spot gets skipped over for some reason (I'm sure we've all forgotten a spot on a car at some point).

 

Adam does say that you can get some dulling if you allow too many layers. I haven't seen it happen since I tend to follow my process.

 

For who asked about the layering, I can't imagine why you'd want to lay down a big number of layers of wax. I'm in the minority here I think and I use two layers. And that's after sealant and glaze. If you're concerned enough that you want to build a really thick layer of wax for protection, maybe you're a candidate for a coating? Food for thought.

Shane, I'm in the same mind set as you.  Glaze, and 2 coats of wax works perfect on my cars.

[Dan@Adams]

I'm not going to lie, I've been waiting to get a reply from you, but one thing is missing that I still can't get past. You seem to have detailed a lot of cars, and the one that you showed me above was great but, I wish you or anyone could show me a black car paint corrected with a SK, because I feel like that would really put it in perspective and make getting a SK more comfortable, because at this point, even what you just showed me it seems like its almost more worth it to go for a Rupes 15 MK1 rather than a SK

I appreciate all the advice for sure.

 

I can say with 100% certainty that I could achieve identical results on the S2000 pictured above if I had used the Swirl Killer on it, but it was not out when I did this car a year and a half ago.

 

Color of the paint mostly does not matter when machine polishing the majority of most modern vehicles, as you are polishing the clear coat above the painted base coat and removing swirl marks and scratches from the clear coat. The only manufacturer that I know off the top of my head that has used single stage paint on some gloss colors in the last 10 years or so is Toyota - some of their non-metallic paint jobs were single stage but I'm not 100% sure if this is still the case on current model year cars of theirs.

 

I know this isn't a black vehicle, but here's a before and after tape line on the Silverado I'm working on this week in the evenings. Right side is after 1 pass with Heavy Correcting Compound and a 5.5" Blue Foam Pad with the Swirl Killer set to speed 4 out of 6, nearly perfect results with just one polish and pad:

 

 

And here is a before picture of some gloss black vinyl business lettering on the truck. You can see how many swirls are in the "O":

 

 

Swirl Killer Mini with a 4" Orange Foam Pad and Orange Correcting Polish, at speed 4 out of 6 produced this result on the "R" directly above the "O" - same lighting, same camera angle for reference but moved up about 6" on the door to show the correction. 90% or more of the swirls in the vinyl now removed:

 

 

When polishing the vinyl letters I paid extra special care to monitor the temperature of both the pad and the vinyl surface. This was a very thick vinyl, but I still had to avoid edges to not pull the edges off of the panel, so some of the light scratches near the edges were not fully removed in that last picture.

 

I'm working on a black BMW Z4 next week, so I will be sure to get plenty of pictures. In my opinion, you can't go wrong with the Swirl Killer for paint correction as a hobby, and if you try it out and are not satisfied, that is why we have our 110% satisfaction guarantee.

[mathews31]

I can say with 100% certainty that I could achieve identical results on the S2000 pictured above if I had used the Swirl Killer on it, but it was not out when I did this car a year and a half ago.

 

Color of the paint mostly does not matter when machine polishing the majority of most modern vehicles, as you are polishing the clear coat above the painted base coat and removing swirl marks and scratches from the clear coat. The only manufacturer that I know off the top of my head that has used single stage paint on some gloss colors in the last 10 years or so is Toyota - some of their non-metallic paint jobs were single stage but I'm not 100% sure if this is still the case on current model year cars of theirs.

 

I know this isn't a black vehicle, but here's a before and after tape line on the Silverado I'm working on this week in the evenings. Right side is after 1 pass with Heavy Correcting Compound and a 5.5" Blue Foam Pad with the Swirl Killer set to speed 4 out of 6, nearly perfect results with just one polish and pad:

 

 

And here is a before picture of some gloss black vinyl business lettering on the truck. You can see how many swirls are in the "O":

 

 

Swirl Killer Mini with a 4" Orange Foam Pad and Orange Correcting Polish, at speed 4 out of 6 produced this result on the "R" directly above the "O" - same lighting, same camera angle for reference but moved up about 6" on the door to show the correction. 90% or more of the swirls in the vinyl now removed:

 

 

When polishing the vinyl letters I paid extra special care to monitor the temperature of both the pad and the vinyl surface. This was a very thick vinyl, but I still had to avoid edges to not pull the edges off of the panel, so some of the light scratches near the edges were not fully removed in that last picture.

 

I'm working on a black BMW Z4 next week, so I will be sure to get plenty of pictures. In my opinion, you can't go wrong with the Swirl Killer for paint correction as a hobby, and if you try it out and are not satisfied, that is why we have our 110% satisfaction guarantee.

 

Thanks for the details, I appreciate all the advice I can get....What exactly is the 110% guarantee...I was wondering about what the warranty was...I look forward to seeing those pictures from Z4...also I think if theres a good sale today for the 17th anniversary I'll Godwillingly be buying a SK...

[Dan@Adams]

We offer a 110% satisfaction guarantee on all of our products. If you try something out and are not fully satisfied with the results, you can initiate a return process with us by emailing orders@adamspolishes.com, and we can do a full refund of the purchase price of the item, plus an additional 10% refund for the inconvenience, once we receive the item(s). We are very confident in our products and that they will give you excellent results!

 

The 17th anniversary sale should be up later this afternoon but possibly may not be live until tomorrow. We'll have a nice discount code for nearly everything store-wide, with the exclusion of gift cards and Rupes and Cyclo polishers, since we have set pricing on them from the manufacturer.

[mathews31]

Well there goes my bank account...thanks for the info...     

[Geebee]

Whoooooo Boy!  There goes my credit card.

[Chadley]

I use to use Meguiars when my truck was new and what I didn't like about it was the shine didn't last and it seemed to build up quickly so the more I waxed the less shine I got. I'm getting ready to do a paint correction on my truck and haven't decided which wax to use yet. But it will be an Adam's product!

[mathews31]

I use to use Meguiars when my truck was new and what I didn't like about it was the shine didn't last and it seemed to build up quickly so the more I waxed the less shine I got. I'm getting ready to do a paint correction on my truck and haven't decided which wax to use yet. But it will be an Adam's product!

 

I waxed my car fully for the first time two days ago and I don't feel like it really does much, Godwillingly if  I get a polisher and correct my paint it'll shine more...

[shane@detailedreflections]

I waxed my car fully for the first time two days ago and I don't feel like it really does much, Godwillingly if I get a polisher and correct my paint it'll shine more...

The shine from paint is mostly in how the paint is polished more than the waxes being used. A good correction and you'll be good to go. After that, the layers will bring it to life.

 

In the photo I've attached, it is paint and clear coat after correction. There's no gloss enhancing products applied. The line across the bottom is clear paint protection film. We smoothed it out gently with revive hand polish. The rest was done with correcting polish and finishing polish. No need for compound on that job. And even though the pic looks darker, it was a dark blue color. Came out awesome.

Edited February 23, 2017 by medic001918

[07r/t]

What did you use to correct?

Clay, correction polish, finishing polish, liquid sealant then topped with americaca

[mathews31]

What machine

[370ZRyan]

This is my Z we used the SK on. i don't have any good before picture and this was before we applied the coating to it. Used a combination of the Swirl Killer and the Rupes Mini (before we had any of our mini's available) I will testify to the SK's correcting ability!

 

[mathews31]

This is my Z we used the SK on. i don't have any good before picture and this was before we applied the coating to it. Used a combination of the Swirl Killer and the Rupes Mini (before we had any of our mini's available) I will testify to the SK's correcting ability!

 

370z.jpg

 

Any chance you have any close up pictures lol I think my decision on the SK is set, I'm just waiting for a good 17th anniversary sale

[370ZRyan]

I can get some tonight for you. It's snowing here so she is safe at home not trying to be a snowmobile!

[mathews31]

I can get some tonight for you. It's snowing here so she is safe at home not trying to be a snowmobile!

I look forward to seeing

[07r/t]

What machine

It's in my signature, rupes 15 mark 2 and the mini for the smaller areas.