Cheap(er) LSP (Last Step Protection) Shootout - 7 Products
06-26-2008, 10:23 PM
#1
Cheap(er) LSP (Last Step Protection) Shootout - 7 Products Steve from Tropi-Care sent me a sample of some new wax they are demo'ing and will be selling soon. I was going to just do a test and writeup on that, but figured what the hell, why not do a much bigger/better test of some of the more popular, cheaper, and easy to acquire waxes/sealants on the market.
In this on-going thread, I will be evaluating the following:
1) Ease of application
2) Ease of removal
3) Slickness
4) Beading Effect
5) Longevity
I am performing this test on my hood as it's the largest surface area that is easiest to split up into observable sections. I claybar'ed the whole hood to make sure it was fair game for each LSP and applied all 7 products. I did this using a small MF towel, making sure to flip to an unused portion for each application to prevent mixing.
The 7 LSP's used were:
Tropi-Care Test Wax (Wax)
Tropi-Care Premium Liquid Wax (Wax)
Tropi-Care TC-3 Sealant XP (Sealant)
Klasse All-In-One (Sealant)
Duragloss #105 (Sealant)
Meguiar's #21 (Sealant)
Meguiar's #26 (Wax)
The layout is as follows (prior to removal):
And here is a picture without the ugly lines and labels:
I then buffed each of them off using a separate part of a MF towel so as to prevent as much cross-contamination via removal as possible.
So, with all that being said... let's giddy up...
1) Ease of Application
(Rating Scale: 1 being hardest to apply, 5 being easiest to apply)
Tropi-Care Test Wax: 5
Steve suggested that the wax be warmed a bit for it to spread easiest. So, I sat it out in the sun for about 15 minutes before using it. This stuff spreads like butter. It was very easy to apply
Tropi-Care Premium Liquid Wax: 3.5
This wax is grey in color, yet I found it hard to see how it was providing coverage. This could possibly (probably) be due to my metallic grey paint that it is mixing in with, however there wasn't even much residue left behind to even catch an angle view of anything. I gave this a lower rating due to the fact that, although I have a feel for its coverage, a newbie detailer might mistake its lack of apparent residue and apply more than necessary.
Tropi-Care TC-3 Sealant XP: 4
This stuff is banana in color and I found it rather easy to apply. It smells great too. It goes on very easy and almost begins to buff off if you spend too long applying it (not necessarily a bad thing). No complaints here, but it wasn't as buttery as the test wax.
Klasse All-In-One: 4.5
This stuff is super easy to apply and leaves just enough residue to be able to determine even coverage by the good old eyeball. It goes on thin and there isn't much to dislike, other than it's unpleasant smell.
Duragloss #105: 3.5
I find DG #105 to feel a bit rough and grainy (not really grainy but it seems like there is more friction between the MF and the paint surface than the others) when applying. It has a rather milky residue as well, but that really helps in assuring that you can see its coverage. However, you can't hate the grape smell!
Meguiar's #21: 4.25
You'll be surprised when you see the purple ooze come out of the bottle but don't let it fool you. This stuff goes on super easy and is simple to control. A little goes a long ways.
Meguiar's #26: 5
I have always loved #26 and I'm not gonna try and hide it. It is so easy to apply and I kinda like the smell of whatever the hell it is. You can almost feel your paint turning to butter.
Winner: TIE - Test Wax / M #26
2) Ease of removal
(Rating Scale: 1 being hardest to remove, 5 being easiest to remove)
The DG #105 was the hardest to remove (again, feels like more friction) with the KAIO and Meg's #21 following close behind (#21 tends to not harden much which makes it a bit harder to remove) and the rest being very easy to remove.
Tropi-Care Test Wax: 5
Tropi-Care Premium Liquid Wax: 5
Tropi-Care TC-3 Sealant XP: 5
Klasse All-In-One: 4.25
Duragloss #105: 4
Meguiar's #21: 4.25
Meguiar's #26: 4.75
Winner: TIE - Test Wax / TC Premium Wax / TC-3
3) Slickness
(Rating Scale: 1 being least slick, 5 being slickest)
To perform this test, I just ran my fingers over each area, so it is a very biased result. Nonetheless, it is a result. I was a little surprised that the Test Wax wasn't nearly as slick as the other waxes and in fact felt the least slick. Weird.
Tropi-Care Test Wax: 3.75
Tropi-Care Premium Liquid Wax: 4.5
Tropi-Care TC-3 Sealant XP: 4
Klasse All-In-One: 4.5
Duragloss #105: 4
Meguiar's #21: 4
Meguiar's #26: 5
Winner: Meguiar's #26
***There was going to be an Appearance section here but it's ridiculously hard to do so when you have this many products on the hood. However, I will be constantly staring at my car every chance I get, so I will try to document as many appearance qualities as possible, but I can't promise anything.***
====================================
7/10/08
It's been about 3 weeks since I applied everything and the car has been sitting out in the sun most days without any rainfall thus far. It has gotten a bit of overspray from sprinklers but it wasn't much, if any at all. So, it's time to test the beading...
After a simple sheeting with water from the hose (no washing yet)...
After a simulation light to medium rain effect from the hose (no washing yet)...
After light washing with Meguiar's Car Soap and a MF mitt and sheeting with the hose to rinse...
4) Beading Effect
Tropi-Care Test Wax: 4
Tropi-Care Premium Liquid Wax: 2
Tropi-Care TC-3 Sealant XP: 2.5
Klasse All-In-One: .5
Duragloss #105: 4.75
Meguiar's #21: 4.25
Meguiar's #26: 4
Winner: Duragloss #105
So, as you can see, Klasse AIO tends to hang on to the water rather than beadin or sheeting, while Duragloss has the best beading properties, with the Meguiar's products and the TC Test Wax following behind that. The Meguiar's products and the TC Test Wax looked to sheet the water off the car the quickest, while forming beads here and there, which is definitely a good thing for minimizing drying time and thus spotting.
Keep in mind, neither beading or sheeting is necessarily good or bad nor does it determine the protective properties of the LSP. The main goal is protection (which this test doesn't necessarily prove) while also preventing water spots from being left behind (which beading or sheeting may help prevent). Depending on the shape and size of the car, either beading or sheeting (or a combo of both) may be the best catalyst for preventing spots from being left behind after a rain.
To come in a couple more weeks...
5) Longevity
Tropi-Care Premium Liquid Wax:
Tropi-Care TC-3 Sealant XP:
Klasse All-In-One:
Duragloss #105:
Meguiar's #21:
Meguiar's #26:
In this on-going thread, I will be evaluating the following:
1) Ease of application
2) Ease of removal
3) Slickness
4) Beading Effect
5) Longevity
I am performing this test on my hood as it's the largest surface area that is easiest to split up into observable sections. I claybar'ed the whole hood to make sure it was fair game for each LSP and applied all 7 products. I did this using a small MF towel, making sure to flip to an unused portion for each application to prevent mixing.
The 7 LSP's used were:
Tropi-Care Test Wax (Wax)
Tropi-Care Premium Liquid Wax (Wax)
Tropi-Care TC-3 Sealant XP (Sealant)
Klasse All-In-One (Sealant)
Duragloss #105 (Sealant)
Meguiar's #21 (Sealant)
Meguiar's #26 (Wax)
The layout is as follows (prior to removal):
And here is a picture without the ugly lines and labels:
I then buffed each of them off using a separate part of a MF towel so as to prevent as much cross-contamination via removal as possible.
So, with all that being said... let's giddy up...
1) Ease of Application
(Rating Scale: 1 being hardest to apply, 5 being easiest to apply)
Tropi-Care Test Wax: 5
Steve suggested that the wax be warmed a bit for it to spread easiest. So, I sat it out in the sun for about 15 minutes before using it. This stuff spreads like butter. It was very easy to apply
Tropi-Care Premium Liquid Wax: 3.5
This wax is grey in color, yet I found it hard to see how it was providing coverage. This could possibly (probably) be due to my metallic grey paint that it is mixing in with, however there wasn't even much residue left behind to even catch an angle view of anything. I gave this a lower rating due to the fact that, although I have a feel for its coverage, a newbie detailer might mistake its lack of apparent residue and apply more than necessary.
Tropi-Care TC-3 Sealant XP: 4
This stuff is banana in color and I found it rather easy to apply. It smells great too. It goes on very easy and almost begins to buff off if you spend too long applying it (not necessarily a bad thing). No complaints here, but it wasn't as buttery as the test wax.
Klasse All-In-One: 4.5
This stuff is super easy to apply and leaves just enough residue to be able to determine even coverage by the good old eyeball. It goes on thin and there isn't much to dislike, other than it's unpleasant smell.
Duragloss #105: 3.5
I find DG #105 to feel a bit rough and grainy (not really grainy but it seems like there is more friction between the MF and the paint surface than the others) when applying. It has a rather milky residue as well, but that really helps in assuring that you can see its coverage. However, you can't hate the grape smell!
Meguiar's #21: 4.25
You'll be surprised when you see the purple ooze come out of the bottle but don't let it fool you. This stuff goes on super easy and is simple to control. A little goes a long ways.
Meguiar's #26: 5
I have always loved #26 and I'm not gonna try and hide it. It is so easy to apply and I kinda like the smell of whatever the hell it is. You can almost feel your paint turning to butter.
Winner: TIE - Test Wax / M #26
2) Ease of removal
(Rating Scale: 1 being hardest to remove, 5 being easiest to remove)
The DG #105 was the hardest to remove (again, feels like more friction) with the KAIO and Meg's #21 following close behind (#21 tends to not harden much which makes it a bit harder to remove) and the rest being very easy to remove.
Tropi-Care Test Wax: 5
Tropi-Care Premium Liquid Wax: 5
Tropi-Care TC-3 Sealant XP: 5
Klasse All-In-One: 4.25
Duragloss #105: 4
Meguiar's #21: 4.25
Meguiar's #26: 4.75
Winner: TIE - Test Wax / TC Premium Wax / TC-3
3) Slickness
(Rating Scale: 1 being least slick, 5 being slickest)
To perform this test, I just ran my fingers over each area, so it is a very biased result. Nonetheless, it is a result. I was a little surprised that the Test Wax wasn't nearly as slick as the other waxes and in fact felt the least slick. Weird.
Tropi-Care Test Wax: 3.75
Tropi-Care Premium Liquid Wax: 4.5
Tropi-Care TC-3 Sealant XP: 4
Klasse All-In-One: 4.5
Duragloss #105: 4
Meguiar's #21: 4
Meguiar's #26: 5
Winner: Meguiar's #26
***There was going to be an Appearance section here but it's ridiculously hard to do so when you have this many products on the hood. However, I will be constantly staring at my car every chance I get, so I will try to document as many appearance qualities as possible, but I can't promise anything.***
====================================
7/10/08
It's been about 3 weeks since I applied everything and the car has been sitting out in the sun most days without any rainfall thus far. It has gotten a bit of overspray from sprinklers but it wasn't much, if any at all. So, it's time to test the beading...
After a simple sheeting with water from the hose (no washing yet)...
After a simulation light to medium rain effect from the hose (no washing yet)...
After light washing with Meguiar's Car Soap and a MF mitt and sheeting with the hose to rinse...
4) Beading Effect
Tropi-Care Test Wax: 4
Tropi-Care Premium Liquid Wax: 2
Tropi-Care TC-3 Sealant XP: 2.5
Klasse All-In-One: .5
Duragloss #105: 4.75
Meguiar's #21: 4.25
Meguiar's #26: 4
Winner: Duragloss #105
So, as you can see, Klasse AIO tends to hang on to the water rather than beadin or sheeting, while Duragloss has the best beading properties, with the Meguiar's products and the TC Test Wax following behind that. The Meguiar's products and the TC Test Wax looked to sheet the water off the car the quickest, while forming beads here and there, which is definitely a good thing for minimizing drying time and thus spotting.
Keep in mind, neither beading or sheeting is necessarily good or bad nor does it determine the protective properties of the LSP. The main goal is protection (which this test doesn't necessarily prove) while also preventing water spots from being left behind (which beading or sheeting may help prevent). Depending on the shape and size of the car, either beading or sheeting (or a combo of both) may be the best catalyst for preventing spots from being left behind after a rain.
To come in a couple more weeks...
5) Longevity
Tropi-Care Premium Liquid Wax:
Tropi-Care TC-3 Sealant XP:
Klasse All-In-One:
Duragloss #105:
Meguiar's #21:
Meguiar's #26:
Last edited by ArcticZ28; 07-11-2008 at 04:08 PM.
06-27-2008, 09:39 AM
#5
You're assuming I give a rat's @$$. 
I would have included Zaino if I had any, but I do not. Don't get me wrong, I am in love with Z-10 and Z-16, but I'm not really a fanboy of their other stuff. Bottom line, it just wasn't included b/c I don't have any, not because I purposely avoided it.
I would have included Zaino if I had any, but I do not. Don't get me wrong, I am in love with Z-10 and Z-16, but I'm not really a fanboy of their other stuff. Bottom line, it just wasn't included b/c I don't have any, not because I purposely avoided it.
06-27-2008, 03:31 PM
#7
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You're assuming I give a rat's @$$.
I would have included Zaino if I had any, but I do not. Don't get me wrong, I am in love with Z-10 and Z-16, but I'm not really a fanboy of their other stuff. Bottom line, it just wasn't included b/c I don't have any, not because I purposely avoided it.
I would have included Zaino if I had any, but I do not. Don't get me wrong, I am in love with Z-10 and Z-16, but I'm not really a fanboy of their other stuff. Bottom line, it just wasn't included b/c I don't have any, not because I purposely avoided it.
-Mike
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07-11-2008, 09:50 PM
#11
Haha, no, and I'm glad you brought this up. By no means should this be interpreted that Klasse sucks, its just that paint protection for the entire car is not its forte and really it was never meant to be a top competitor of such. Klasse AIO is meant to be a paint cleanser of sorts while leaving a bit of protection behind. This product is something you use after your final polish to clean everything up and make sure there are no contaminants left over. It is best succeeded by something like Klasse Sealant Glaze which is the Klasse family product that really provides the protection. Additionally, it is absolutely awesome for many things such as cleaning/protecting rubber trim and exterior smooth plastics such as plastic side view mirror covers. It is also useful for protecting wheels.
Overall, it really wasn't an apples to apples comparison and a bit unfair to test it against these other dedicated LSP's, but I threw it in as a simple comparator b/c I had it on hand and I do think we can learn something about its properties from such a test.
Overall, it really wasn't an apples to apples comparison and a bit unfair to test it against these other dedicated LSP's, but I threw it in as a simple comparator b/c I had it on hand and I do think we can learn something about its properties from such a test.
