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I took some time on Sunday to do my first swirl removal on my 18 mo old pearl white Subary Legacy; I spent the afternoon with the G-100, a polishing pad, and some #80, and after a couple hours it came out looking pretty nice. I was trying to decide what to use for protection; I wanted to use #20, but I couldn't find my bottle and I figured that I probably gave it away to someone! (I do that a lot; I have more stuff than I could ever use in my lifetime.) SO I was trying to decide, #21? NXT? #26? WHAT? And then I saw that old bottle of M-9816, Medallion Premium Paint Protection!
Here's the deal. If you have this lurking in the back of your cabinet and you've been passing it by because of the new, flashier #21 and NXT, or having fun with the "antique" #16, get it out and reevaluate it. Because this product is really really good. I forgot how good it is.
M-98 has a nice vanilla smell, and it is a little thinner than NXT and a LOT thinner than #21. I applied it with a foam applicator; because the product is very thin, it is very easy to get a thin coat. It dried quickly in the low humidity. I removed it with the Ultimate Wipes, the short nap towels. Today I did the second coat and this time I used the Supreme Shine (long nap) towels; I give the advantage to the Supreme Shines in this case. M-98 is pretty sticky stuff, and the longer nap towels pick it up quicker and with less effort.
The result was a nice "hard" shine, very glossy, more reflective than NXT, with a nice glow. And do you like BEADS when you wash? This stuff throws off more beads than a Mardi Gras parade. M-98 was reputedly Meguiar's longest lasting wax until NXT arrived; it used to be my "November wax", the one I used on Mary Joan's daily driver at the beginning of winter with the knowledge that I wouldn't be getting to it again until March.
Funny, with everyone going bonkers looking for the last remaining tins of #16, no one is searching for the last of M-98, which IMO is a far superior product. Oh well.
Today, after I finished the second coat of M-98 on the Subaru, I decided I wasn't done yet and I took on the good ol' Malibu. After a wash with GC wash (love that lubricity, Mike!) I was wondering what to use. I wanted to use a cleaner wax, but I didn't want to use the ColorX. I thought about using A-16, but I couldn't decide on the paste or the liquid. Then I decided to use the liquid and apply it with my G-100... and then I thought, hey, what about that #6 that I never seem to reach for? So I grabbed the #6, hooked up a finishing pad and had at it!
#6 has the banana smell of #26. It also applies like #26 liquid, and with the G-100 this product also is very easy to get thin. As a matter of fact, once you get the pad a bit saturated you can pretty much do the entire car with what's in the pad; just keep going until the pad starts dragging. When I was done, I put on a W-7006 (cutting) pad, covered it with a microfiber bonnet, and buffed off the residue. Just as the product goes on easily, it comes off easily as well; I only needed to use one side of one bonnet. It took less than 45 minutes to apply and remove #6 using the G-100.
I was really pleased with the results! #6 does quite a bit of darkening of the paint; it is very clearly a member of the Mirror Glaze line, not the Consumer line. The look is very similar to #26 or Gold Class, very rich. I like it; I like it a lot.
So there it is. Sure the newest and the latest is cool and exciting. Sure the antiques have their appeal. But there are some pretty amazingly good products hidden in the middle of things, quietly going about their business producing excellent results every time they come off the shelves. I only have an ounce or two of M-98 left, but I have an unused can of #16. Anyone up for a trade, I'll trade an unopened #16 for an unopened M-98?
Tom
Here's the deal. If you have this lurking in the back of your cabinet and you've been passing it by because of the new, flashier #21 and NXT, or having fun with the "antique" #16, get it out and reevaluate it. Because this product is really really good. I forgot how good it is.
M-98 has a nice vanilla smell, and it is a little thinner than NXT and a LOT thinner than #21. I applied it with a foam applicator; because the product is very thin, it is very easy to get a thin coat. It dried quickly in the low humidity. I removed it with the Ultimate Wipes, the short nap towels. Today I did the second coat and this time I used the Supreme Shine (long nap) towels; I give the advantage to the Supreme Shines in this case. M-98 is pretty sticky stuff, and the longer nap towels pick it up quicker and with less effort.
The result was a nice "hard" shine, very glossy, more reflective than NXT, with a nice glow. And do you like BEADS when you wash? This stuff throws off more beads than a Mardi Gras parade. M-98 was reputedly Meguiar's longest lasting wax until NXT arrived; it used to be my "November wax", the one I used on Mary Joan's daily driver at the beginning of winter with the knowledge that I wouldn't be getting to it again until March.
Funny, with everyone going bonkers looking for the last remaining tins of #16, no one is searching for the last of M-98, which IMO is a far superior product. Oh well.
Today, after I finished the second coat of M-98 on the Subaru, I decided I wasn't done yet and I took on the good ol' Malibu. After a wash with GC wash (love that lubricity, Mike!) I was wondering what to use. I wanted to use a cleaner wax, but I didn't want to use the ColorX. I thought about using A-16, but I couldn't decide on the paste or the liquid. Then I decided to use the liquid and apply it with my G-100... and then I thought, hey, what about that #6 that I never seem to reach for? So I grabbed the #6, hooked up a finishing pad and had at it!
#6 has the banana smell of #26. It also applies like #26 liquid, and with the G-100 this product also is very easy to get thin. As a matter of fact, once you get the pad a bit saturated you can pretty much do the entire car with what's in the pad; just keep going until the pad starts dragging. When I was done, I put on a W-7006 (cutting) pad, covered it with a microfiber bonnet, and buffed off the residue. Just as the product goes on easily, it comes off easily as well; I only needed to use one side of one bonnet. It took less than 45 minutes to apply and remove #6 using the G-100.
I was really pleased with the results! #6 does quite a bit of darkening of the paint; it is very clearly a member of the Mirror Glaze line, not the Consumer line. The look is very similar to #26 or Gold Class, very rich. I like it; I like it a lot.
So there it is. Sure the newest and the latest is cool and exciting. Sure the antiques have their appeal. But there are some pretty amazingly good products hidden in the middle of things, quietly going about their business producing excellent results every time they come off the shelves. I only have an ounce or two of M-98 left, but I have an unused can of #16. Anyone up for a trade, I'll trade an unopened #16 for an unopened M-98?
Tom
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