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I washed my S2000 last Thursday and then drove to Virginia Beach. Luthien was out in the elements for four days straight, 24/7. She was filthy, despite all the rain we drove through on Sunday afternoon. Today we had a break in the rain, so I grabbed the opportunity to finally wash and wax her. As you might recall, I waxed her with Wolfgang Fuzion (2x) four weeks ago. She looked great. Today I thought I would apply a coat of Pinnacle Souveran.
I thought I would give her an ONR rinse, in order to avoid all the after-wash dripping. Big mistake. I washed the convertible top and passenger-side door and moved onto the right front panel. Within a minute or two the "clean" areas were covered with pollen and tree and plant refuse. We live back in the woods. So I made a batch of Gold Class wash solution (two gallons), pulled out the hose, and started all over. I began with the tires and wheels. When those were done, I dumped the wash solution and made a new batch (three gallons). I proceeded to wash the entire car, hosing down the entire car as often as I could. When the washing was completed, I immediately pulled the car into the garage and shut the garage door. I then proceeded to dry the car and attend to the door and trunk jambs. The ONR works great on the jambs. It all took me about two and a half hours, I think. Why does it always takes me twice as long to do anything as the rest of you guys? Maybe I'm just too old for this stuff.
I broke for lunch and an hour later returned to the garage. Time to wax.
Souveran is a real pleasure. It is wipe-on, wipe-off, and it leaves the surface looking wet and deep. I love how easy it is to apply, and I love not worrying about staining the trim. It also smells nice (banana?), though I think I prefer Fuzion's strawberry scent.
When I got to the front-end, I noticed some etching that I hadn't seen during the washing. I don't know if it was from pollen or bugs or what. So I pulled out the ColorX and applied it over the contaminated area. It worked great. I continued with the waxing. Finally, I pulled the car out into the late afternoon sun and took a look. Luthien looked great, as I expected. But I have to say that I'm not sure if I can tell a significant difference between the Souveran ($95 per 8 oz tub) and the Fuzion ($175 per 8 oz tub). The car looks great with the Souveran, just as she looked great with the Fuzion. I think the Fuzion may have intitially looked a bit wetter, but that wetness disappeared after the first wash. My wife thinks she prefers the Souveran by a small margin. I honestly don't know. My favorite wax/sealant seems to be whatever I have used last. I'm not sure if the Souveran looks any better than the Harly Wax I applied three months ago. Pass me the jug of Gallo, please.
Here are some pics. Photographs are so misleading. They simply do not capture the nuances between waxes. If you compare them to last month's photos, I do not think you will see much, if any, difference.
I have yet more waxes to try during the next several months. Yet to come: Swissvax Smaragd, Dodo Juice Supernatural, Blackfire Midnight Sun, P21S 100%, and ... taadaa ... Zymol Vintage. And no, I didn't buy all of these. I have been the fortunate recipient of several detailers' generosity. But I did purchase the Fuzion at half-price w/ refill ... and okay, maybe I did also buy the Blackfire and P21S (both on sale) ... and maybe I did buy half a tub of the Smaragd ... but the Souveran, Supernatural, and Vintage were all gifts. But will I be able to tell any difference between them?! I like to think that I can tell the difference between Sam Adams and Budweiser ... but can I?
Cheers,
Al
P.S. I know that the the rest of the world pronounces Souveran as Sov-er-an, but if the Pinnacle folks really wanted everyone to pronounce it that way, they should have spelled it differently. I pronounce it the way it is spelled--Soo-ver-an. It also sounds more elegant and cool that way, too, don't you think?
I thought I would give her an ONR rinse, in order to avoid all the after-wash dripping. Big mistake. I washed the convertible top and passenger-side door and moved onto the right front panel. Within a minute or two the "clean" areas were covered with pollen and tree and plant refuse. We live back in the woods. So I made a batch of Gold Class wash solution (two gallons), pulled out the hose, and started all over. I began with the tires and wheels. When those were done, I dumped the wash solution and made a new batch (three gallons). I proceeded to wash the entire car, hosing down the entire car as often as I could. When the washing was completed, I immediately pulled the car into the garage and shut the garage door. I then proceeded to dry the car and attend to the door and trunk jambs. The ONR works great on the jambs. It all took me about two and a half hours, I think. Why does it always takes me twice as long to do anything as the rest of you guys? Maybe I'm just too old for this stuff.
I broke for lunch and an hour later returned to the garage. Time to wax.
Souveran is a real pleasure. It is wipe-on, wipe-off, and it leaves the surface looking wet and deep. I love how easy it is to apply, and I love not worrying about staining the trim. It also smells nice (banana?), though I think I prefer Fuzion's strawberry scent.
When I got to the front-end, I noticed some etching that I hadn't seen during the washing. I don't know if it was from pollen or bugs or what. So I pulled out the ColorX and applied it over the contaminated area. It worked great. I continued with the waxing. Finally, I pulled the car out into the late afternoon sun and took a look. Luthien looked great, as I expected. But I have to say that I'm not sure if I can tell a significant difference between the Souveran ($95 per 8 oz tub) and the Fuzion ($175 per 8 oz tub). The car looks great with the Souveran, just as she looked great with the Fuzion. I think the Fuzion may have intitially looked a bit wetter, but that wetness disappeared after the first wash. My wife thinks she prefers the Souveran by a small margin. I honestly don't know. My favorite wax/sealant seems to be whatever I have used last. I'm not sure if the Souveran looks any better than the Harly Wax I applied three months ago. Pass me the jug of Gallo, please.
Here are some pics. Photographs are so misleading. They simply do not capture the nuances between waxes. If you compare them to last month's photos, I do not think you will see much, if any, difference.
I have yet more waxes to try during the next several months. Yet to come: Swissvax Smaragd, Dodo Juice Supernatural, Blackfire Midnight Sun, P21S 100%, and ... taadaa ... Zymol Vintage. And no, I didn't buy all of these. I have been the fortunate recipient of several detailers' generosity. But I did purchase the Fuzion at half-price w/ refill ... and okay, maybe I did also buy the Blackfire and P21S (both on sale) ... and maybe I did buy half a tub of the Smaragd ... but the Souveran, Supernatural, and Vintage were all gifts. But will I be able to tell any difference between them?! I like to think that I can tell the difference between Sam Adams and Budweiser ... but can I?
Cheers,
Al
P.S. I know that the the rest of the world pronounces Souveran as Sov-er-an, but if the Pinnacle folks really wanted everyone to pronounce it that way, they should have spelled it differently. I pronounce it the way it is spelled--Soo-ver-an. It also sounds more elegant and cool that way, too, don't you think?
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