PermaGlass vs. Meguiar’s
These are the type of questions that many who are new to detailing frequently ask. Which brand is better, what wax for my car, which polish is the best. I did a little test to explain why the brand is not *that* important.
I saw the thread title on Zero to Hundred forum and I tried to answer the OP, but I think words alone are not convincing enough, hence the purpose of this test.
I hope this will serve as a reference to those who are new and asking similar questions.
Firstly, the brand is not important. What is, is knowing what you are trying to accomplish and matching that with the right type of products.
If you are trying to remove scratches and watermarks from the paint, using a wax/sealant will not give you results, no matter how expensive it is. Those products are just going to seal the paint and not remove scratches and watermarks. What you need is an abrasive polish, which is meant to cleanse the paint chemically and mechanically abrade a thin layer of paint to level the paintwork, removing the scratches and watermarks (if that doesn’t mean anything to you, fret not, I will be writing a ‘Detailing Simplified’ series on this blog).
To illustrate this, I did a test on a bonnet that is full with water spotting.
I taped it into several sections. The small squares below are for hand application while the larger rectangular squares are for machine application (dual-action).
First up is the cheapest product in the range, Carplan Triplewax Polish, RM16.90. Put some product on the pad and work it in with some passion.
Pretty good results just by hand.
Next was Meguiar’s Cleaner Wax, an all-in-one product that has cleaners, slight abrasives, and wax for protection.
Similar results. Meguiar’s Cleaner Wax costs about three times more than Carplan Triplewax Polish.
Next, Meguiar’s NXT 2.0 Tech Wax. This product is specifically meant to be applied after surface preparation, i.e., after claying and polishing. It does have some cleaning agents but no abrasives whatsoever.
Wow, I wasn’t expecting that, the cleaning agents did their job to drastically reduce the appearance of water spots.
Finally, PermaGlass Polymer Sealant, labelled as a ‘ONE STEP’ product, I’m guessing cleaners, slight abrasives and a sealant.
Pretty good results. All four products managed to ‘remove’ the waterspots, what about scratches?
Let’s take a look again under the camera pop-up flash.
All four still have scratches remaining after working it by hand. NXT 2.0 still had waterspot etchings.
Let’s bring in the heavy weapons, Dodo Juice Das6 Buff Daddy Dual-Action polisher. *Makita would be classified as Artillery*
First up is the Carplan,
Fantastic!!
Meguiar’s Cleaner Wax,
Nice!!
PermaGlass,
Well done!
Meguiar’s NXT 2.0 next.
Not bad, still have some scratches and deeper watermark etching not removed.
I was about to conclude this test until I removed the tape and looked at it again under the porch lights.
The NXT 2.0 side still has plenty of watermark etchings. It did remove the deposits in the etchings, leaving clean paint behind, but the etching were noticeable under the lights. Now we can see that an abrasive polish is needed to remove those etchings.
How did the PermaGlass ‘ONE STEP’ Polymer Sealant fare?
Not that good but MUCH better than Meguiar’s NXT 2.0, BUT before you say PermaGlass wins Meguiar’s, look at the next set of photos.
Better than NXT 2.0 and PermaGlass Polymer Sealant.
And even better,
The best result obtained was actually from the cheapest product of the lot. *Meguiar’s Cleaner Wax can probably get that result too with another pass*. This is because both these products contain abrasives, which was needed to remove the slight scratching and watermark etchings. I did not need any of Meguiar’s NXT 2.0 features such as Engineered Synthetic Polymers or Hydrophobic Polymer Technology. I just needed plain old polish with some cleaning and cutting action.
Conclusion?
Know your products!
Know what you are trying to achieve!
Don’t waste your money on Meguiar’s, buy Carplan!
No I’m just kidding about the third point, do remember the first two.
And check out this new Japanese CM for Turtle Wax ice… ice ice ice aishite-aisu~!
Wet Shine - Malaysia's Premier Auto Detailing Blog, Reviews, Tests, Details, Articles, Events 
Hi Kenneth… Thanks for all the informative stuff especially like this one. You go to the extent to test a few and post the result… Well it is really a waste you don’t do this service. But is it possible to get some advice from you? I just would like to know on what type or product (strength and pads) to detail my car. And the type of pad. If it is okay, how can I ask you? Thank you đŸ™‚
Hi Veloc!
Thanks for leaving a comment. Sure, I’ll be glad to offer advice and help you in any way I can. You can ask them right here or send me an email at kenneth.wetshine-at-hotmail.com
Regarding my services, they will be resumed soon. đŸ™‚
What about holograms? I have a product before that can remove scratches but will make a hologram afterward.
PS: Can I come and see when you apply the opti-coat on 30th april?
Hi Karl,
What product is that and how are you working it? By hand or machine. Holograms are mostly created by a rotary buffer, most of the time, using a dual-action machine will solve the hologram problem.
There will be a detailer’s gathering on the 30th at Osren, Taman Wahyu, you are most welcomed to join us!
For the coating application, I will probably be doing it a 2-3 weeks after the gathering as I have to get the car fully compounded and polished first, clean it up and have one day to document the application of all the different coatings. Will probably call some detailers to come over too. If you are interested to come, do send me an email. kenneth.wetshine-at-hotmail.com
I’m using TW swirl remover. But maybe it’s because of my poor technique (by hand). I’ll try to be there on 30th, really can’t wait!!
To get the best results polishing by hand, always remember that you are not spreading an even layer over the paint, like a wax.
Polishes contain abrasives and cleaning agents that has to be worked in the surface for best results. First, apply a small dab (RM0.20 size) on your foam applicator pad (preferable compared to microfibre pads), spread it in circular motions, and work it in with some passion in straight lines. The polish will appear whitish at first, (if that’s the colour of the product) then keep working it in until it turns slightly clear, that’s when the abrasives a worked in properly, and then wipe it off with a clean microfibre cloth. That’s the proper way to work in a polish by hand.
If the polish has rough abrasives, you may need to follow up with a finer polish to get rid of any ‘haze’ that might be created by the rougher polish. You can see this from the photos above, there is a slight haze surrounding the flash reflection on the areas worked in by hand. But when used with a machine, the uniform polishing actions eliminated the haze, however our it’s difficult for our hand to apply such uniform movement and pressure, hence the need for a finer polish.
Hope to see you on the 30th!
Wow, thanks for that. I’ll keep that in mind, cheers
hi Kenneth. such an awesome blog you’ve got here. i’ve seriously learnt ALOT! anyway, im curious as to which DA or rotary polisher you would recommend? and where to get it cheapest, the benefits/disadvantages of each. i’m not looking to spend ridiculous amounts of money on them, max maybe RM300. thanks in advance.
Hi Nash, if you are a beginner to machine polishing, start off with a DA. For RM335+, you can get the Bosch Random Orbital machine, but without pads or polish, so you should look to be spending around RM500. The Bosch (GEX-125AE) only does light polishing and waxing. If you have the budget, go for the Dodo Juice Das 6 Dual-Action polisher(RM780), available from Osren. Much more power than the Bosch, and can really remove swirls. If you are thinking about the Black and Decker (RM200++), don’t bother, no variable speed and is probably only good for glazing and waxing. Best bang for buck, although not exactly cheap, is Dodo Juice DA, some Lake Country pads, and a polish, you’ll get some pretty good results out of the box.
Hi Kenneth!
Thanks for the reviews on our PG Perma Glass Polymer Sealant! Awesome reviews and great blog you have there! Keep up the good work!
kenneth you are not using meguiars products propperly and then exclaim the cheapest is the best….haiz….
i have been using megs for 5 yrs after trying all the cheapo ones in the hypermarkets…
megs does not have any abrasives in their mixture…if you want compounding effect megs has that too. the cheaper products put higher abrasives in their product so you can see effect. but that is not the right way to detail a car la…..and that doest mean the cheap product is good.
but good job on your effort
Hi joe,
If you actually took the time to read the first few sentences of this post, then you’ll realize then I’m not trying to compare products OR the brand. I’m trying to educate consumers on choosing the TYPE of product to suit their application needs. Read the words, and don’t just skim through the pics. Thanks and I appreciate the comment.
Nice post. I was checking constantly this weblog and
I am impressed! Very helpful information particularly the remaining phase đŸ™‚ I handle such information much.
I was seeking this certain information for a very
long time. Thank you and best of luck.
Oh Gosh, why didn’t I found this post earlier and save ton of money… I found out the meguiars paint sealant is quite cheap at US country for just $20, and when it import to malaysia it become RM190(Ace Hardware) due to shipping and import cost, at the same time i saw PG Polymer Sealant at Ace Hardware for RM33…(Thanks malaysia got manufacture paint sealant!!!!)