A
Anonymous
Guest
Lets start with thank you’s! Mark and team from Turtle Wax, thank you very much for this awesome experience! I absolutely loved every moment of it and I am really grateful for getting the opportunity to take part in this event.
The brief
Take the provided Turtle Wax (TW) products and get your car ready for a show shine. You were only allowed to use the TW products. You were however allowed to use a cutting compound of choice as this didn’t form part of the kit.
The Competition
Taking an everyday car, prepared by a part time enthusiast detailer, up against other keen detailers and even professionals (yes 3 or 4 of the cars were prepared by pro’s) was never going to be easy. The RCZ went up against the likes of 911 turbo Porsche, 350z, Z4, E36 M3, 325i, Ford Mustang etc. All of these cars looked amazing.
The RCZ scored an amazing 94.4% from Judge 1 for the combined condition of the car (includes paint condition, chrome etc etc.) That value dropped to 86.6% if you factor in age where the 2013 scored 1 out of 25 for cars between 2010 and 2013…
Judge 2 on the other hand considered the imperfections caused by the VPS on the front bumper as accident damage and he scored me a whopping 40% for body work\paint… (btw – rest of the scores from the blind old man were also all 8/9/10’s. Judge 1 also took the VPS into consideration and still scored 80% for the category…) I was a little "annoyed" that the VPS was taken into account, after I was re-assured it would not be taken into account, as I knew it would detract from the overall score but so be it… I am not sure the exact position at the end, Mark said 4th or 5th overall so I am very happy as a first time Noob.
The Product
1. Rim Cleaner
Loved it, works amazing and comes with an awesome little brush that makes it really easy to get into the hard to reach places. Use in a well-ventilated room as its some potent stuff!
2. Bumper and Tire trim
Easy to use, leaves awesome shine with no splatter when driving. Cant yet comment on durability.
3. Shampoo\Car Wash
Smells really nice, not like the other products a banana or bubble gum flavour but an awesome perfume cent. It really smell like you are washing a lady whilst using the product. LOVE IT!
4. Car Wax
Goes on easy, comes off easy, leaves a brilliant wet look, gives a silky smooth glass like feel and water beading is excellent. What more do you want from your wax?
Beading action shot.
5. Interior Cleaner
Its like a shampoo dash cleaner product. Don’t know how else to describe it but its friggen nice to use. Spray onto surface and when you work it with a sponge it foams up to clean in-between the little cracks normal cleaners miss. Used it on dash and carpets with amazing results! Will buy this again for sure!
Rear arches of the RCZ has material on the inside. Used interior cleaner to get them looking like new.
6. Leather cleaner
Again, exactly what you’d expect from a premium leather cleaner. Cleans and Restores original look without leaving streaks or that kitch shine some other product tend to give.
7. Detailer
Its easy to apply and leaves a nice silky finish. If it dries it does take a bit of a work to buff but that was because I was very generous with the application.
8. Sealant wax
My least favourite product of the bunch. I spoke to Pravin from Crazy detailer and he suggested I tried again using slightly less product. Application is very easy with the product being a water like liquid. When hazed it does take some elbow grease to remove. I only did 1 panel but will give it another try this weekend with CD’s advice.
1st coat with DA Pilosher
9. Clay Bar
Very aggressive product. Wish I had it when I had my VW CC… This will definitely become my heavy duty clay bar of choice for a vehicles first time clay. For paint in near perfect condition I would recommend a less aggressive product but this did manage to remove marks from my rims Meguiars failed to…
The verdict
So what do I think of Turtle Wax. The spray bottles have a really classy and premium feel to it and provides a nice even mist. It feels like you are using a premium product. All the products goes on like my premium products, is easy to remove and leaves a shine that I was proud enough to display to the public at the Gauteng motor show. I am happy to say that not once during the 1 week detailing period did I even remotely thinking about using one of my other so called Premium products. Turtle Wax is more than a match for the big hitters and I think if given a chance it will surprise all the big brand fanboys! If you take price and quality into consideration, Turtle Wax is unrivalled! And I am saying this even after they didn’t give me a podium place in the competition!! Go on, give it a shot!!!!!!!!!
So who won?
Judge 1 was from the Ferrari club and Judge 2 from the Alfa owners club… With a Fiat 500 Ferrari edition in the mix, could there have been a different winner? (LOL, sour grapes much!
cbeat
The brief
Take the provided Turtle Wax (TW) products and get your car ready for a show shine. You were only allowed to use the TW products. You were however allowed to use a cutting compound of choice as this didn’t form part of the kit.
The Competition
Taking an everyday car, prepared by a part time enthusiast detailer, up against other keen detailers and even professionals (yes 3 or 4 of the cars were prepared by pro’s) was never going to be easy. The RCZ went up against the likes of 911 turbo Porsche, 350z, Z4, E36 M3, 325i, Ford Mustang etc. All of these cars looked amazing.
The RCZ scored an amazing 94.4% from Judge 1 for the combined condition of the car (includes paint condition, chrome etc etc.) That value dropped to 86.6% if you factor in age where the 2013 scored 1 out of 25 for cars between 2010 and 2013…
Judge 2 on the other hand considered the imperfections caused by the VPS on the front bumper as accident damage and he scored me a whopping 40% for body work\paint… (btw – rest of the scores from the blind old man were also all 8/9/10’s. Judge 1 also took the VPS into consideration and still scored 80% for the category…) I was a little "annoyed" that the VPS was taken into account, after I was re-assured it would not be taken into account, as I knew it would detract from the overall score but so be it… I am not sure the exact position at the end, Mark said 4th or 5th overall so I am very happy as a first time Noob.
The Product
1. Rim Cleaner
Loved it, works amazing and comes with an awesome little brush that makes it really easy to get into the hard to reach places. Use in a well-ventilated room as its some potent stuff!
2. Bumper and Tire trim
Easy to use, leaves awesome shine with no splatter when driving. Cant yet comment on durability.
3. Shampoo\Car Wash
Smells really nice, not like the other products a banana or bubble gum flavour but an awesome perfume cent. It really smell like you are washing a lady whilst using the product. LOVE IT!
4. Car Wax
Goes on easy, comes off easy, leaves a brilliant wet look, gives a silky smooth glass like feel and water beading is excellent. What more do you want from your wax?
Beading action shot.
5. Interior Cleaner
Its like a shampoo dash cleaner product. Don’t know how else to describe it but its friggen nice to use. Spray onto surface and when you work it with a sponge it foams up to clean in-between the little cracks normal cleaners miss. Used it on dash and carpets with amazing results! Will buy this again for sure!
Rear arches of the RCZ has material on the inside. Used interior cleaner to get them looking like new.
6. Leather cleaner
Again, exactly what you’d expect from a premium leather cleaner. Cleans and Restores original look without leaving streaks or that kitch shine some other product tend to give.
7. Detailer
Its easy to apply and leaves a nice silky finish. If it dries it does take a bit of a work to buff but that was because I was very generous with the application.
8. Sealant wax
My least favourite product of the bunch. I spoke to Pravin from Crazy detailer and he suggested I tried again using slightly less product. Application is very easy with the product being a water like liquid. When hazed it does take some elbow grease to remove. I only did 1 panel but will give it another try this weekend with CD’s advice.
1st coat with DA Pilosher
9. Clay Bar
Very aggressive product. Wish I had it when I had my VW CC… This will definitely become my heavy duty clay bar of choice for a vehicles first time clay. For paint in near perfect condition I would recommend a less aggressive product but this did manage to remove marks from my rims Meguiars failed to…
The verdict
So what do I think of Turtle Wax. The spray bottles have a really classy and premium feel to it and provides a nice even mist. It feels like you are using a premium product. All the products goes on like my premium products, is easy to remove and leaves a shine that I was proud enough to display to the public at the Gauteng motor show. I am happy to say that not once during the 1 week detailing period did I even remotely thinking about using one of my other so called Premium products. Turtle Wax is more than a match for the big hitters and I think if given a chance it will surprise all the big brand fanboys! If you take price and quality into consideration, Turtle Wax is unrivalled! And I am saying this even after they didn’t give me a podium place in the competition!! Go on, give it a shot!!!!!!!!!
So who won?
Judge 1 was from the Ferrari club and Judge 2 from the Alfa owners club… With a Fiat 500 Ferrari edition in the mix, could there have been a different winner? (LOL, sour grapes much!
cbeat
