Wolfgang Fuzion: Thanks for the reco

[Kurt_s]

I wanted to thank those of you that recommended that I try Fuzion.
I finally stripped the WGDGPS and Opt Car Wax, clayed and applied Fuzion to our artic white BMW. What a terrific finish. Glossy, reflective and liquid. The finish seems to get more liquid after a couple of hours.
I decided to go with the Fuzion alone instead of over the WGDGPS as I planned. We'll see how long the finish holds up and when ready, I will try Fuzion over the sealant.

[killrwheels@autogeek]

Fuzion is pretty durable for a wax and looks delicious, its by far one of the best 'nuba products currently on the market.

[Kurt_s]

Originally Posted by killrwheels@autogeek

Fuzion is pretty durable for a wax and looks delicious, its by far one of the best 'nuba products currently on the market.

Thanks Killer! I'm hoping to get a couple of months of protection before stripping it off and resealing with WGDGPS and overlayering with Fusion. The Fuzion seems to add a deeper shimmer or glow which I equate to a 'nuba which is subtle on white paint.

Comparison to DGPS and Optimum Car Wax
I have been very happy with WGDGPS with an overlayering of OCW. The WGDGPS has a very clear, reflective finish with some shimmer of a nuba but not quite that of a pure nuba wax. For background, the artic white BMW paint had a four step clay, swirl removal (WGTSR3.0), polish/glaze (WGFG3.0) and WGDGPS sealant back in January. I decided to overlayer the WGDGPS with OCW about 2 months later which added a subtle deeper shimmer, more like a nuba instead of a glossy, reflective finish. The DGPS doesn't have a hard reflective finish like some sealants, but it doesn't have that wet, shimmer of a 'nuba either.

Between the DGPS and the OCW, I had over 7 months of slick finish, good beading, easy to remove bird droppings, easy washing and minimal fallout attachment to the paint. Everyone liked to touch the paint of my car and I've done several friends cars over the past several months. I also use OIDGE when drying the car after a wash. The paint did need claying after the plastic bag test, but the finish still beaded and looked great. I can't say more about a nice finish and longevity of the DGPS/OCW combo on a properly prepared white clearcoat paint.

HOWEVER, the Fuzion seems to be at another level of reflective shimmer on white paint. I would love to try this on my buddy's black Porsche.

Preparation and Application
I prepared the white BMW by first washing with a 5X normal citrus-based car wash and gloss concentration to strip the sealants and waxes from the paint. This stuff worked great to remove sealants and you could see the water bead line where I washed with soap and rinsed and where I didn't wash. I use a three bucket wash process with one bucket for the wheels, one bucket for the paint with grit guard and a wash mitt rinse bucket (emptied, rinsed and refilled between wheels and paint) before dipping wash mitts into the soap buckets. The 5X citrus wash did a wonderful job of cleaning up my wheels and tires without wheel cleaner and that's with BMW brake dust. Be advised that this non-AG car wash may strip wax even at the normal recommended concentration and should never be allowed to dry on the paint. If there is an inexpensive, equivalent AG citrus based car wash, I'd like to know about it for the future as it made paint prep a breeze!

After 7 months, claying was necessary so I used a fine clay with a diluted ONR to the recommended clay lube concentration. I used a Cobra Super Plush 600 microfiber towel to wipe the paint dry after claying. I also clayed the vertical black window trim that seemed spotty in the past. I had used a number of different cleaners without getting them just right, so perhaps I never used clay on them. One of the things that I find with ONR as the clay lube, it makes the clay feel very soft versus using something like Meguires quick detailer or Final Inspection. I am not sure if performance is compromised but the clay definately feels different when using ONR.

My headlights had hazed a bit again, so I used Meguires Ultimate Compound, a 4" Orange pad and my PCXP to remove the haze. It took maybe five minutes for both headlight covers. Just remember to watch the heat buildup and tape the gaskets and paint around the covers. I used the Fuzion on the headlights, so I don't know how it will hold up. I still need to use some wet/dry sandpaper to get them completely smooth but the Ultimate Compound was quick and easy. The mineral spirit diluted Urethane seems to be a good option for sealing but I would prefer a good headlight sealant that lasts 12 months, is ready to use, inexpensive and keeps my life simple.

I used a yellow foam pad that Matt sent me with the Fuzion BOGO (Thanks Matt!) to apply the wax. All painted surfaces, door wells, headlights and the black trim all got the Fuzion since it doesn't stain black trim like my other 'nuba. I used linear, front to back application of the wax to minimize any chance of swirl introduction. The windows did not get Fuzion whereas the OCW was applied to all surfaces in the past.

My son helped me remove the Fuzion with the Gold Plush towel that Meghan () sent me with a couple of other towels to try. The Gold Plush towel is turning into my favorite towel when I expected the more Plush Deluxe 600 towels to be my favs. The Gold Plush just seems to be the most flexible plush thickness for me for paint safety, absorption and all around use. Go figure, I have indigo and artic whites which I use for polish and old school nuba that need to set up. I have the Deluxe Plush 600 towels and a number of other plush towels for detail sprays. I own a number of other microfiber towels but for some reason I like the Gold Plush. The Gold Plush was great with the WOWO Fuzion and buffed out nicely. One of these days, I will get a few more.

Tires were finished with my current favorite Opti-bond, which I diluted 1 part Opti-bond to 1 part water in a $0.97 small hand spray bottle from Walmart in the travel section. I wiped it on the tire with a foam applicator so I'm not sure if the spray bottle is any better than using it as a gel.

My son was terrific this weekend by helping me wipe off the Fuzion and apply wheel sealant. I barely had enough time to put the Fuzion on the paint before he wanted to remove it. For a teenager that wants to get done quickly or loses interest, the wipe on, wipe off benefit of the Fuzion is great. Sure, I needed to go over the car to get a few missed areas (I have a little OCD), but the Fuzion came off easily for him and a quick buff got the small areas that he missed. It was certainly easier than my long term favorite 'nuba to remove, so Fuzion took a nice step forward on the favorites list with the finish and ease of use. If you have a child that wants to help wax the car, a wipe on, wipe off wax like Fuzion could be a nice investment (or excuse). The beauty, shimmer, glow and hopefully longevity of the finish could make this an all new fav!

My wife's car needs a a good cleaning and a couple of scratch repairs so it could be a good opportunity to try DGPS with an overlayer of Fuzion. I'll let you know.

Thanks again for the reco on Fuzion!

[sal329]

Let us know how long it lasts for you. Fuzion is a great wax, easy on and off with a look all of its own.

[Kurt_s]

Originally Posted by sal329

Let us know how long it lasts for you. Fuzion is a great wax, easy on and off with a look all of its own.

I noticed some paint defects yesterday afternoon that I hadn't noticed before waxing. Maybe they were hidden by the DGPS and OCW, but I didn't see them under garage lights and now they bug me.

I'm not sure if I will test longevity this time around as I may "need" to remove them sooner than later. I may do the correction and move directly into DGPS and Fuzion this weekend.

[Old Tiger]

Originally Posted by Kurt_s

Thanks Killer! I'm hoping to get a couple of months of protection before stripping it off and resealing with WGDGPS and overlayering with Fusion. The Fuzion seems to add a deeper shimmer or glow which I equate to a 'nuba which is subtle on white paint.

Comparison to DGPS and Optimum Car Wax
I have been very happy with WGDGPS with an overlayering of OCW. The WGDGPS has a very clear, reflective finish with some shimmer of a nuba but not quite that of a pure nuba wax. For background, the artic white BMW paint had a four step clay, swirl removal (WGTSR3.0), polish/glaze (WGFG3.0) and WGDGPS sealant back in January. I decided to overlayer the WGDGPS with OCW about 2 months later which added a subtle deeper shimmer, more like a nuba instead of a glossy, reflective finish. The DGPS doesn't have a hard reflective finish like some sealants, but it doesn't have that wet, shimmer of a 'nuba either.

Between the DGPS and the OCW, I had over 7 months of slick finish, good beading, easy to remove bird droppings, easy washing and minimal fallout attachment to the paint. Everyone liked to touch the paint of my car and I've done several friends cars over the past several months. I also use OIDGE when drying the car after a wash. The paint did need claying after the plastic bag test, but the finish still beaded and looked great. I can't say more about a nice finish and longevity of the DGPS/OCW combo on a properly prepared white clearcoat paint.

HOWEVER, the Fuzion seems to be at another level of reflective shimmer on white paint. I would love to try this on my buddy's black Porsche.

Preparation and Application
I prepared the white BMW by first washing with a 5X normal citrus-based car wash and gloss concentration to strip the sealants and waxes from the paint. This stuff worked great to remove sealants and you could see the water bead line where I washed with soap and rinsed and where I didn't wash. I use a three bucket wash process with one bucket for the wheels, one bucket for the paint with grit guard and a wash mitt rinse bucket (emptied, rinsed and refilled between wheels and paint) before dipping wash mitts into the soap buckets. The 5X citrus wash did a wonderful job of cleaning up my wheels and tires without wheel cleaner and that's with BMW brake dust. Be advised that this non-AG car wash may strip wax even at the normal recommended concentration and should never be allowed to dry on the paint. If there is an inexpensive, equivalent AG citrus based car wash, I'd like to know about it for the future as it made paint prep a breeze!

After 7 months, claying was necessary so I used a fine clay with a diluted ONR to the recommended clay lube concentration. I used a Cobra Super Plush 600 microfiber towel to wipe the paint dry after claying. I also clayed the vertical black window trim that seemed spotty in the past. I had used a number of different cleaners without getting them just right, so perhaps I never used clay on them. One of the things that I find with ONR as the clay lube, it makes the clay feel very soft versus using something like Meguires quick detailer or Final Inspection. I am not sure if performance is compromised but the clay definately feels different when using ONR.

My headlights had hazed a bit again, so I used Meguires Ultimate Compound, a 4" Orange pad and my PCXP to remove the haze. It took maybe five minutes for both headlight covers. Just remember to watch the heat buildup and tape the gaskets and paint around the covers. I used the Fuzion on the headlights, so I don't know how it will hold up. I still need to use some wet/dry sandpaper to get them completely smooth but the Ultimate Compound was quick and easy. The mineral spirit diluted Urethane seems to be a good option for sealing but I would prefer a good headlight sealant that lasts 12 months, is ready to use, inexpensive and keeps my life simple.

I used a yellow foam pad that Matt sent me with the Fuzion BOGO (Thanks Matt!) to apply the wax. All painted surfaces, door wells, headlights and the black trim all got the Fuzion since it doesn't stain black trim like my other 'nuba. I used linear, front to back application of the wax to minimize any chance of swirl introduction. The windows did not get Fuzion whereas the OCW was applied to all surfaces in the past.

My son helped me remove the Fuzion with the Gold Plush towel that Meghan () sent me with a couple of other towels to try. The Gold Plush towel is turning into my favorite towel when I expected the more Plush Deluxe 600 towels to be my favs. The Gold Plush just seems to be the most flexible plush thickness for me for paint safety, absorption and all around use. Go figure, I have indigo and artic whites which I use for polish and old school nuba that need to set up. I have the Deluxe Plush 600 towels and a number of other plush towels for detail sprays. I own a number of other microfiber towels but for some reason I like the Gold Plush. The Gold Plush was great with the WOWO Fuzion and buffed out nicely. One of these days, I will get a few more.

Tires were finished with my current favorite Opti-bond, which I diluted 1 part Opti-bond to 1 part water in a $0.97 small hand spray bottle from Walmart in the travel section. I wiped it on the tire with a foam applicator so I'm not sure if the spray bottle is any better than using it as a gel.

My son was terrific this weekend by helping me wipe off the Fuzion and apply wheel sealant. I barely had enough time to put the Fuzion on the paint before he wanted to remove it. For a teenager that wants to get done quickly or loses interest, the wipe on, wipe off benefit of the Fuzion is great. Sure, I needed to go over the car to get a few missed areas (I have a little OCD), but the Fuzion came off easily for him and a quick buff got the small areas that he missed. It was certainly easier than my long term favorite 'nuba to remove, so Fuzion took a nice step forward on the favorites list with the finish and ease of use. If you have a child that wants to help wax the car, a wipe on, wipe off wax like Fuzion could be a nice investment (or excuse). The beauty, shimmer, glow and hopefully longevity of the finish could make this an all new fav!

My wife's car needs a a good cleaning and a couple of scratch repairs so it could be a good opportunity to try DGPS with an overlayer of Fuzion. I'll let you know.

Thanks again for the reco on Fuzion!

Outstanding review Curt! I thought it was very well written. Opti Bond and OCW were my very favorites until I got the new DP Tire Gel. I found OCW to be a bit finicky in humid weather. Four Star and Pinnacle Spray Waxes are easier to use in hot humid weather. Just my $.02 for when you are getting low. The DP is similar to Opti Bond in looks but is more durable and will bead water for a few washes.

[Kurt_s]

Originally Posted by Old Tiger

Outstanding review Curt! I thought it was very well written. Opti Bond and OCW were my very favorites until I got the new DP Tire Gel. I found OCW to be a bit finicky in humid weather. Four Star and Pinnacle Spray Waxes are easier to use in hot humid weather. Just my $.02 for when you are getting low. The DP is similar to Opti Bond in looks but is more durable and will bead water for a few washes.

Thank you Old Tiger. Do the Four Star and Pinnacle Spray waxes hold up as long as the OCW? I live just north and west of Los Angeles and we really don't get too humid here, so I personally have not had issues with OCW. I've had challenges with another synthetic polymer detailer if I didn't make sure the paint had completely cooled but not OCW. Since I only have about 1/4 bottle of OCW left, which of the two spray waxes do you like better?

I guess that I will give the DP Tire Gel a try next time. From other reviews, the two tire treatments look pretty similar. I find that I only need to apply Opti-Bond once every 2-3 car washes. Granted, I often use diluted ONR to prespray my wheels and tires when washing instead of using a wheel cleaner. When using a wheel cleaner, I reapply the Opti-Bond and wheel sealant since both should get stripped with the heavy duty cleaners.

[Old Tiger]

Originally Posted by Kurt_s

Thank you Old Tiger. Do the Four Star and Pinnacle Spray waxes hold up as long as the OCW? I live just north and west of Los Angeles and we really don't get too humid here, so I personally have not had issues with OCW. I've had challenges with another synthetic polymer detailer if I didn't make sure the paint had completely cooled but not OCW. Since I only have about 1/4 bottle of OCW left, which of the two spray waxes do you like better?

I guess that I will give the DP Tire Gel a try next time. From other reviews, the two tire treatments look pretty similar. I find that I only need to apply Opti-Bond once every 2-3 car washes. Granted, I often use diluted ONR to prespray my wheels and tires when washing instead of using a wheel cleaner. When using a wheel cleaner, I reapply the Opti-Bond and wheel sealant since both should get stripped with the heavy duty cleaners.

I prefer 4 Star by a hair, If Pinnacle goes on BOGO get it! Both are similar to OCW in that they are nuba-polymer hybrids. I can never speak to durability since I get withdrawals after a week or so. Sunshine & heat arent big issues for either IME! Both have Polycharger and I am a huge fan of it!

[Kurt_s]

Originally Posted by Old Tiger

I prefer 4 Star by a hair, If Pinnacle goes on BOGO get it! Both are similar to OCW in that they are nuba-polymer hybrids. I can never speak to durability since I get withdrawals after a week or so. Sunshine & heat arent big issues for either IME! Both have Polycharger and I am a huge fan of it!

Since you love to experiment and change LSP weekly, what do you normally use as your LSP process? Sealants, paste nuba, liquid nuba, spray nuba-polymer hybrids, overlayering?

I have to admit that the spray waxes are super easy to apply for maintenance, and take 10 minutes to do the whole car. The OCW seems to hold up pretty well too.

[Old Tiger]

Originally Posted by Kurt_s

Since you love to experiment and change LSP weekly, what do you normally use as your LSP process? Sealants, paste nuba, liquid nuba, spray nuba-polymer hybrids, overlayering?

I have to admit that the spray waxes are super easy to apply for maintenance, and take 10 minutes to do the whole car. The OCW seems to hold up pretty well too.

This summer has been really miserably hot and humid. As a result I have been lazy with the Ford. I have really copped out and have used UPGP a couple of times. It is sooo easy its unbelieveable! I was topping after every wash with 4 Star, A month or so ago I got Polycharger H2O and boosted several products. OID was not too good, very streaky). DG AW was fantastic and so was WG Spray Sealant. Both leave a nice gloss albeit a little plastic or hard candy like. I put a coat of Fusion on the XLR in May and its been too hot to take it out much since. Last time we did I did an ONR wash after and then applied boosted DG AW. It looked very glossy. I have never used a nuba on the Ford but may try some in Sept when it gets cooler, I have Fuzion Sig II, Max Wax and CG Pete's No. 53 unopened and Dodo Purple Haze that I have used on the XLR. BTW I boosted 4 oz of the DP Tire Gel and put it on the Ford tires last week. So far its holding up fine but we havent had a rain since I applied it.