I got a smokin' deal on Black Label Synergy, is it really worth the money?

**fightnews** · 05-31-2017, 05:34 AM

Originally Posted by Nicky Pass

I just bought an Avalanche Gray Shelby GT350. I've kind of been obsessing about getting the car as swirl free, glossy and as protected as possible....it is my obtainable dream car after all. I've always wondered about Black Label Synergy, but didn't have the nuts to drop $200 on wax. Then the Memorial Day 20% of came up....and the $50 off Cyber Monday deal came up, so I bought it. I hav a bunch of Adam's products that I've used so far....I clay barred the entire car. The I used the Adam's Paint Correction Compund followed by their Paint Finishing Polish. I as looking for something to preserve the hard work, so for the time being, I put 2 coats of Adam's Paint Sealant on the car.

I ordered the Pinnacle Black Label Synergy because it was a great deal. I read it works really good on lighter colored cars, which helped me choose.

So now....
1.) is Pinnacle Black Label Synergy worth the money?
2.) do I have to strip the Adam's Paint Sealant to get the best results or can I just go right over it?
3.) should I have just gone with a ceramic coating like CQuartz or OPT Gloss?

Yes yes no, use the surface cleansing polish first or u will regret it

**fightnews** · 05-31-2017, 05:37 AM

Originally Posted by custmsprty

The Synergy I received absolutely emaciated and swirled the heck out of my paint. For application I used the yellow foam pad applicator that they send with it which is the same as on the prodcuts page. It was not contaminated in any way.

My paint was pristine before Synergy:

And it was a swirled out mess after. Their is absolutely no doubt this was from the product. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. I took some synergy out of the can and rubbed it between my fingers until it began to heat up and I could clearly feel a grittiness to it.

Once bitten, twice shy as the saying goes. Anyone who wants me to try this particular pot of synergy out on their black car can come on by

I had to polish the entire hood out to fix the damage, I was glad I only tested it on the hood.

Did you use the surface cleansing polish first? If not those swirls could be oil from the coating not bonding. That's happened to me it looks swirled but it's not. I highly doubt there was grit in the wax in just your 1 can

**fightnews** · 05-31-2017, 05:47 AM

If you don't remove polishing oils before applying synergy the coating will not bond period. It will leave an oily film that won't come off unless a strong APC is used. It will appear swirled.

Synergy is a hybrid product. All polishing oils must be removed for it to bond properly. This is a fact it's in the directions. I believe this is where people are having problems.

**fightnews** · 05-31-2017, 05:52 AM

I just put 2 coats of synergy on this over the long weekend

Mike Phillips · 05-31-2017, 06:08 AM

Here's an old 2-door European job waxed with Pinnacle Black Label Synergy

1998 Ferrari 355 F1 Spyder

Here's what she looked like when she arrived...

All the paint polishing was performed using the RUPES paint polishing system and this is featured car in my RUPES how-to book.

Couple comments about Synergy
This wax is unlike anything else on the Autogeek website except for maybe some of the Dodo Juice "hard" waxes.

Pinnacle Black Label is a "hard" wax. That is it is hard in the can and after you apply it it is hard on the paint. The benefit is after you wipe off the excess what is left behind is hard on the paint.

The gloss is insane and durability is as good as you can get with a traditional paste wax. I'd put this wax up against M16 any day for durability and I've probably used more M16 than anyone still breathing today.

If you have a car that you like to pamper or if you know someone that has a car that they like to pamper this is a top shelf wax that anyone would love to have on their car's paint.

**addysdaddy** · 05-31-2017, 06:15 AM

Synergy - can it deliver?

Mike Phillips · 05-31-2017, 06:16 AM

Originally Posted by custmsprty

The Synergy I received absolutely emaciated and swirled the heck out of my paint.

I took some synergy out of the can and rubbed it between my fingers until it began to heat up and I could clearly feel a grittiness to it.

I can test sometime today but that grittiness is I believe a high concentration of Carnauba which is why this is a hard wax and not a soft wax. The way you apply it is to spin the foam applicator against the wax while it's in the container which will act to melt the wax and make it soft an not grainy, then apply it over the surface.

I'm not saying you did this, just saying for others reading this into the future, what you don't do is scoop some out of the can and then try to apply it.

I don't have an article, pictures or video showing how to properly use a paste wax but years ago I did write an article on how to properly use M16 - which is like Synergy Paste Wax --> a hard wax.

Hang tight...

Mike Phillips · 05-31-2017, 06:17 AM

From October of 2008 - almost 10 years ago...

How To Break-in a New Can of M16

Often times the wax in a brand new can of M16 will have an irregular surface. Because you're not supposed to scoop this wax out of the can but instead spin your wax applicator against the surface of the wax in the can you need a flat surface. So the first thing you do when you open a brand new can of M16 is to "Break-in the can of wax".

To do this, take your clean wax applicator pad and basically push/smoosh any high points down and then use the applicator pad to smooth out the top surface of the wax by agitating/spinning your applicator against it until it's flat.

Note the uplifted and irregular surface of the wax which is normal.
image: http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo...ofM16Wax02.jpg

Smash down any high points and then smooth out the surface till it's as flat as you can get it.

Now your can of wax is ready to use!

When you go to remove wax from the can, spin your applicator on the top surface focusing on the outer edges while at the same time spinning or rotating the can with your other hand.

Spinning your applicator against the hard wax will liquefy it enough to allow some wax to seep into your applicator pad.

Spinning or rotating the can at the same time with your other hand will enable you to take the wax down evenly across the surface instead of removing more wax out of the center producing a cone-shape in the center. The better you can keep the surface flat the easier it will be to remove the wax out of the can over time until you get towards the bottom of the can.

(Sorry about the grease stained hands, been doing some car guy projects on my days off and it's hard to clean all the blackened grunge completely off the surface and out of the pores)

Mike Phillips · 05-31-2017, 06:24 AM

Besides the Ferrari pictures I posted, which this Ferrari is also on the cover of my RUPES How-To Book, the only other Pinnacle Synergy write-up I remember is this one...

I can tell you first hand the owner of this car, Harris is EXTREMELY anal about the paint on his car. He was the most cautios person I've ever had in the garage with their car letting absolute strangers machine polish on it.

We perfected the paint through a multiple-step show car process and then machine applied the Pinnacle Black Label Synergy paste wax. I can assure you... it had zero negative effect on the results of the polishing step.

From 2014

1966 Blown Nova - Extreme Makeover - Pictures & Videos

Here's before...

The below pictures are the full resolution portions cropped out of the above resized picture.

Camera flash

The below picture is the full resolution portion cropped out of the above resized picture.

Here's after...

This car still looks great today...

Mike Phillips · 05-31-2017, 06:25 AM

And here's how we applied it...

Machine Waxing

Next step... seal the paint with Pinnacle Black Label Synergy

Most people hand apply their waxes but I'm a machine guy. By this I mean I try to do EVERY step by machine and the reason why is because the human hand cannot compete with a machine when it comes to creating the best results. Period.

First a quick lesson on how to machine apply a wax using the Griot's Garage 3" Mini Polisher with Rupes 4" white foam finishing pads....

Here's the owner machine applying Synergy....

Here's Denis machine applying Synergy while his brother Matt watches.... these two brothers flew to Stuart, Florida from New York just to be a part of this project.

Anyone that gets marring applying a non-abrasive paste wax then something somewhere has gone wrong but the product is non-abrasive.