When it comes to car soaps, I typically go with something that’s very standard and doesn’t include any additional additives to help improve gloss or protection. Over the years, Meguiar’s Gold Class Car Wash has been my go-to for this type of soap. It gets the job done at a great price. That being said, when you coat a vehicle in some form of paint protection, it’ll eventually wear off. Using a car soap with some added protection can help to extend the life of the previously applied coating. This is exactly why I picked up a bottle of Meguiar’s Ultimate Wash & Wax.
As the name implies and aside from being just a basic soap, Meguiar’s Ultimate Wash & Wax includes a hybrid blend of premium carnauba wax and synthetic polymers that help to clean the paint while leaving behind a trace layer of wax. It is also pH balanced so it won’t strip away any previously applied coatings. Looking at this product on a surface level may make you believe that this product would serve as a standalone alternative to a traditional wax application or some other form of protection but it is not. The back of the bottle itself says that “Ultimate Wash & Wax is the perfect way to clean and shine your car’s finish in-between regular waxing, boosting your protection, glossiness and shine!” This would mean that you should still apply a normal protective coating and use this product to help maintain and extend the life of that coating. The amount of wax that this product leaves behind is very minor. If you are a person that religiously washes your car then you may be able to get away with just using this soap. By constantly using it, you may be able to keep a consistent layer of wax on the surface. But if you’re the type of person that goes weeks or months without a car wash, then definitely use some other more durable paint protection coating before introducing this soap into the mix. Also, it is very likely that this soap was intended to be used on a vehicle that’s been coated with traditional wax but I personally don’t use carnauba wax anymore. These days, I either protect my paint with sealants or some hybrid ceramic products. Even so, I’ve found that Ultimate Wash & Wax helps all the same.
With some other wash and wax or additive infused soaps that I’ve tried, I’ve noticed that they can produce very little suds or bubbles. Some manufacturers state that this is because of the additives and that although the bubbles aren’t as present, the performance is there. I can’t confirm or deny this but I will say that seeing and feeling the suds really adds to the experience and peace of mind. Meguiar’s advertises that Ultimate Wash & Wax has “Incredible sudsing action” that “safely lifts dirt and grime to minimize swirling”.
From my experience, I did find that Ultimate Wash & Wax produced a good amount of suds, as advertised. However, there wasn’t a lot of lubrication. At one ounce of soap per gallon of water as directed on the back of the bottle, I can still feel the skin of my fingers rubbing against each other after running my hand through the soap. It’s just not all that slick. For me, the bare minimum is 6 ounces of soap to 4 gallons of water, but I was more comfortable with 8 ounces of soap to 4 gallons of water. This is the most among all the car shampoos that I’ve tried. On the upside, one thing that I really like about this soap is how easy it rinses off. To me, it seemed like this product required the least amount of time and water to clear the surface of all the suds. But of course, this in itself could mean that the product doesn’t really cling all that well on a molecular level.
Now, this product is not advertised as a foaming soap or one to be used in a foam cannon, but I know many of you are going to be curious so I did the test for you. As usual, I mixed 4 ounces of soap and filled my foam cannon’s container to the fourth line. I do this with all the soaps that I showcase on this channel so this will give us the most comparable results. In the foam cannon, Ultimate Wash & Wax leaves a lot to be desired. It produces very thin and runny foam. The foam is very watery and dries pretty fast. This is not something you’d want to use in direct sunlight on a hot day. That being said, I have to remind you again that Ultimate Wash & Wax isn’t advertised as a foam cannon soap so we can’t really knock it for not foaming well. It also really just depends on what you’re looking for. I think if you want a good thick foaming soap purely for use as a prewash, then there are better more dedicated options on the market. If you’re just looking for a soap to spray out of a foam cannon and used in a contact wash, as an alternative to the two bucket method, then Ultimate Wash & Wax will serve that purpose. Just remember to not go too crazy spraying the foam everywhere. Work panel by panel so the soap doesn’t dry up on you.
I decided to give Meguiar’s Ultimate Wash & Wax a try for two different reasons. First, is because of the amount of positive feedback that this product gets. On Amazon, this product currently has over 1800 ratings with an average rating of 4.5 stars. It overwhelms the competition in terms of popularity. The next reason is because of the price. A gallon of this stuff regularly sells for around $25. I think that’s a good price for what we’re getting, especially considering that this is an additive infused soap. However, if I have to use double the recommended amount to get something satisfactory, then I’ll go through that gallon of soap twice as fast. It’s more like I’m spending $25 for half a gallon of soap. Thinking about it this way, Meguiar’s Ultimate Wash & Wax isn’t all that good of a deal.
At this point, I still have quite a bit of this product left and will work my way through it. If you’re interested in trying it out for yourself, I would suggest buying a smaller bottle first and experiment with it so see how you feel about what this product gives you. Who knows, maybe one ounce per gallon will be good enough for you. If so, then awesome. You’ll have a pretty good wash and wax at a great price. If not, keep shopping around because there’s plenty more on the market.
