Bilt Hamber Double Speed Wax takes twice as long!

[ph001]

I’ve had around 3 years experience with a DA and a multitude of various products on the Zed now and certainly come a long way in terms of technique and knowledge.

I jumped on board with the Bilt Hamber double speed wax last October, it always seemed to do well in reviews and indeed has just come top again in several more this year.

But i’m just very unimpressed with it. I keep going back to it thinking I’ve maybe not applied it well enough, tried applying it very thinly, tried it after a full machine polish with the DA, tried applying it at various different temperatures. All I find is a relatively dull finish which doesn’t even have particularly good longevity.

Also find it fairly hard work to remove and you do get some annoying white residue on plastics. When removing with my korean microfibre, I have to turn the cloth much more frequently than other products, even to the point of marring the top coat if you don’t.

Anyone else had a poor experience with this stuff?

 

[Angelus666]

Interesting. I’ve pretty much got through a tin of this over the past 2 years. My review is that it goes on well, but needs a strong microfibre to first remove, then a Korean to buff it up. To my mind it’s very similar to the Collinite 476s that I’m using now, which is maybe a little easier to remove. I’d definitely say my car with double speed attracts more dust. Not sure if this is scientific or accurate but just my feeling.

It doesn’t last anywhere near as long as Megs Ceramic Wax, which does last 6/7 washes.

 

[Beedub]

if its wax you want....

kamikaze ceramic wax.....

thank me later.

 

[ph001]

Interesting. I’ve pretty much got through a tin of this over the past 2 years. My review is that it goes on well, but needs a strong microfibre to first remove, then a Korean to buff it up. To my mind it’s very similar to the Collinite 476s that I’m using now, which is maybe a little easier to remove. I’d definitely say my car with double speed attracts more dust. Not sure if this is scientific or accurate but just my feeling.

It doesn’t last anywhere near as long as Megs Ceramic Wax, which does last 6/7 washes.

...strange you should mention that as it’s exactly what I concluded recently. The plush microfibre cloths seem to ‘grab’ on it so I ended up using a short pile microfibre first. Strangely it seems to cause about a billion volts of static (I could literally feel the hairs on my arms standing on end!!) and the entire car became a total dust magnet.

if its wax you want....

kamikaze ceramic wax.....

thank me later.

Is that the same thing as their infinity wax? Thats some serious outlay for a wax. I’ll read up on some reviews... cheers.

 

[KevBrowne]

I've used a few Bilt Hamber products, I really like them but........ I'm also not overly impressed with their double wax, for exactly the same reasons. I need to try an alternative but the price of that Kamikaze stuff is just ridiculous. :headbang:

 

[Chris_D]

Bilt Hamber claybar is tip top but their waxes aint all that afaiac.
Been using a pot of the amazing Harley Wax for 3 years now and barely notice its ever been used!
That pot will outlast me and go on serving more cars for another 50 years!
:lol:

 

[Z4M-2006]

If must have tried over 100 waxes ....

From the very cheapest to the most expensive.... Yes i have some Zymol royale

If your looking between £25-£40 which i suspect the huge majority of people do (including myself) then the best i have used is R222 concours and Kiwami extreme... Both incredibly easy to use and have excellent results.

 

[patriot66]

If must have tried over 100 waxes ....

From the very cheapest to the most expensive.... Yes i have some Zymol royale

If your looking between £25-£40 which i suspect the huge majority of people do (including myself) then the best i have used is R222 concours and Kiwami extreme... Both incredibly easy to use and have excellent results.

+1 for Kiwami I've never been dissapointed with any Soft99 product that I've tried.

 

[Beedub]

Fusso ftw.

 

[R60BBA]

Also concur the above.

I find the product isn’t the easiest to apply and can be quite difficult to remove. I tried different methods of application and removal, none of which seemed to work very well and made waxing my car feel like a chore (when usually it is therapeutic).

The best method I found with this wax is to use a damp applicator, load it up on one end to pick up the wax from the tub and draw lines on the panel, then turn to the non wax end of the applicator to wax the car, by applying a thin layer but picking up fresh wax each time you pass one of the lines.

I also noticed that this wax cures quite quickly and so you can’t really wax the entire car and then buff off. Instead you have to wax a panel, and then pretty much buff off immediately afterwards. In terms of removal I found a short pile microfibre worked the best, but even then it was quite a bit of work. In fact on some panels I had to use a quick detailer just to get it off.

The finish it gives is very mediocre also. It is not very glossy or mirror like. To put into perspective, Meguiar’s Wash & Wax shampoo provides a better finish than this stuff. On one of my cars I ended up going over the BH DSW with a true carnauba wax to achieve the finish I was after. The other I removed it completely and applied a fresh layer of Autoglym UHD Wax.

I can’t really comment on longevity but I’ve heard it is decent. However imo the only good thing about Bilt Hamber DSW is the microfibre cloth that is supplied with it.

I really struggle to understand how this wax gets good reviews from so-called car/detailing enthusiasts…I can think of much better ways to spend £15.

 

[ph001]

Yep, you’re experience pretty much replicates mine exactly. Maybe using the included microfibre is key but that disappeared into my collection long ago.