Thanks to Wardy for sending me two sample packs of ArmorAll Shield to try, so I thought I'd create a thread to show / test this against something similar or nothing at all.

 

Please bear in mind I am not a detailer (I don't really like washing the car, but do) and that my car is a 2007 reg with high mileage and has quite a few stone chips on the bonnet including a couple of small rust spots!

 

It's never been waxed in the time that I have had it (four years) apart from Auto Gym Aqua Wax (which has worn off) so nothing to remove before applying the new stuff.

 

My process was to snow foam then wash the bonnet (TBM) and rinse with water and then apply the Shield and Aqua Wax to separate parts of the bonnet separated by a control section with no protection applied.

 

See photo for which sections are covered with what.

 

 

The Aqua Wax is odd stuff to apply: spray on wet car spread around drying as you go and then buff. It always seems as though by spreading it around you are wiping off quite a bit of the spray. So I applied two coats to be sure I had enough on.

 

Smells quite nice though!

 

The ArmorAll Shield came as a white cream in two small sachets which they said would cover about 0.5 m squared each. I used both, but could probably have got away with using just one as I had a lot to gently spread around and ended up wiping quite a bit off along the way.

 

Apart from having to dry the car first, I'd say it was easier to apply than the Aqua Wax and gave some confidence that all the area was covered as it could be easily seen prior to wiping away any excess.

 

My plan now is leave the car alone for a few hours (it's a dull, cool winters day at the moment) and then two go and spray water over the bonnet to see how well either beads against the control section (no protection). I'll try to get photos and video if possible.

 

Then, hopefully, I'll be able to photograph the bonnet once a week just before washing with plain water (TBM) and see what effect the protection has on shedding dirt / water and also how well it lasts under these conditions.

 

If you have any questions or suggestions about how to conduct the test more fairly or realistically please add you comments.

 

Please do not comment on the state of my car or the lack of care and attention normally applied to it or how poor my detailing knowledge is. In all honesty any of you who are into detailing would probably not be using either Aqua Wax or Shield anyway.

 

If this helps someone, then great. It will have been worth the time and effort.

First update - sprayed the bonnet with water to see what happened...

 

and I was impressed.

 

Here's the wet bonnet:

 

 

You can easily see where the water has run off quickly and in big blobs of the ArmorAll section (left) and in reasonably good form on the Aqua Wax section (right) as well.

 

This is the beading on the section with no protection (middle):

 

This is the Aqua Wax (right):

 

And the ArmorAll Shield (left):

 

Water shedding ability of the 'waxed' sections is certainly better and visibly more obvious than on the non-treated section. Also the Shield is noticeably better than the Aqua Wax at shedding water and beading.

 

First impressions: Shield is pretty good!

 

 

Hi, `KBPhoto`.

Good job you've done there...thank you.

This is enough to make me go for the `Shield` when my current wax runs out.

Regards

Mike.

I've not used a car wax before so can't compare. However this stuff seems easier to work with (from what I've read) but may not last as long though.

I've just been reading the leaflet that came with the samples and it is not essential to dry the car before applying ArmorAll Shield which overcomes one disadvantage I mentioned in my first post.

Great idea this, and a thorough first review

 

I shall I await with interest

I've just had a first drive since posting this morning and, as the bonnet was still wet, it was very impressive to watch the water running off whilst in motion.

The 'control' section still had quite a bit of water left on it in obvious lumps after the journey and did not really roll off, even at speed.

The Aqua Wax started to run off at speeds of 30+ mph and had some finer beads of water left after the 6 mile / 60 mph max drive.

The ArmorAll Shield had all but run off by the time I had reached 40 mph and by the end of the journey there were only very fine drops of water left. These were only around some edges of the area covered suggesting that I hadn't quite coated the whole area evenly.

I couldn't get any pictures as it was dark when I got back, but the garage light shining on the clean bonnet did highlight all the swirl marks!!!

Good test/review - will be interesting to see how the individual products perform from a durability perspective too.

 

Although I am very happy with my chosen products for the car - will still follow this with interest.

Next update will be the middle of next week I think!

It seems the instructions are a little ambiguous:

 

Simply apply a thin, even coat of product over half a square meter section of clean vehicle, then immediately and lightly wipe away product.

 

I read that as being "this sachet covers half a square meter of vehicle", hence why I used both sachets to cover about 1 square meter of bonnet and also explains why I ended up wiping away quite a lot of the cream.

 

I reckon one sachet would do half an Octavia bonnet!

One sachet should do the whole car...you must be using too much..Its a sealer andd should be applied sparingly

I know you know a lot about detailing Chris (and I know next to nothing so will now to your experience & knowledge), but I don't see how one sample sachets that's not much more than a tablespoon would go over a whole car!

Agreed I misread the packet and used too much in one place and wasted quite a lot wiping off the excess, but I can't see it going that far.

It's a sample size satchet, seeing as they were free

 

So would agree, it's likely enough for a bonnet size area.

Sorry...I didn't know how much was in the sachet

 

As an aside to this thread...AGAW is only a QD/Drying aid and should not be used as a stand alone wax

Therefore there is no comparison to Armour-All sealer

As an aside to this thread...AGAW is only a QD/Drying aid and should not be used as a stand alone wax

Therefore there is no comparison to Armour-All sealer

As I initially said, its what I had available. But it was sold to me as an easy to apply basic wax...

What the point of a drying aid? Is it another intermediate stage between cleaning and proper waxing?

I read your initial post. Yes.

A drying aid :  It prevents water spotting, makes the removal of water with your drying towel more efficient and refreshes your LSP...making it last longer too

Surely Aqua Wax is some kind of synthetic spray wax where Rapid Detailer is as the name suggests a detailer.

 

I'd certainly thought the Aqua Wax was more along the lines of Meg's Quik Spray Wax but water compatible.

 

As for the thoughts on a wet spray wax as a durable LSP :no:  I have to agree that it isn't the same product type as the Armorall,

 

Still hat's off to OP for taking the effort to document the results, still of interest.

As promised, a weekly update.

 

I've not washed the car as its almost been cleaning itself (at least most of the bonnet has)!

 

With the damp weather at present the bonnet has been covered in moisture most mornings and the drive has been quite entertaining as it has clearly highlighted the difference in performance between the three areas.

 

The first part of my drive to work is a mile of 30 mph, then a bit of 40 mph and then derestricted for 2 miles and so on.

 

By the time I cover the first mile at up to 30 mph, the ArmorAll Shield area has beaded in big lumps, run off the bonnet and left a clean area. Its very impressive and amusing (in a childish sort of way) to watch the 'bubbles' build and run off rapidly taking the majority of any dirt with it.

 

At speed up to 30 mph the other areas were having almost no effect at all. There was a slight grouping of beads on the Auto Glym area, but not much.

 

In the 40 zone (for about 1/3 rd mile), the Auto Glym area started to bead and run off in a similar, but slower, manner to the ArmorAll area so that by the time the derestricted area was reached, most of the water had gone.

 

The 'control' area with nothing only started to bead and run off once the higher speeds (40 mph+) were reached and even then it did so in a much slower fashion.

 

A couple of days ago the tractors and lorries were spraying a fine muddy mist across the derestricted roads and the ArmorAll area was shedding this with smaller droplets that were visibly brown leaving a pretty clean bonnet.

 

The Auto Glym shed the water but there were very few noticeably brown droplets running off.

 

The untreated area simply started to stick and turn slightly brown unless there was a particularly heavy / wet patch when the water droplets did cluster together a bit and run off with some of the mud.

 

After the first few days, there was a noticeable difference between the ArmorAll area and the other two interns of how dirty they were and the size of droplets left on the bonnet.

 

When it brightens up a bit I'll take a picture so you can see the bonnet after one week, but there's not much to see today. I just wish I could get a video of the water beading off the bonnet...

I've also ordered a Meguiars Winter Paint Restoration kit which will involve a full wash, clay, polish and wax which will hopefully provide a more appropriate comparison to ArmorAll.

 

Now, do I do the roof or the boot?

Am I the only one worried that KBPhoto seems to be driving around watching the water droplets on his bonnet?

I do hope we don't have another post relating the circumstances of a mishap!

Ha! Ha! Fear not, it is very quiet around these parts...

 

I had a video camera watching it today - but the quality was pretty poor so nothing to see.

 

Here's some photos instead.

 

Bonnet:

 

Control / untreated section:

 

Auto Glym Aqua Wax:

 

ArmorAll Shield:

All after a 6 mile drive this morning.

An update before the new year...

Washed the car properly today (jet wash, snow foam, TBM wash, rinse & dry) and it was blindingly obvious that the ArmorAll Shield section was shedding water like a duck's back whilst the Aqua Wax was not much better than the untreated section.

Bonnet:

Untreated:

Autoglym Aqua Wax:

ArmorAll Shield:

As expected TBH because AGAW has no durability...in essence..Its just a quick fix after a wash

I just applied some Wolfs Body Wrap to my daughters car...it promises much....

I shall see how that compares to mine with Bilt Hamber Hydra Wax applied on the same day

I shall look forward to seeing the results of that - hopefully with pictures.

An update before the new year...

Washed the car properly today (jet wash, snow foam, TBM wash, rinse & dry) and it was blindingly obvious that the ArmorAll Shield section was shedding water like a duck's back whilst the Aqua Wax was not much better than the untreated section.

Bonnet:

image.jpg

Untreated:

image.jpg

Autoglym Aqua Wax:

image.jpg

ArmorAll Shield:

image.jpg

 

you do realise there is no known cure don't you