# Turtle Wax Ice Seal N Shine Long Term test.



## Sheep (Mar 20, 2009)

Greetings everyone!

As the title suggests, I'm back at it with another long term durability test between a couple of similar products.

Today we'll be comparing the extremely popular Turtle Wax Ice Seal N Shine (which from now on will be referred to as TW SNS) to 3 other similar spray on protectants. I know the UK has a different name for this, but I will be using my markets given name just in case there is actually a difference between the 2 products.

Lets meet the Contestants! (please forgive the photos, I didn't take them all at the same time or at the same location).

Turtle Wax ICE Seal N Shine.
Untitled by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

Meguiars Ultimate Quik Detailer
Untitled by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer (previous bottle design).
Untitled by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

And Lastly Crystal Brite - Crystal Ceramic Spray. This one is a bit of a curve ball for everyone, as it's not really something I've seen ever, and I cannot find any information about it online. Our supplier at my dealership has it, and we have a couple jugs (4 liter) in the shop. I applied it to my whole car last week and so far, it's extremely nice. I have photos of the 4 liter jug with the description for those that want to see what it is. It states that it can be applied wet and dry, thought it needs to be applied to a dry surface first.
Untitled by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

Untitled by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

Now, through previous testing I have noted that BSD and Meguiars UQD are good for around 2 months of protection - that is, the water continued to bead for 2 months before becoming pretty gross. There is a lot of content out there showing TW SNS taking hit after hit from APCs, TFRs, and AWCs (Acid wheel cleaners for the uninformed). I thought about doing a test where I just subjected each of these to lots of harsh caustic cleaners, but the reality is that no one would ever do that in real life (and I'm not throwing acid wheel cleaners on my paint, thank you very much). Also, I don't know how much time durability wise each hit from a cleaner translates to - does 1 hit of 5:1 APC mean a 2 month worth of driving? No one knows, and it's impossible to figure out. Instead, this will be a normal durability test using proper washing practices and competing on the same panel on my car, which will be far more useful for people looking to use this product.

As for the test itself, the car was washed and dried, before being hand polished with Meguiars Ultimate Compound for a good 2 or so minutes per section (4 sections total). After that, it was DRENCHED in Wurth IPA (aerosol) to ensure the polishing oils were removed. For those who might ask, I'm using a Pre-Made, body shop grade IPA to guarantee the surface is as bare as possible to the level of being paintable (as far as grease goes) Home made solutions can work, but by using a pre-made product I and removing it from the equation. 2 of the 4 products recommend a clayed and polished surface before applying the product (TW SnS and Crystal Brite Crystal Ceramic Spray), so that was adopted for all 4 of the sections, and is known to be the acceptable process for LSP application (especially for coatings and other SiO2 products).

Now, in the photo below you'll see that my hood is exposed to some pretty intense sunlight. In order to mitigate any issues with the heat the whole hood was covered in cold, soaked microfibers to bring the panel down to a workable temperature. Obviously, it would be better to perform this work in the shade.

Untitled by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

The order for application is

Top left: Sonax BSD
Top right: Crystal Brite Crystal Ceramic Spray
Bottom left: Meguiars Ultimate Quik Detailer
Bottom right: Turtle Wax ICE Seal N Shine

Application notes for each product:

Sonax BSD: Grabby, but even pressure requirement. Grabby after buffing (normal for this product).

Crystal Brite CCS: Smooth, even pressure with a VERY smooth after buff feel.

Meguiars UQD: Smooth, even pressure with a smooth after buff feel.

TW ICE SNS: Smooth, even pressure with a smooth after buff feel.

What you should take away from this, Crystal Brite CCS is the smoothest of the bunch, just edging out TW SNS and Megs UQD. Obviously, Sonax BSD was in last place, but this is common knowledge. Usually people were ok putting up with the grabby finish due to the protection and water behavior left behind. However, with some of the new products hitting the market, you might be able to get the best of both worlds with some of these new choices.

As of right now I don't have any initial water behavior shots. Later tonight when I'm home from work I will get the hose out and have a look at some beading and sheeting. I'm trying to find a better way to get videos into the forums, so I might have trouble with that initially. I guess it's time to finally use my YouTube account...

Thanks for looking!


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## Sheep (Mar 20, 2009)

*Initial Water Behavior*

Hey Everyone,

I have the initial water beading/sheeting photos and video here.

Sonax BSD
DSC_2299 by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

Crystal Brite Crystal Ceramic Spray
DSC_2300 by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

Meguiars Ultimate Quik Detailer
DSC_2302 by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

Turtle Wax ICE Seal N Shine
DSC_2303 by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

Regarding the beads, it appears that BSD has the lead in overall tightness and roundness (contact angle). Crystal Brite and Turtle wax are very close together in performance, with Meguairs in a very obvious last place.

Here is some video footage of all the sections using the shower setting on a spray trigger. 
Untitled by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

As you can see, BSD is leading the way when it comes to repellency, with TW SNS in second place. CB CCS is in a very close 3rd, with Megs in last, nearly already sheeting.

Going forward, I will be trying to keep the washing to once a week or so. Summer has fully hit here and the temps are skyrocketing. I should be able to go quite a while without "needing" a wash, but expect monthly updates as per the usual.


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## Sheep (Mar 20, 2009)

Reserved for 1 month update (and a bit).

Hey Everyone, here is some vidoes of the 4 products after roughly 1 month. The car was washed roughly 3-4 times, 1 of which was a touchless car wash (so slightly higher PH levels). The car also saw a 1300km road trip, which was full of thunder storms and muddy dirt roads. It was not washed at all during the trip due to hard water and no hose at the cabin I stayed at.

First video is before washing (but after a deep clean from the trip a few days earlier). Panel temps were rather high.
Untitled by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

Second video is after immediately after a wash.
Untitled by brianjosephson1, on Flickr

As you can see, things seemed to have leveled out between BSD and SNS, with I think SNS taking the edge in repellancy. I still think BSD has tighter beading, but it's very close to call. CB CCS is in third, dropping quite a bit to mainly sheeting. Meguiars has dropped to nearly dead levels, with super slow sheeting.

Thanks for looking!


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## Sheep (Mar 20, 2009)

Reserved for 2 month update.


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## Sheep (Mar 20, 2009)

Reserved for 3 month update.


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## Sheep (Mar 20, 2009)

Reserved for 4 month update....?


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## WristyManchego (Sep 9, 2018)

Up to this point in your review; considering all their differences in application and beading, which would you set as current leader?


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## Sheep (Mar 20, 2009)

WristyManchego said:


> Up to this point in your review; considering all their differences in application and beading, which would you set as current leader?


I think so far I would say TW SNS is the best if you had to blend all characteristics, hard to say 100% though. BSD is obviously compromising it's application and feel to get it's hydrophobicity. One thing I haven't been able to factor in is cost yet. I'll need to find out the price of CB CCS to do a calculation.


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## svended (Oct 7, 2011)

I've not used Turtle Wax products in years. May take a look at this one though. 

Would you be OPPO?


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## Sheep (Mar 20, 2009)

svended said:


> I've not used Turtle Wax products in years. May take a look at this one though.
> 
> Would you be OPPO?


I am OPPO!

I wonder if OPPO is a good place to put up some detailing guides, the ones that Jalopnik writes are freaking terrible.


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## Peter77 (May 29, 2016)

Good thread. Looking forward to the updates. 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Johnr32 (Apr 25, 2010)

Looking forward to the updates! I have just bought some BSD for about a fiver delivered but looking at getting the turtle wax if its any good!


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## Sheep (Mar 20, 2009)

1st month update posted!


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## Coupe25 (Feb 11, 2017)

which one lasted the longest?


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