Summary
The Meguiar’s Waterless Wash & Wax is a powerful cleaner that can remove tough stains easily. The polymer formula also works great in preserving the layer of wax in the paint.
I wouldn’t recommend throwing out the hose though! Nothing can beat a thorough car wash. But I will say that this product will save you time and restores a beautiful level of paint shine with minimal effort!
Do you want to wash your car without water?
Hey there my name is Matt and I’m here to talk about my experience using the Meguiar’s waterless wash and wax.
The term ‘waterless wash & wax’ is a misnomer. I want to first let you, our awesome guest know, that these cleaners are only good for light cleaning jobs such as detailing a vehicle before the car show or night on the town. So if you just got back from off-roading in your Jeep, you probably shouldn’t use this!
You need to use it as intended. Light jobs.
Meguiar’s chose to forge the scientific route and created a polymer-based formula that reputably outperforms other waterless wash and wax cleaners in the market.
This means that it’s OK to use on lightly soiled or dirty paint surfaces. Now I don’t mean that if your car drove through a sandstorm you can use this product to clean your car…. You will still need to wash and rinse the exterior thoroughly before using the Meguiar’s Ultimate Waterless Wash & Wax.
In this review, I got my hands on a full 26 oz. bottle of the Meguiar’s Ultimate Waterless Wash & Wax. I used the product on my Charger, and Dodge Durango before writing this review.
So let’s talk about the features of this popular waterless wash and wax cleaner.
Features of the Meguiar’s Wash & Wax
The Meguiar’s Ultimate Waterless Wash and Wax utilizes advanced chemistry to come up with an effective cleaner that leaves a layer of slippery polymer wax to further protect the finish. The no-scratch formula is designed to dissolve and encapsulate dirt and debris to prevent imperfections in the finish. The product leaves behind a slippery, glossy wax barrier as the product dries.
It all sounds amazing, right? But when you think about it, you will need to use a lot of microfiber towels to treat or clean an entire vehicle. I figured early on I will need about 5 to 6 towels to ‘dry clean’ two average-sized compact sedans. Imagine how many towels you will need to use on a large SUV or minivan! So make sure you’ve got plenty of microfiber towels on hand before cleaning your ride.
On top of that, before testing out this stuff, I didn’t know how much it would take clean my entire vehicle! After testing it, it seems that you can get about 10 “washes” out of a bottle. Not too bad for the price.
For spot cleaning jobs like removing tar stains, asphalt, bird droppings, dried insects, and mud splashes, you can expect the Meguiar’s Waterless will perform admirably. The product requires no rinsing and is ideal for those who live in small apartments and condominiums with no access to a water outlet and garden hose. Our friends in Cali who have water bans love this stuff because they can still keep their vehicle looking fine even when water is in short supply!
How to use the Meguiar’s waterless wash
Make sure that you follow the directions on the bottle so you don’t ruin your paint!
Here’s a quick summary and a video to help you properly use this wash and wax kit:
- Evenly spray to product on your vehicle paint, one panel at a time (for example, just your driver’s door).
- Using a clean, microfiber towel, wipe to product using a gentle motion to swipe off the dirt and grime.
- Flip the towel (or use a secondary one) wipe and dry off any excess product.
My review and thoughts after using the Meguiar’s waterless wash
I have four cars in my garage… but only two that are drive-able 😀
There is my favorite Charger that I use daily, an SUV for family outings, and two project cars that are currently being built. I used the Meguiar’s Ultimate Waterless Wash and Wax on painted surfaces covered with light dirt, and it worked extremely well.
It was able to quickly remove some dirt and hard water stains with a single spray and wipe. Like I said, it is hard to beat this cleaner when it comes to spot jobs like removing stubborn dirt, tree sap, or bird poo from the paint.
The Test
My Charger has dark gray paint whereas the SUV is endowed with a deep black finish. Before using this, I let the car get about 2 weeks worth of daily driving grime built up.
I sprayed a light coat of the Meguiar’s Ultimate Wash & Wax on all painted surfaces and wiped the car dry (using the two towel method I talked about earlier). The results were magnificent! My technique was to agitate the product on the paint by giving it a first wipe. I grabbed a separate microfiber towel and lightly buffed the finish to a glossy shine. The surface felt smooth as glass as if the finish has just been treated with carnauba wax!
In essence, that last statement is true since the Meguiar’s Ultimate Wash & Wax is designed to leave a layer of slippery polymer to protect the paint. I also found out the polymer wax can last for about two sessions of heavy rain before wearing out. It doesn’t last as long as carnauba wax, but it definitely helps the paint to maintain a smooth and shiny appearance in-between applying coats of wax.
Grab yourself a bottle here on Amazon: Meguiar’s Ultimate Wash
When using this stuff on my charger, it takes about 10% of the bottle, so I’ll probably get around 10 washes out of it. For a smaller car like a Honda Civic, you could get more.
I repeated the procedure on my black SUV, and I had mixed results. I noticed a bit of smearing as I was wiping away the waterless wash and wax cleaner from the paint. I had to use a lightly damp towel to lightly buff the paint and finish off with a separate dry towel for the final buff. But the results were still great despite the added work.
Results
Alright I just have to say that this stuff is awesome! If you’re like me and love to have a clean ride, then you have to try at least one bottle. Before I used this stuff I used to go to the commercial car wash once a wash and shill out 10$ per wash, and let me tell you, that adds up! But after using the Meguiar’s waterless wash, I’ve only been hitting up the touchless commercial car wash once a month! This stuff is saving me about 60$ bucks a month, which in my book, makes it worth the price and elbow grease.
Honestly, I wasn’t as impressed with the results on my black SUV compared to my silver Charger. On the Charger, after a single wipe and follow-up wipe, the paint shone and glistened in the sun. But on my SUV, there was some slight streaks until I took a third “buff” to it to get rid of those streaks. This “buff” stage added on an extra 10 minutes to the total time is took to waterless wash the SUV. This is probably due to the WAX in the wash and maybe the paint was too hot when I used it(?).
Now I don’t want to seem too critical here because black paint is SO much harder to maintain that light paint and it shows up EVERY blemish! On top of that, the touchless car washes around here cost about 10$ every time, and if this product can save me three car washes a month, it certainly pays for itself!
It works on wheels too!
I also found that the waterless wash and wax is suited to clean alloy wheels, plastic bumpers, and rubberized surfaces. The results were pretty good. However, you should avoid using this product to clean windows and glass since the polymer-based formula has a tendency to smear all over the surface.
I’m not a huge fan of waterless wash and wax products, but that’s because I’m old school and don’t mind dragging out the hose on the weekends, or taking a run to the touchless car washes… But I’m going to keep a bottle of the Meguiar’s Ultimate Wash & Wax in my garage for spot cleaning purposes and days when I feel lazy and don’t want to drag out the garden hose.
In my mind, nothing can take the place of a proper vehicle wash and wax using water, car shampoo, and carnauba wax. But for those times that you just have light dirt on parts of the exterior, this product is one of the best.
Conclusion
The Meguiar’s Waterless Wash & Wax is a powerful cleaner that can remove tough stains easily. The polymer formula also works great in preserving the layer of wax in the paint.
I wouldn’t recommend throwing out the hose though! Nothing can beat a thorough car wash. But I will say that this product will save you time and restores a beautiful level of paint shine with minimal effort!
Also, when used as a cleaner in-between wax and clay bar-ing, this is one of the best that money can buy. It is not what you would call “cheap” by any means, but it delivers incredible results when used correctly.