Rejex Car Wax Substitute--Product Review
06-18-2004, 01:42 PM
#1
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Pacifica, CA--Land of Fog
Posts: 628
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Rejex Car Wax Substitute--Product Review
Disclaimer: No interest in product sales etc.
I was at Akkurat the other day and saw George wiping this strange looking stuff all over a car. Being somewhat of a detail nut, I was completely unaware of what it was and was quite curious. George told me it was "Rejex" (horrible name) and that all of the 996TT guys had discovered it and were using it. I got a bottle and decided to test it out. Before I did, I did some searching on 6speed and here and saw that indeed there was quite a bit of traffic on the issue.
Rejex is designed to replace wax, not to be used with wax, either over or under it. It is advertised as a simple wipe on and wipe off product. More on that in a bit.
I tested Rejex on two cars, my 928 in Guards Red, which DOES NOT have a clearcoat, as well as my Audi A4, which does have a clearcoat.
Rejex states that it should not be used on a porous surface or oxidized paint. Because I have not done a full detail on the 928 in a year (yes, for real, a year) I clay barred it and then used Griots Polish 3, a very fine abrasive to remove small nicks and oxidized paint. The shine was absolutley amazing. I love that stuff.
I then applied the Rejex, which is not supposed to require any buffing at all and is also not supposed to have any polishing/cutting agents at all. Although I washed the car between the polish and the Rejex application, I still got minute amounts of color on the rag. I cannot be sure that this was not leftover from the polish, but I will check again. This is not a big deal, the amount was very small, and its to be expected with the polishing agent (you should see what that is like, scary) but just was not as advertised. When I applied the Rejex to the 928 and then started to wipe it off with a cotton cloth (applied with cotton griots polish towel) I got quite a bit of uneven application and hazing upon removal. I determined that the answer was not in amount of application (I tried both less and more) but generally I feel tha the product is not ideal for a paint w/o a clear coat. It required a switch to a microfiber towel to remove it (made it MUCH easier) and then some buffing to remove the haze. I did not really think that Rejex shined any more than a conventional wax. That said, the removal of stubborn Rejex is WAY easier than almost any wax and it can be used on plastic or glass so you need not worry about coloring within the lines when you work.
So overall on the 928, I like the product, but am not in love with it. Its one defining characteristic is that everything it is applied to is very very smooth and where the paint was well prepped, it worked well. I may try again.
Its a different story on the A4 though, as I imagine it will be different on all clear coated paints. I clay barred first for a very smooth and clean paint. I did not polish, so whatever minute abrasions etc. I had are still there and Rejex does not fill them in. I will say though that the stuff went on incredibly easy, and came off just as easy and really provides a very uniform and "hard" barrier. Water is beading up great and where applied to the windshield (only half, to do a test) the bugs come off easier and the window is cleaner when applying the wipers. This is the easiest protectant I have ever applied in this test situation. The shine is comparable to other very high quality waxes, with less than 1/4 of the effort of application or removal. Really, really easy.
Overall then, I can highly recommend this product for clear coated cars and for all glass and plastic. I would like to do some more testing on non clear coated cars to determine if there are some variables I can identify in either application or removal conditions to get more consistent resuts.
George at Akkurat sells the stuff in $20 bottles or so.
I was at Akkurat the other day and saw George wiping this strange looking stuff all over a car. Being somewhat of a detail nut, I was completely unaware of what it was and was quite curious. George told me it was "Rejex" (horrible name) and that all of the 996TT guys had discovered it and were using it. I got a bottle and decided to test it out. Before I did, I did some searching on 6speed and here and saw that indeed there was quite a bit of traffic on the issue.
Rejex is designed to replace wax, not to be used with wax, either over or under it. It is advertised as a simple wipe on and wipe off product. More on that in a bit.
I tested Rejex on two cars, my 928 in Guards Red, which DOES NOT have a clearcoat, as well as my Audi A4, which does have a clearcoat.
Rejex states that it should not be used on a porous surface or oxidized paint. Because I have not done a full detail on the 928 in a year (yes, for real, a year) I clay barred it and then used Griots Polish 3, a very fine abrasive to remove small nicks and oxidized paint. The shine was absolutley amazing. I love that stuff.
I then applied the Rejex, which is not supposed to require any buffing at all and is also not supposed to have any polishing/cutting agents at all. Although I washed the car between the polish and the Rejex application, I still got minute amounts of color on the rag. I cannot be sure that this was not leftover from the polish, but I will check again. This is not a big deal, the amount was very small, and its to be expected with the polishing agent (you should see what that is like, scary) but just was not as advertised. When I applied the Rejex to the 928 and then started to wipe it off with a cotton cloth (applied with cotton griots polish towel) I got quite a bit of uneven application and hazing upon removal. I determined that the answer was not in amount of application (I tried both less and more) but generally I feel tha the product is not ideal for a paint w/o a clear coat. It required a switch to a microfiber towel to remove it (made it MUCH easier) and then some buffing to remove the haze. I did not really think that Rejex shined any more than a conventional wax. That said, the removal of stubborn Rejex is WAY easier than almost any wax and it can be used on plastic or glass so you need not worry about coloring within the lines when you work.
So overall on the 928, I like the product, but am not in love with it. Its one defining characteristic is that everything it is applied to is very very smooth and where the paint was well prepped, it worked well. I may try again.
Its a different story on the A4 though, as I imagine it will be different on all clear coated paints. I clay barred first for a very smooth and clean paint. I did not polish, so whatever minute abrasions etc. I had are still there and Rejex does not fill them in. I will say though that the stuff went on incredibly easy, and came off just as easy and really provides a very uniform and "hard" barrier. Water is beading up great and where applied to the windshield (only half, to do a test) the bugs come off easier and the window is cleaner when applying the wipers. This is the easiest protectant I have ever applied in this test situation. The shine is comparable to other very high quality waxes, with less than 1/4 of the effort of application or removal. Really, really easy.
Overall then, I can highly recommend this product for clear coated cars and for all glass and plastic. I would like to do some more testing on non clear coated cars to determine if there are some variables I can identify in either application or removal conditions to get more consistent resuts.
George at Akkurat sells the stuff in $20 bottles or so.
06-18-2004, 11:52 PM
#2
Rennlist Member
I clay barred it and then used Griots Polish 3, a very fine abrasive to remove small nicks and oxidized paint. The shine was absolutley amazing. I love that stuff.
I've used the 3M Handglaze, then One Grand Blitz Carnuba. They seem like a good combination, however I'm always up for trying something new.
Have you tried these? If so, how do they compare to the clay bar & Griots? (I'm not familiar with Griots).
06-19-2004, 12:23 AM
#4
Rennlist Member
Ernest,
I used Zaino for a while. It seems like more of a silicone than a wax. It's not bad, but it tends to streak if it's not applied in exactly the right environment.
I ended up giving it to my buddy who has a Vette & loves the stuff. 1/2 marketing to the Vette guys, and 1/2 that it seems to work much better on American paint.
I like the handglaze & Blitz much better.
I used Zaino for a while. It seems like more of a silicone than a wax. It's not bad, but it tends to streak if it's not applied in exactly the right environment.
I ended up giving it to my buddy who has a Vette & loves the stuff. 1/2 marketing to the Vette guys, and 1/2 that it seems to work much better on American paint.
I like the handglaze & Blitz much better.
06-19-2004, 02:33 AM
#5
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Pacifica, CA--Land of Fog
Posts: 628
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I have the handglaze. The difference, I think, is that the glaze has a filler element to it and the griots polish has no such filler. I could be wrong, but that is my thought. I think that the griots is really much more of a take the scratch out solution, than the handglaze.
I love using the griots with the porter cable orbital buffer. Nothing else delivers such a uniform coating of polish or wax----its reallyl an ideal applicator because it avoids the streaking and uneven application that a hand applied coat gives.
BTW, that is one mean looking shine on that black car!!! Nothing looks sweeter than a shiny black car--nothing looks worse than a dirty black car. Its like dating a bad girl.
I love using the griots with the porter cable orbital buffer. Nothing else delivers such a uniform coating of polish or wax----its reallyl an ideal applicator because it avoids the streaking and uneven application that a hand applied coat gives.
BTW, that is one mean looking shine on that black car!!! Nothing looks sweeter than a shiny black car--nothing looks worse than a dirty black car. Its like dating a bad girl.
Trending Topics
06-19-2004, 07:10 PM
#8
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Pacifica, CA--Land of Fog
Posts: 628
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
If there were $ to be made in it, YES! Unfortunately, its like anything else in the world, its little more than just a tiny bit of knowledge and hard work--but you already knew that!
I just finished REJEXing the spouse's MERC. Boy, that paint is horrible. Tons of pinholes with rust in it. I'm appalled at the quality of MBenz these days. I should have polished it, but I really just don't care that much and frankly her car with the same miles on it as my 89 GT is just unbelievably worse. We may suffer from stone chips on our cars, but honestly the quality of the paint on my 928 is world's better than the benz. I know I'm not telling anyone anything they did not not based on JD power surveys etc, its just very disturbing.
Anyway, on the REJEX front, I conclude that clear coats are very amenable to it and that the prep work makes all the difference.
Rick: PLease do not mention hand glaze and girls in the same sentence anymore, this is a family forum. (I can't believe I got a daughter, can you just imagine the nasty looks I must perfect in the future?!)
I just finished REJEXing the spouse's MERC. Boy, that paint is horrible. Tons of pinholes with rust in it. I'm appalled at the quality of MBenz these days. I should have polished it, but I really just don't care that much and frankly her car with the same miles on it as my 89 GT is just unbelievably worse. We may suffer from stone chips on our cars, but honestly the quality of the paint on my 928 is world's better than the benz. I know I'm not telling anyone anything they did not not based on JD power surveys etc, its just very disturbing.
Anyway, on the REJEX front, I conclude that clear coats are very amenable to it and that the prep work makes all the difference.
Rick: PLease do not mention hand glaze and girls in the same sentence anymore, this is a family forum. (I can't believe I got a daughter, can you just imagine the nasty looks I must perfect in the future?!)
