Ah, Meguiar's... Probably one of the most recognized names in the Automotive Detailing Industry. Anyone who has ever had anything to do with cleaning, or detailing, or protecting a car has probably heard that name.
Today we are looking at Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Wax, their take on the all-popular Ceramic Spray Coating. Will this product live up to the brand's reputation, or will it flop? Only one way to find out, so let us dive in!
Just to clarify - we are not sponsored by Meguiar's or any other manufacturer of Paint Protection products, and we will test and review the product as it is in real-world conditions. We will follow the manufacturer's instructions during the application process, and we will prepare the surface to ensure the best finish and best adhesion possible. We are leaving an affiliate link to all our review products but in case the product turns out to be of low quality or not as all as advertised, we leave a warning to all our readers, and the quality of the product will always be reflected in the grade we assign to it at the end of every review. So if you do not want to sit through all of this text, you can scroll down to the Average Grade and read our Final Thoughts to get a general idea of what the product is all about.
- Should you choose to go for it after reading the review -
Get your Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Wax on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/3sv9Bki
Ceramic Spray Coatings have always been a thorn in the eye of serious car enthusiasts or professionals in the Car Detailing Industry. The reason for that is that they are mostly being advertised in a deceiving and ambiguous manner leading consumers to believe that they are a better replacement for traditional Ceramic Coating.
And when people try them out, they naturally feel deceived. Sometimes customers go even a step further and, because of shame, even defend the product even though they themselves have seen it not working as advertised.
This doesn't cover all of the Spray-on Ceramic Coating products out there. Some are fair, precise, and honest in their claims, and some had even surprised us in a good way when we worked with them throughout the years. Of course, it is hard for the average Joe to know what is good and what isn't. This is why we do these reviews, so people know exactly what they are getting. And not being sponsored by some of these huge companies gives us the power to do that.
Let's see what this specific product offers:
advanced SiO2 technology
hybrid ceramic wax
protection & durability beyond conventional wax
spray-on, rinse off & dry
no rubbing, curing, buffing, or mess
extreme water beading
made in the USA
Ok, to be fair, whatever the outcome, the claims aren't too crazy as they sometimes are. They clearly state that this is a product that is better than traditional automotive waxes. So perhaps this is a sort of Spray-on Paint Sealant. It has 'hybrid' in its name, so it certainly is a blend of both infused with some SiO2 as well. The application process is a bit weird. The first time we have seen a product that instructs the user to pray onto the surface and just rinse it off with pressurized water. We wonder how effective that will cover the area in question.
We will test all those claims and more. We expect the product not to handle stronger chemicals well, especially degreasers. That one will best determine how well this product handles itself.
Let us begin!
First, we will prepare the surface of the whole car. Even though it might be a bit overkill to go to such lengths, we want to give each product we test the highest chance to perform well.
If you wish to learn more about how we prepare the surface of a car for Paint Protection products, you can click here and read all about it.
Next, we will read the instructions on Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Wax to make sure we apply it the way it was intended.
Remember that every paint protection product might have a different set of instructions. So make sure always to read them before you start working with the product.
Once the car's surface has been properly prepared, we are ready to begin!
We are going to apply the coating indoors inside a well-ventilated garage. The temperature is also regulated, so it is not too cold or too hot for the temperature to cause any issues. We will shake the product well before use. Unless instructed otherwise, do so with every paint protection product that is in liquid form.
So the application process is a little bit tricky as it is currently described on the bottle. So if you are hasty, you might apply it wrong and produce unwanted results. So the instructions clearly state that we need to wash the car twice - first, we have to clean the car of all dirt, grime, and grease using car shampoo and water. We want to make sure the car's surface is ready to be ceramic sprayed. We are to rinse the whole car from all car shampoo it may have on the surface to ensure the adhesion of Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Wax.
Secondly, we are to spray the product on all exterior surfaces of the car. Once completed, we need to rinse Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Wax off the surface, starting from the roof, using a jet of pressurized water. This way, the product will spread along the whole surface of the vehicle to ensure maximum coverage. That one seems extremely wasteful because there is no way you can ensure full coverage of a working area using this method. But those are the instructions, and we shall oblige.
After that, we are to use a drying microfiber towel and dry the whole surface, even though there is no curing time, so even if there is some water left on the car, that shouldn't interfere with any curing process a Ceramic Coating might have.
Time to test this product!
If you would like to learn the full process of how we torture test products, you can click here and see it all in detail.
See below for our rating in various categories we deem important regarding Ceramic Coating Sprays, the product's price per fluid ounce considering what you get for the money you pay, and our final thoughts describing how it held up in the test.
Let's see how Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Wax performed:
product life time when applied: D
resistance to elements: D
resistance to damage: F
resistance to chemicals: E
application difficulty: C
hydrophobic properties: C
gloss / shine: B
Average grade: D
Cost: 0.74$ / 1 fl oz
0.03$ / 1 ml
Our final Thoughts on Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Wax
Is this product a Ceramic Coating? No. It indeed performed as a Car Wax or a Polymer Sealant at best. It had decent hydrophobic properties until it was first introduced to even regular car shampoo. It started deteriorating pretty quickly, and once a stronger detergent was used, it lost all its hydrophobic properties.
You get a decent amount of the product, a whopping 26 ounces for the price you pay, not cheap! But the downside to this product is that it requires two coats when used. We would agree that only one would be enough since we think the second application, due to the method used, is very wasteful. We would recommend a more conventional application method for the second use instead.
Considering how good or bad the product performed, we would not stand behind a recommendation and think it is overpriced, considering how quickly and easily it fades. Its price is likely thanks to the brand's name stamped on it. Is it good? Not really. But not horrible either. You can still use it after each wash to push a bit more protection onto the car's paint should you happen to own one of these. The final grade of D speaks for itself, but considering it is a spray-on version of Ceramic Coating or Ceramic Wax, it was also to be expected.
- Should you choose to go for it after reading the review -
Get your Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Wax on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/3sv9Bki