Cost: $14 (Not available in the UK at time of review)
Date of Review: 25/6/2023
The Sales Pitch from Meguair’s:
- GLOSS ENHANCER: Turns up color, saturation and enhances gloss by nourishing paint
- REDUCES THE APPEARANCE OF SWIRLS: Conceals light swirls and towel marks, enhancing reflections and shine
- POLISH WITHOUT ALL THE WORK: Delivers the results of a traditional liquid polish in a modern spray detailing product
- USE BY ITSELF OR WITH OTHER PRODUCTS: Perfect on its own or pair with a spray wax like Meguiar’s Ultimate Quik Wax for quick and easy paint care
- EASY TO USE: Spray on a microfiber towel, work in and wipe off excess
- CLEAR COAT SAFE: Safe and effective on all glossy paints and clear coats
Source: Meguiar’s Ultimate Insane Shine Paint Glosser, Simply Spray on and Wipe Off for Glossy Paint, G230316, 16 oz | Meguiar’s (meguiars.com)
What You Get:
A black bottle with 16oz of product. It looks like the bottle has been colour coded to match the brand.
The spray is one of the better Meguiar’s spray nozzles that doesn’t drip, four way twist with two stop and two spray, there’s no difference between the spray settings.
Product Description:
This is a different product to the usual quick detailers or spray on waxes. the reason being that this product is not a protectant or cleaner of any sort. The sole purpose of this product is to add gloss to the paintwork. The other aspect is to reduce the appearance of light swirls. The product is virtually clear but has an amazing scent. Perhaps one of the best yet from Meguiar’s. But, scent is always open to different opinions.
Instructions:
The bottle is quite clear to spray onto a microfiber towel and wipe onto the paint in over lapping passes, then buff off.
However, I have seen YouTube videos of the product being sprayed directly onto the paint then applied and buffed off.
Which is the right way to apply the product? I suspect that the Meguiar’s way of doing it is correct as I will explain.
Application:
I have been playing with this product and found a couple of little tricks. Using a spray on wax or carnauba infused quick detailer sort of hinders the product. We are talking microscopic levels here of what is going on. If there are very fine swirls the applied wax will settle into the uneven surface, but the swirls will still be there. This is the basic principle of the paint glaze that fills the imperfections to even them out. Then add the wax of choice over the top of the glaze for shine or protection. That way the light reflection is more uniform and gives the appearance of no swirls, but it just hides them on a temporary basis.
This product then is like a fine sprayable glaze without the hard work. It will settle into the swirls even out the imperfections and dry. Similar principle to spray on the good ol’ WD40 hack which stays oily and easily wiped off.
What I found was that a quick detailer without the carnauba or ceramic infused products which works much better in a couple of ways. There are quality quick detailers are out there without those extra additives, but you have to look for them, I have reviewed one.
The secret to this product is to use it on small areas at a time. I tried spraying the area like the videos and found the product had started to evaporate (flash point) before I could finish the full application and buffing process. This left an uneven finish or dull streak. The fix it was dead simple with another quick spray and buff to get the quality result you want.
There is a ‘Note‘ at the bottom of the bottle where the instructions says; “Ultimate Insane Paint Glosser is not recommended to be applied over coatings, it may leave behind a streaky finish”. There is no explanation of what a ‘coating’ is, perhaps it’s a vinyl wrap, paint protection film or just a good old top quality wax. Try the product on a small area out the way first.
The instructions also say, don’t let the product dry. I did let it dry to see what happens, it leaves a look of water spotting. Easy enough to get rid of with another application.
The spray is a nice even mist and doesn’t drip from the trigger. Time will tell if it does drip after a number of uses, I have only had a couple of Meguiar’s triggers leak in the past so it shouldn’t.
Removing:
Applying in small areas and buffing is the best technique and it’s effortless. In cooler weather and working faster, I suspect you could get away with a larger spritz of the product and buff a panel in one go. But, on my large panels half at a time or quarters is the way to go. There is no need to keep rubbing and buffing, unless you get a streak in which case a quick re-application will sort the problem out as I said before.
I recommend an application microfibre and a buffing microfibre.
Results:
When I say swirls, my car doesn’t have them, they are more of a microscopic towel mark in one place where a sewn on label from a cloth had hardly made a mark on the paint. The marks are virtually invisible and you have to look very hard to see them. It’s not even worth me getting my compound out to buff.
To get the best results use a nice top quality microfibre towel.
I will start with the claim of reduces swirls. Don’t get your hopes up to cover up on more pronounced swirls, they will still need a full on correction with some compound. I tried this on another car that did have some swirls. The swirls or towel marks have to be very light, anything over that then the product doesn’t work as a magic cover up. The swirls did become less noticeable with a second application.
The gloss is amazing.
The results are there to see and I have tried to capture it with the camera, but it didn’t show as much as I would have liked.
I applied a strip of masking tape and worked a little to the left of it. When I removed the tape there was a visible line, I marked with the arrows where that line was. The pic below one on the right shows it from one angle, then the larger pic from a different angle where you can see it clearer.
As my paint is super glossy and always well waxed with some very expensive wax, there wasn’t a big difference on my paint. The area that had the product applied did look a deeper colour than the non applied side of the line. So that claim worked.
Looking for way to show the difference I used it on non paint areas, first of which was the chrome windscreen trim. Below on the left was the original that I thought was pretty good, then on the right picture is after the application. There is an arrow to show where I didn’t apply the product. It’s much easier to the difference on the trim. As a result I had to do the whole trim to make it match, which is a good thing.
With that application to the trim in mind, I tried the front chrome bumper. Before picture on the left and after on the right. Similar results were shown by showing a slight cover of swirls from a fifty seven year old bumper. On the right picture, you can see the lighter side of the arrow to the right, on the left where no product was applied.
Then once more an application on the trim on the drivers window, although there wasn’t that much difference this time, but there was still an improvement.
The trunk was treated to a full application and the evening sun certainly reflected very nicely and I was pleased.
But, there is one downside, this product is not designed to be a long lasting application. It’s a product that you would apply at a car show to make the paint on your car look the best it can be.
Some would see it as normal to wipe over the car with a quick detailer on arrival at a show. I always apply a quick detailer for light dust, or waterless wash if it’s a particularly grubby to remove a little dirt from the journey getting to the show. This product it’s not a cleaner and it’s not a quick detailer, it doesn’t claim to be. When I arrive at a show, I could now have two process, the quick detailer and then this Insane Paint Glosser step on top to produce the extra gloss if my wax needs topping up.
The feel of the paint after being applied was very silky, almost oily in fact but it was dry. There didn’t appear to be any finger prints left after touching the paint.
I don’t think it would have hurt Meguiar’s to have put in some sort of UV protection in the product, maybe it would interfere with the gloss effect, I don’t know. That’s a question for a chemist someday.
How many applications of the product from a bottle? I suspect a similar amount as the Meguiar’s quick detailers. As this is to sprayed onto the cloth it could last a bit longer.
(Initial) Rating: 10 out 10 (see below for updates!)
Revised Rating 15/8/2023: 7 out 10
Revised Rating 22/8/2023: 6 out 10
Why full marks? The product doesn’t claim to be a cleaner or long lasting, it’s only real claim is gloss and a light swirl covering. The bottle is good, the spray is good, the trigger is good and the scent is divine.
If this was for sale in the UK and costs £14 then this is a great product. I paid just over £42 for the product and the shipping, import taxes and anything else I could be charged for. At that price it’s not worth the money as my waxes give the same results. But, I can’t mark it down for that as I chose to import it as I really wanted to try it. The scores has to be based on the actual cost and claims made by the product to be fair. The product says “concealing light swirls”, it did change the colour of my car to a richer colour, it did add a bit of gloss. So all claims were met.
When will it come to the UK? Unknown.
How much will it be? Unknown.
Ease of use – 10 out 10
Finish – 10 out 10
Conclusion:
My car is always super glossy and trying to get more shine on something that is already super shiny will be hard for any product. So I’m not surprised there wasn’t a big difference. The paint did seem to be a little more even looking after application.
There was more gloss – so it works. I would take this product as gloss enhancer and anything else is a bonus regarding the swirls.
Longevity is up for debate, I suspect that maybe a couple of wipes with a quick detailer and the product would be removed or start to dull.
The cost of the product is quite reasonable (in the USA), and expect it will be similar costs in the UK when (if) we get it. However, paying almost twice the cost of the product in shipping and import charges, this product becomes a bit of a luxury item for me. A top quality wax will give the same results, but you will need to work at it. This is a simple wipe on and wipe off easy product for a quick shine. I still think that I would buy it again at the full landed UK costs, but only if I’m feeling flush.
The paint needs to be reasonable to get the best results, but be realistic with claims for swirl coverage.
Would I recommend it? Yes.
Updated 22/8/2023: Would I buy it again? No
Would I buy it again? Yes
Updated 15/8/2023: Would I buy it again? No
Update: 31/5/2023
I emailed Meguiar’s USA to ask if I can buy it directly from them, their response on the 30/5/2023 was:
“Thank you for contacting Meguiar’s! Unfortunately, we do not ship internationally. Please keep in touch with our UK team for availability.”
I have emailed Meguiar’s UK a couple of times now about this product and when we can expecting it here, considering the product was launched back in November 2022 in the USA. The response I got was was that they are ‘doing their best’ to get it in the UK. I know the guys and honestly believe that they are trying to get it here for us.
Update: 15/8/2023
OK, I have downgraded the score to an 7 out of 10. Why?
Well the answer is an annoying one. The product mentions streaks on application, I did get some and with a bit more application of the product they were removed fairly easily with the same product. That streak issue almost made me give the initial review a of 9 out of 10 for that reason, I thought it was me and my application process. Obviously not.
BUT, what about when I apply a normal quick detailer or a spray wax over the top of this product? Streaks and dull streaks where the other product is being applied over the top, that’s what you get.
This leads me to believe that unless you use this product all the time going forward it will be a pain in the backside when you want to go back to a traditional waxing again. I believe there is a problem with the product for compatibility. If I use another very well know brand(s) with Meguiar’s there was no problem, but there is with this product.
Yes, of course it does it’s job, great results at the time and I do like the results. However, those results will come at a cost. When I wanted to apply a coat of a top quality wax I had the problems of removing the streaks then trying to remove them to get a nice finish again. This was achieved by pure elbow grease and more applications of the wax and a lot of naughty words. If this would have been my £600 a pot wax I would have been a pretty annoyed. Frustrating scenario when this product is classed as a quick fix for light swirls. Trying to get a good result with another product annoyed me to the point that I almost clay bared the car and started again. I don’t expect to correct product problems when I switch between manufacturer’s brands. I haven’t had any idea of the longevity of the product yet, perhaps the water if you are to wet wash the car would lessen the products longevity. I don’t wet wash my car so I don’t know.
If you have swirls on your paint then a quality glaze will do the job better than this product. A premium wax will give you just the same results as this paint glosser and will last longer. Get rid of the swirls and your paint will look so much better anyway. Then there will be no need for this product – in theory.
Different waxes will certainly have an affect on the paints appearance, I have proved this on a page where I compared top products, click here for the review. I can see this product being used at a ‘show and shine’ event for a quick top up. There is no substitute for a real top quality premium wax after a proper paint correction, simple as that. I will use this on metal work going forward as it did a decent job there and I wouldn’t normally apply a wax to chrome, well maybe on the wheels.
It makes me sad to do this update. As I’m not sponsored by any of these brands and I buy these products with my own money, I can say what I want. It’s rare that I change my rating after an update, but I have done it on a Meguiar’s product here.
Update: 22/8/2023
OK, I have downgraded the score to an 6 out of 10. Why?
After arriving at a car show I used a little quick detailer to remove the road dust. Low and behold the streaking was back. It was removed with more quick detailer product and lots of buffing, it’s starting to annoy me now. So I’m thinking about removing all the wax layers and build back up again. I probably won’t do that until next year now. So it looks as though the product does increased gloss a little bit, but it comes at a too high a price for me.
If you intend to keep using the product then all is good. But, after one use it has caused me enough ‘finishing’ issues.
So my update is now I won’t recommend it and lowered the score again.