Recently Turtle Wax, purveyor of all kinds of car care products, flew me to Scottsdale, Arizona along with a couple dozen hardcore detailing nerds. They unveiled their new line of Hybrid Solutions car care products. And yes, they wined and dined me, but that doesn’t take away from the fact Turtle Wax makes a fine product, and they really do care about how your car looks.
Disclosure: Although Turtle Wax provided me with travel accommodations, the views below are my own and not necessarily those of Gearhead Media LLC. I was not compensated beyond the flight and hotel. The product reveal took place at the OTTO Car Club in Scottsdale, Arizona in October 2019. For more information on our editorial policies, please review our advertising guidelines.
Turtle Wax Invites a Passionate Crowd
Nerds are an acceptable part of life now, what with all the Marvel movies and Big Bang Theories and stuff like that. It’s okay to be a nerd, no matter what you are nerding out about. And like I said, I was in Arizona (again!) and let me tell you, car detailing nerds are a group unto themselves.
These people can talk about washes and waxes and Q-tips for hours on end. And I don’t mean the Turtle Wax people. They can too, if pushed, but they’re relatively normal. The car detailers in attendance well, detailing is what they do. And I say God bless them for it.
Related: We put a new line of Turtle Wax products to the test.
Turtle Wax brought them in from the far reaches of the globe. Exotic places like Belgium and Wyoming. All of them have YouTube channels and Instagram and Twitter feeds that are simply stuffed to the rafters with detailing content. Hours upon hours of videos about “what to do with your clear coat” and “dealing with bug splatters” and “valve stem dressing tips.” Stuff like that. Literally every person I talked with eats, sleeps, and breathes this stuff. Unabashedly so they glory in it; they revel in it.
Knowledgeable & Experienced
And egging these detail pros along are the happy warriors from Turtle Wax. Sure, if you ask them something specific, specific they will get. That guy in the company polo who looks like your uncle Eddy; the one with a bad jones’ for Mopars. Oh, he’s all that, but he also has several advanced degrees in chemistry. He shifts from “I over-revved it and splattered the big end all over the start line” to “yeah the thing about that is how the carbon base pairs will allow the polymer to adhere to the framgulangler sub-bonds of the snoutmurculators and . . . ” and that’s when my eyes glass over.
Every person on the Turtle Wax crew is that knowledgeable, however. They are educated about cars, car finishes, waxes, polishes, soaps; everything. The whole nine yards. And they are super nice. (Turtle Wax is based out of Chicago by the way).
They Use It Too
Everybody in the company exudes this calming exhalation of Trust with a capital T. It’s not like they’re practiced sales people or anything like that. It’s honesty. You end up believing them because they believe it themselves. They’re not just selling you this stuff (and Turtle Wax sells it by the metric ton, believe me) they actually use it. When one of them says, “Oh it’s so easy,” you know they’re not kidding.
They don’t want to be out there, slaving over the finish on the quarter panel of a shoebox Ford anymore than you or I would; but just like you and I, they want it to look capital N Nice.
I got the impression everyone at Turtle Wax simply wants to make a good product that they themselves would be proud to use.
What Are The Latest Turtle Wax Products?
Turtle Wax revealed their new line of Hybrid Solutions products during the event. The entire lineup features a ceramic-based technology they got either from Mr. Spock or the vaults at Area 51. I learned a lot about how it works, but more importantly, I know what it looks like when it’s done. It resembles a molecule-thick sheet of diamond over perfect clear coat, over the perfect nail polish on Monica Bellucci’s fingers.
Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions
Here is what’s included in the new Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions line. Each one has a sweet, almost fruity fragrance after they are applied.
- Ceramic Wet Wax: Just spray on a wet car and dry for professional results.
- Ceramic 3-in-1 Detailer: Enhances shine between washes to maintain paint.
- Ceramic Wash & Wax: Add 3 fl. Oz. to a bucket and top off with a gallon of water.
- Ceramic Polish & Wax: Advanced SIO2 ingredients provide extreme water beading and protection. Can be applied by hand or via a machine.
- Ceramic Spray Coating: Also formulated with SIO2 to repel water and contaminants. Super hydrophobic polymers provide water sheeting and protection.
A Good Choice For Your Ride
So, the bottom line is: it’s easy to use, looks fantastic, and costs you less than lunch. If you’re one of those gearheads who does your own detailing, look into this. If you’re one of those guys (like me) who has someone else do their detailing for them, then ask them to use this stuff.
Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He is the author of Bricks & Bones: The Endearing Legacy and Nitty-Gritty Phenomenon of The Indy 500, available in paperback or Kindle format.
