At yesterday's meet in Madison, WI, Bluesbrekr and I decided to perform an informal test. We wanted to see if there was any difference in Pinnacle Souveran and S100. We used his Maxima as the test vehicle. Blues applied S100 to the front door and I applied Souveran to the rear door.

Verdict:

We both agreed that there was little difference in physical gloss between the two waxes. However, there is a difference in how they feel. The Souveran had more of a smoother and slicker feel than the S100. Others who looked said the door with the Souveran was glossier but some others were hard pressed to tell the difference without touching.

In addition, we had a comparison between the PakShak MFs and YoSteve's MFs. The PakShak had a very soft feel but did not have the plushness of the YoSteve. One thing I noticed was that the fluffy side of the PakShak was not as deep as that of the YoSteve. As a result, I did see some dusting when I was removing wax. Blues and I both agreed that the YoSteve was excellent for wax and polish removal.

 

I was pleasantly surprised that the S100 was almost the equal to the Souveran. That said, I will purchase some Souveran in the near future. Prinz commented at the meet that the S100 would be great for 'regular' waxing and the Souveran for 'meets' and other special occasions. I agree.

The YoSteve MF towel gets my vote as the best. The pakshak one is pretty good, but not as plush as the YoSteve. But either one is far superior to anything you'll find in a retail type store like Auto Zone, Wal Mart or Target.

 

I am now a pinnacle souveran believer. No, I haven't done my max yet, but I had the pleasure of detailing a blue clk 430 (dark blue).

I applied medernza polishes (intensive, then final) then 2 layers of soveran. I have pics, but they won't be posted until my dad developes the film!

If s100 is close enough, this is should be great stuff. Soveran had such a soft creamy feel to it, they described it as "seductive", on the site i ordered it from, that might be stretching but, After showing it to a guy i know who does autobody work, he told me the job i did, looked like it might of cost 250. Not too bad for 6 1/2 hours of work!

It was the best looking job I ever did. I can't wait to show you guys pics here.

 

mjg: "Seductive" is the most appropriate adjective to describe how your finish feels after applying Souveran. The feel is indescribably sensual.

Blues: Let's see which door attracts more dust and holds up the longest.

 

Well, both waxes are dead even concerning the amount of dust they attract. They both attracted the same amount.

I haven't washed the car since the meet, so I can't tell which will hold up longer, but after 3-4 days, the Souveran seems to have increased the margin of gloss. Just after the application they were very even, but after a few days, the Souveran seems to shine a bit better.

 

Blues:Both are relatively low in the dust attraction factor (very good thing). I'd definitely say that both waxes are a toss-up but the Souveran gets the edge in terms of feel and depth.

 

How are the waxes holding up in the rain?

 

Hard to tell, Prinz. The Max has been out in only a light rain so far. I will be washing it today. I'll post back later with info on how each beaded water and what both look like after the wash.

 

Well, just got done washing the car. This is what I observed:

Both waxes beaded about the same when I rinsed the car off. The Souveran's beads seemed a bit more 'round', but not by much.

The dirt came off both waxes easily.

After rinsing, both waxes 'sheeted' about the same.

After drying, the Souveran seemed a bit smoother...more of that 'sensual' feel mentioned above.

The Souveran seemed to have a bit more gloss, but again, not much more. Similar to the observations made when it was applied.

My verdict? Based on the above, the Souveran is a better wax, but not much better. Is it worth the extra $35-$45? Not on a regular basis, but I would use it for meets and special occasions.

How will they compare after a few more washes? Not sure, but I'll follow up again after the next wash.

 

From my recollection, Souveran lasted almost a month before any significant losses occurred.

 

At the Manitowoc meet Eckohb and White95max compared the 2 doors. Neither knew which wax was on which door. They both picked the Souveran as the winner, but again, not by much.

I'll stick with my original inent of buying some Souveran at some point and using it for 'special' occasions.