Product Review: Pinnacle Souveran Paste Wax
by Ivan RajicPinnacle’s Souveran Paste Wax is one of the premier automotive waxes on the market. It is known world wide for adding remarkable layers of gloss and depth. This pure carnauba wax can provide deep and rich reflections that will have you staring at the endless depth of your paint. Souveran Paste Wax excels on darker colors, such as black, blue, red, and is truly great on any other color light or dark. This carnauba wax will also protect your paint very well from the elements and road grime. This product has it all with ease of use, protection, depth and reflection. Whether you are a detailing enthusiast or a professional detailer this is the wax of choice!
Well said! After years of using P21S waxes, both the Concours and 100%, I have found a new favorite carnauba wax. Because I’m a big fan of using paint sealants, such as Klasse High Gloss Sealant Glaze or Blackfire Wet Diamond, due to the added durability, I haven’t had a chance to experiment with too many carnauba waxes over the years. I do frequently get a chance to test waxes, both new and old, but I never really got the chance to use one over a long period of time. That is, until I started using Pinnacle Souveran on a regular basis about 1.5 years ago.
Having only used it a few random times before that, I liked the wax but never really knew whether it was worth the extra $50-60 more than the P21S Concours I was using at the time. This time though, I started using it on a regular client’s vehicle every 4-6 weeks. The vehicle in question is a brand new Ferrari 458 on which I initially spent about 25-30 hours correcting the paint.
As with all waxes and sealants, I normally look at three main things… ease of use, durability and looks.
Application & Removal:
The Souveran wax is extremely easy to use. I’ll repeat what I said about P21S Concours wax in that it goes on “like butter” and comes off just as easily! Application is a breeze and the less you use the better. You can always add another coat if necessary, but if you put on one thick coat it might be a bit tedious to remove. For applying the wax, I use the DI Foam Applicator. I typically apply it to 3-4 panels and go back to wipe off with a plush microfiber towel when it slightly hazes. It doesn’t seem as oily as some waxes I’ve tried in that it wipes off very easily with only 1 or 2 parts of the towel. Doesn’t leave any streaking or hazing, only a shiny and protected paint finish.
Durability:
Durability is neither good nor bad, rather average for a carnauba wax. I’ve seen as much as two months from a coat of wax and as little as 4 weeks, but I haven’t done any controlled testing such as giving vehicles the same amount of washes, with the same soap, etc. I’d say you can expect a good 5-6 weeks durability out of one coat and more with multiple coats. The 458 I mentioned above usually gets a coat of wax every 4-6 weeks and I’ve never seen the car with even the slightest hint of being unprotected. For more durability, I would recommend using something like Klasse Sealant Glaze and then topping it after a week or two with the Souveran to add a bit of shine and depth to the paint.
Looks:
Having tried a few of the higher end waxes, as well as the P21S ones that are more budget friendly, I think Souveran is the way to go. Reason being, I can’t say that it looks any better or worse than a few more expensive Zymol and Swissvax waxes, but (maybe just in my eyes) it does provide a bit of a deeper look than P21S. Again, it might just be my opinion but I liked the looks of it a bit more over the P21S waxes. In addition, the smell is a lot better than the P21S waxes I used before it, so that’s definitely a big plus. Another great thing is that it doesn’t stain trim so a small mistake won’t cost you time trying to remove it.
Final Thoughts:
As I said originally, Pinnacle Souveran Paste Wax is my new favorite carnauba wax due to the slightly better look and ease of use compared to the P21S 100%, as well as the nice smell which never hurts. I can’t say whether or not it’s worth the extra $40 over the P21S 100% wax because the P21S is still a great wax and well worth the money, but for me Souveran has a slight edge and is what I use mainly. I still reach for the 100% quite a bit, but stick with Souveran for most detail work that requires a carnauba wax. I would easily recommend Souveran over the waxes in the $200-300+ category as it seems while the looks are extremely similar, the more expensive waxes are a bit harder to use, especially Zymol waxes.
As always, feel free to leave any questions and comments below and thanks for reading!
They now offer a 3oz mini for 39.99 on sale so if you dont want to throw down a full $95 to see if you like it. I used souveran for a long time before I traded it off and I liked it alot..gave a extremely wet look and darkens paint some. It attracts dust like crazy though and I think 4weeks would be pushing it for durability if it was outside. 5-6 weeks on a mostly garaged car might be right but I think under 4weeks for a daily driver that is outside majority of the time.
Thanks for the review.
I too am a Souveran paste fan (for years). I’ve tried many waxes, some in the $200 range, but always come back to Souveran. Even if you must apply a coat every 4 weeks, it’s very easy and pleasurable. I’ve had occasional problems with the plastic container warping…that would be my biggest complaint. The 3 oz. mini is way to try it and looks like that container bottom might be made out of a stiffer plastic… like Blackfire wax?
Jon…
You’re definitely right in that 4 weeks is for a garaged car that gets driven almost daily. If it’s a daily driver that spends most of its time outside, then I agree it’s probably 3-4 weeks on one coat of wax. I have noticed however that doing multiple coats helps extend that durability. For example, if you apply one coat and most of it is gone in about 3 weeks, applying another coat at that time would probably make it last about 4, maybe 5 weeks. Might not be true for all applications obviously, but that’s what I noticed with the wax.
Roger…
I have yet to try the 3oz mini one so I don’t know how the container is made, but I’ll be sure to recommend it to clients as a good way to try out the wax before spending the money on a full jar.
I will let you know. My Mini jar is due for delivery tomorrow. I wonder if it will be glass like the mini fuzion jars are.
Jon, please let us know about the jar……the pics look like the bottom part is clear like Midnight Sun and the Fuzion mini.
i got my jar in..its the same jar they use for the Fuzion minis its a glass bottom jar and a fairly thick lid. it screws o nicely and doesnt feel as weak as the full size tub lid was.
Thanks Jon. I don’t know why they don’t use this type of jar on the full size Fuzion and Souveran…it’s so much better.
I’m surprised you get that kind of durability out of PS. My friend uses this wax exclusively on his two cars one is red and the other is a Civic painted in BMW’s Seapang bronze and while it makes those cars look great we have both noticed that it is basically gone in about a month. I have trying to get him to layer it over a sealant but he doesn’t think it would be worth the time money and effort. Nice review though, I have been considering trying the PS21 100% after your other review.
Please recommend a wax for lighter colored cars
would you be able to apply PS21 100% with a polisher
Daryl,
I have tried apply a paste wax via PC7424 and it went smoothly. I just didn’t care for taking it out of the tin and putting it on the pad. You can lay down a really nice thin smooth layer easier I think, but for me I just do it by hand. I really like the red CCS applicator for paste waxes myself. Hope this helps.
thanx for your input I’m sure it will be helpful
Darryl,
I really never experimented with many waxes used on lighter colored cars, so I couldn’t make a good recommendation. At the same time, I do like how sealants give lighter colors that candy coated look, so I may be a bit partial to that.
As for the P21S application with a polisher, I have seen some people take it out of the tub and apply some onto a fine pad, then use a random orbital polisher to apply the wax to paint. I myself always apply and remove waxes by hand, so I can’t speak for how easy or hard the application via polisher may be.
Hope that helps.
i have been looking at this wax on and off for some time but like everything money. if i buy this wax should i use the menzerna sealant (i use now) or would this be covering up a good wax.
thanks for your time
Chuck
You can definitely use the sealant before you put Souveran on the car so you can have a bit extra protection with the sealant. I do that all the time on my personal vehicle and as long as you let the sealant cure for a few days there will be no bonding issues.
This product gets rave reviews, especially for dark colored paints. I would like to use it after correcting my paint and using Klasse Sealant. First question: will apply well over the Klasse? 2nd question: How well do you think it will work on my gold Honda Odyssey?
Thanks for all the great information and reviews.
I think it is perfect over Klasse and should look great on any color. We’ve used them on darker and lighter colors for clients and it always gives a great look.
I will be trying this wax since I like haveing my cars look good
Hi I just purchased souveran for my midnight pearl Harley davidson. It is a very very dark blue with metallic flake , is it OK to use on that color? Reading other posts people say it mutes the metallic flake. I do not really care if it does not enhance the flake,but I do not want to mute it. Your thoughts please,thank you very much
Dave, unfortunately I’ve never used it on that paint or many metallics, but I’ve never seen it mute the metallic flake personally. It’s one of those subjective topics so I really don’t know the results you’ll have and how someone else may feel about it. Wish I could be of more help.