Originally Posted by Mike-in-Orange

I have personally seen a comparison, on a perfectly prepared non metallic black panel, of a $2,500/8oz wax against Meguiar's M26 Hi-Tech Yellow Wax that sells for $12.50/16oz and simply could not tell them apart. You'd think the product that cost 384 times as much would look different ... somehow.

As far as overall protection goes, consider that anything capable of etching paint (bird droppings, acid rain, eggs, etc) is not going to be stopped by a liquid or paste that you wipe onto the paint and then remove so as to leave just a microscopically thin layer behind. That is NOT what a wax or sealant is designed to do.