What's the best car wax

Been using Meguiar's for the sole reason that Costco sells it. Can't say that I'm happy, doesn't produce a very good shine and it doesn't seem to last. What is the best car wax that's easy to apply (I'm not interested in something that's requires multiple steps).

Thanks,

Reply to
General Schvantzkoph
Loading thread data ...

I like Nu-Finish. The once a year polish.* I like it because I had a black Nissan truck, now a "candy apple" PT Cruiser. I could do the whole truck in an hour, and the black looked black, no distortion in the color like an oil slick was on it. IMO, it was the easiest to apply with the best results.

*The directions said that for best results, apply a second application. Uh, excuse me, if I would do this, wouldn't it be the twice a year polish??
Reply to
TomKan

Hmmm, good point. I remember about 15 years ago Consumer Reports evaluated the car finishes and in that old report said Nu-Finish was #1, the best.

I bought some, seemed pretty good. Now I'll have to duck since using the dreaded words, CR, brings out a whole mess of angry posts!

Reply to
treeline12345

But it hasn't been the best since that test long ago...

Matt

Reply to
Matt Whiting

Neither have my car finishes, alas. I have the famous metallic delamination to be concerned about. So far so good with attacking it with touch-up paint. Need to get some rust bonder. You know, that stuff you put on rust and it makes it into something else that supposedly won't further rust? Saw a little on a door's edge this week.

Reply to
treeline12345

I prefer Zymol, got it at my local Costco.

Reply to
Peter A. Stavrakoglou

Mothers is good.

Reply to
NJ Vike

I've "mothered" quite a few waxes when I've worked my @$$ off applying, removing and seeing the results on a black finish!

Reply to
TomKan

Any wax requires 2 steps, and application step and a buff step. There is no other way to do it that will actually leave a layer of anything on the finish that is worth a shit.

You really need to understand the purpose of wax. Wax is like putting sunscreen on your skin. Wax is what protects the clear coat from ultraviolet. It is supposed to disintegrate over time. If you don't have a layer of wax on the finish, then the clear coat disintegrates over time instead. And this is true of the most expensive car paint on the market, even the ones like Sikkens that cost hundreds of bucks a gallon and claim that you never need to wax.

There's basically 2 kinds of "car wax" out there. There's regular standard wax wax, aka turtle wax and all that. Then there's synthetic wax, aka Nu-Finish and several other products on the market, which really isn't wax at all, it's a polymer sealer

I've tried many different ones of these products and what I have found is that all of them take the same amount of time and work to apply then buff off. The difference seems to be that the polymers go on thinner than the waxes, and last longer.

The shine really seems to be dependent on how good the clear coat is. If the clear coat is really damaged badly, then unless you power-buff it with polish before the wax, it isn't going to have that shiny wet look no matter what you put on it. If the clear coat is just slightly weathered, then wax wax seems to fill in the low spots better and leave a better shine than the synthetic waxes.

However I have to warn you, UNLESS you do "something that requires multiple steps" AKA a separate WASH, then your going to wreck your finish. Waxing is about 1/3 of the work that you need to do. The rest of it is proper cleaning. If you try to use a "cleaner wax" you are just going to put swirl marks into the finish which will drive you crazy if you have a dark car (espically a black one)

You absolutely must spend a lot of effort in the wash. It really doesen't matter much what kind of soap you use, all the wash soap does is dissolve grease and modify the surface tension of water so that the water sticks to dirt, so you can wipe the dirt away with a wash cloth or mitt. What matters the most I have found is that you must endeavor to keep the wash water clean, keep the wash cloth clean, and use a very deep and absorbent nap on the wash cloth. And you should not wipe a wash cloth across a car finish unless you have wet down the finish, and the cloth is so saturated with water that as you wipe it it is giving up water to the finish. And once you have wiped away the dirt you must dry properly, which means a damp towl first followed by a dry towl, and both with deep naps that pick up dirt. And you must keep rotating the towels so the surface is fresh.

Unless the surface, even low down, is clean enough to lick with your tongue, when you go to wax it you will just scratch the hell out of the finish. And anybody that tells you different or sells a product that claims differently is a liar.

I realise this sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but unless you do it, you will get swirl marks. If your the lazy type that cannot or will not spend an afternoon doing this, your better off leaving the dirt on the car and paying someone else to wash it properly. Otherwise, don't even waste your time doing a half-assed job washing and waxing, just use car washes and ignore the swirl marks.

Ted

Reply to
Ted Mittelstaedt

Yes, it is work but the results were good. I can even say that about Meguiars.

I wash and wax often (black car :-(

Reply to
NJ Vike

I agree with NuFinish. One tip is don't put this stuff on heavy, less is more and a light film is much easier to remove.

Don't expect it to last a full year however. It will outlast all other regular waxes however.

But if your reallllly lazy (like me,) how about a five-year car wax? Ok, it's not really wax, it's PTFE and it will last fairly well for about three years.

formatting link
Gloss isn't as high in my opinion, but good enough for everyday driving,.

Reply to
Midwest Div

Turtle wash and wax. I've used it for years, ever since my first clear coat car finish in '86. I found waxing and polishing a clear coat finish scratches it. I don't shami it after washing, usually just let it dry. For a really good job I simply towel it off very lightly. One does need to avoid getting the wash & wax on the windows.

Reply to
Spam Hater

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.