would it benefit or be extra work to wax a car twice? I waxed my car the other day with Dupont Teflon liquid wax. A few hrs later a guy I know paste waxed his car, and then pulled out the Dupont stuff and applied it, and wiped it right off before drying, and said That was the way to use it. The directions said to let it dry, and he said, Don't believe Everything you read.)) He said a detail shop said they do it that way. Now the Old car did shine More after the Teflon, but I wonder if it would have anyway, without using the paste, or using one twice, and did he remove the past wax with the teflon wax?
There are a lot of different theories and approaches to external detailing. You can find a lot of obssive type folks putting show finishes on their cars with detailed instructions on the web.
I use NuFinish. Fairly easy to apply, long lasting, can be applied in multiple layers for a little additional protection. It is not a wax, its a zinc-based polymer of some kind. I can apply it in the heat in direct sun. It does not seem to accumulate/embed dirt like waxes can. Also, it isn't expensive.
As one person said, PTFE should slide off the car as soon as it's applied, however, there are certain binders in the solution that stick to the surface of the car, and the PTFE sticks to those.
When I'm feeling ambition, I often wax the car once with a cleaner/wax, and then go over it with a good (Mequire's) paste Carnauba wax. The cleaner wax gets rid of any oxidation, and the paste wax gives a great luster and excellent protection.
My most recent acquistion was an '05 Scion tC, and since I used to work in a Toyota detail shop, I had a few Simonize kits left over, so the car got the full exterior Simonize treatment. I also have some Teflon wax, but haven't applied it yet; I have been going over the Simonize with MORE Simonize when the car looks like it needs 'waxing'.
There is ONE good thing about paying $375 or more for Simonize: the 'insurance policy' that comes with it. If the paint gets ruined for almost any reason; bird droppings, tree sap, etc, Simonize will pay the bill to repair the paint. Other than that, save your money and get a good wax. I recommend Meguire's. I have been using it since 1987 and have an '85 Corolla GTS that still looks new...
PTFE / Teflon PTFE is the common abbreviation for Teflon. Teflon is a registered trade mark belonging to Du Pont. Du Pont said some years back that "Teflon fluoropolymer resin does nothing to enhance the properties of a car wax". Some claim that it makes the surface of your paint "slippery". It should be noted that the car care products containing PTFE only have (usually) less than 10% of PTFE in them. Additionally, as Teflon/PTFE is nonsticky in all directions, it needs to be baked at high heat (after first priming the surface) to stick to metal. Logic will tell you that - unless you're baking it onto your car - the PTFE will slip off as soon as it hits the paint.
Wanting to try to stop or minimize the brake dust buildup on the wheels, I put the teflon on one side, and a Color wax I had picked up for an old car with bad paint on it on the other side, to see if one worked better. Wheels should be a pretty extreme test, and both are keeping the dust from sticking except for what looks like a clump that hits them, unless I missed a few spots.
The guy who I was talking to who was waxing his car said, it was a Waste of time to wax the rims, Nothing would keep the dust from collecting. Sometimes people Tell You, not to listen to them.))
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