What Wax To Use

[Z28ISGR8]

Well I'm going to wax my car this coming weekend probably. So I was wondering what kind of wax you guys like to use. Is a three stage wax superior to a one stage that it really will make a difference??? So let me hear some suggestions.

[bigjon88]

i only use mothers wax with carnauba leaves the best shine i have ever seen when i had my caddy

[Derek]

How is the condition of your paint? some light swirls or scratches? I have had the best luck with Meguiars NXT tech wax, goes on and off very easy. IF your paint needs some help do the first two steps of the Meguiars 3 step kit and instead of caranauba wax for the third step just use the NXT tech wax, that stuff is legit

[Z28ISGR8]

On a scale of 1-10, I'd say my paint is a 7 or 8. It seems in great shape to me. Maybe some very light scratches or swirls but other than that everything seems to be pretty good. I was looking at that Zaino stuff and it seems pretty nice. Any opinions on that product???

[meissen]

Zaino is an OK product but they lure you in with false advertising. What Zaino is really good for is the kit and that it forces you to do the process from start to finish.

But, that said, I'd go with Meguiars. Cheaper, available locally, and if you follow the same steps that Zaino recommends for their kit, you'll have just as good results.

Zaino's claim to fame is the "layering" effect. I'll tell you one thing - it's not so much. While you WILL notice a difference when you "layer" it's not because you're layering, it's because you're making the surface HELLA clean. If you wax, quick detail spray, wax, quick detail spray, wax, quick detail spray, etc with Meguiar's products like Zaino wants you to do with their product you're going to get just as good of a shine and result.

That said, if you really believe that a non-abrasive wax layering will make a difference, you can use Meguiar's Gold Class wax. I e-mailed Meguiar's a couple years ago to ask them about this and they said that the Gold Class wax has no abrasives in it. If it has abrasives [Meguiars NXT does, but that wouldn't stop me from using it multiple times] then you're removing a little bit of the previous coat of wax with each "layer." Waxes with no abrasives should not remove the previous coat of wax, thus it should "layer."



In all honesty, if you follow the whole process of claybarring, polishing to get swirl marks out, waxing, and topping then you're going to have an awesome shine regardless of what product you use.

[steddy]

I've always had good luck with Eagle One Wet. I used it way back, when I was restoring an '83 Z. When I got it the paint was so faded, it looked pink. I put it on and it turned blood red and shiny. That had me sold on it.

[nascarnate326]

In all honesty, if you follow the whole process of claybarring, polishing to get swirl marks out, waxing, and topping then you're going to have an awesome shine regardless of what product you use.

Thats exactly it too. Do the whole process and you should be happy.

That being said, I have always loved turtle wax....dont know why.
Makes my GP look darn good, and shiny.

[cobalt camaro]

I've always used meguiars scratch x for heavy scratches and then the polish for the swirls, and then like previously stated applied a good coat of tech wax to finish it off. But then again I like the carnuba wax because it really seams to apply a good finish, but it is harder to remove. If i was you i would wash your car with some dawn soap to strip all of the old wax and grease off the car so you can start with a fresh base.

[DETROITMUSCLE]

Buy some good wax. Wash the car up really good and do a claybar job on it, then throw a coat of wax on the car and it'll look killer no matter what you use.

[DanO]

claybar

machine polish

then wax (wax doesnt really matter much if you do the prep work)

[Z28ISGR8]

I was probably going to claybar, polish, wax just because I've never used a claybar before and thought what the hell, I might as well. So I think I'm gonna go that route. I was probably going to go with Maguires as it is just because I can stop at Murrarys to get the stuff. But can I polish by hand or do I need a wheel to do it?

[ramairusty]

Applying a wax or polish is not JUST about how nice your car looks when done, even though that's the largest factor why we "wax" our cars. A smaller consideration is protection from harmful effects of the sun, raod rash, etc.

Regardless of brand(use good one though) polish will give a better shine and better protection for your paint, for the most part wax gets removed by the detergents when you wash your car. Do not use products with silicone.
Brian is both right and wrong on this topic. Correct on the layering, it is the only way to get really good results. Wrong about Zaino and it's quality:value ratio. Sure it's costly up front, but when you consider how far it goes(you can split it with a friend and reduce cost) it isn't THAT expensive to use. For 30 years I have looked for that "how did you get that shine" on my car. When I applied Zaino, I found it. Yeah, they tell you that you should use their soap(and you should if yo use their polish), etc, because other soaps remove the polish. If you buy Zaino, the polish should last enough to go for two summers. When it comes to the paint on your car, how much does a GOOD paint job cost. A little extra money for polish to protect it is worth it.

This is one of those "you're gonna get a different answer from everyone" questions. If 10, 10,000 or even a million respond, that is how many different answers you are going to get.

[tenpin842]

You prep it right, it will shine!

I love to wheel out a car, then toss a nice wax on it. If you can get rid of those little swirl marks, get yourself a good wash mit, ONLY FOR YOUR PAINT, and get different ones for different things.

Sponges and wash mits will hold dirt, so you have to be careful.

I'm not sold on Zaino. Until someone shows me this half with X brand and this half with Zaino, and I can see a difference. Then it will sell me.

until then your just paying for the name.

My process:
Wash
dry
Wheel
Wash
dry
wax away!

I wheel if it needs it. And usually DD's need them once a year.

[JoeliusZ28]

My process:
Wash
dry
Wheel
Wash
dry
wax away!

Mine is:

wash
dry
wheel
wax
wash
dry
wax again

I use ardex topaz and love it. it would take a really good product to get me to switch. (and i switched FROM zaino).

[tenpin842]

Mine is:

wash
dry
wheel
wax
wash
dry
wax again

I use ardex topaz and love it. it would take a really good product to get me to switch. (and i switched FROM zaino).

You wheel then wax? No wash in between? I get pretty messy sometimes LOL! That's my down fall. I get that compound all over the place!

I will have to try the Ardex, once my car gets painted and I can wax it.
Where do you get it at?