Good or Best Car Wax

Mudeblue

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I had disc brakes installed in my 1965 Sport Fury, White Convertible, last year. Long story short, it took eight months and four different garages with part of the problem being I wanted to maintain stock rims and hubcaps. After much frustration, they are installed and working fine.

While they were being installed, one shop put the car under trees outside their garage. It collected a lot of sap and with 110-120 degree days, the sap which was more of a mist, dried hard to say the least. As a consequence I wash it several times including power washing but the paint felt rough because there remained a film like which felt like a light mist. I rubbed the car down by hand using Meguiar's Rubbing Compound and it came out fine and appears very little paint removed since it was a very mild compound and happily it removed the sap.

I now want to wax the car. I have used a number of products and brands over the year; some good and some better. Having the car to the point that I believe I have removed all the old wax, my question is what brand and or/type of wax would be the consensus for me to use for the best finish? Thanks
 
Ask ten guys and you'll get ten answers.

My personal choice, if it were my car, would be this: Insulator Wax » Collinite A lot of pro detailers swear by it and other Collinite products.

Buy it here: https://www.amazon.com/Collinite-84...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B000JK2D06

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Next time you need to remove tree sap or the like, use a claybar instead. The results will be better with no paint removal.
 
I'm sure there will be as many different opinions as there are posts but my 2c's are for Collinite Marque D'Elegance.

Collinite Automotive Wax Choice of the Pros » Collinite

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I used to use the Collinite insulator wax which is very easy to apply but from a durability standpoint, the Marque D'Elegance has held up incredibly well on my wife's car. I applied it the past October and it's still on the car and holding up well. Please note that we live about 20 miles north of Pittsburgh and my wife drives in on the interstate every day. For those who don't know, The Pittsburgh region PennDot uses vast quantities of road salt which is obviously very harsh on wax. I also drive in every day and had my car professionally detailed about 2 weeks later. The wax on my car hasn't held up even close to what the Collinite Marque D'Elegance has. From this point on, it will be the only wax on any of my vehicles. I'm completely sold on it.
 
I'm sure there will be as many different opinions as there are posts but my 2c's are for Collinite Marque D'Elegance.

Collinite Automotive Wax Choice of the Pros » Collinite

View attachment 251991

I used to use the Collinite insulator wax which is very easy to apply but from a durability standpoint, the Marque D'Elegance has held up incredibly well on my wife's car. I applied it the past October and it's still on the car and holding up well. Please note that we live about 20 miles north of Pittsburgh and my wife drives in on the interstate every day. For those who don't know, The Pittsburgh region PennDot uses vast quantities of road salt which is obviously very harsh on wax. I also drive in every day and had my car professionally detailed about 2 weeks later. The wax on my car hasn't held up even close to what the Collinite Marque D'Elegance has. From this point on, it will be the only wax on any of my vehicles. I'm completely sold on it.
You can't beat the Collinite products.

I love their 850 Metal Wax. Best I've ever found for use on chrome. Metal Wax » Collinite
 
I've observed that wax durability can depend upon the paint color, sun angle in the summer, and location within the USA (in relation to sun time and angle). Some waxes won't last more than about a month in TX on a black car, for example. The heat just cooks it off, it seems.

I believe that the Meguiar's compound you used is the one where the abrasive content decreases soon after it starts to cut, which is good in many respects. I started out with the old Classic Wax back in the '70s, when it was the premium wax on the market back then. But too much abrasive for a chalky white Chrysler paint, back then.

Experimented with the old Johnson's paste wax (aka "floor wax"). Even in 90 degrees, it didn't apply too well and worse to buff off. Then moved to the Meguiar's Glaze for the medium green metallic on the '70 Monaco, which helped get some of the color back, followed by the old "red bottle" Meguiar's cleaner wax, which was still pretty premium back then. Easy to apply and buff to a nice shine.

Later, I moved to the "straight wax" higher-level Meguiar's wax. Worked well for me.

As for application, what I discovered with the Turbine Bronze '67 CE23 was to do things in stages, with drying time between them. I'd gotten it to the point that a wax with a very mild cleaner was all that was needed ("red bottle"). So I'd do that in stages, as my stamina allowed. Then wait a week and reapply a second coat. Buff and let it cure in the shop. Then follow with the "straight wax". Buff it and let it cure. I seemed to get the best durability results with the "let it cure" situation. At that time, I was still putting it into an indoor show of two, with others in our Mopar club. To help fill the space and such.

What I was surprised at was that another member had a dang nice '67 Coronet R/T, black exterior. He raced it and drove it some. At one of the indoor shows, he pulled out some of the Quick Detailer and sprayed it onto the already shiny black paint. Immediately, the black got deeper and blacker such that you could tell what he'd done and what was not done. I was surprised. He said that was normal and that's all he used any more. Of course, the car stayed in the garage under a cover when not in use.

If you want to go crazy looking at car waxes, the Griot's Garage website will do that for you.

Back when Meguiar's came onto the scene down here, it replaced the prior Classic Wax products. Then came Mother's products (which many raved about). So things tend to change with time. I do like the Meguiar's car wash products, fwiw.

IF you desire to use a buffer, I'd recommend an orbital model. Just don't use a thick. fluffy pad on one of them. The bonnet will just sit there as the buffer shakes on it and nothing happens. Kind of amusing to watch!

Ease of application might count for more than ultimate durability. You might be more prone to keep the shine "maxed" if the wax is easy to use and you need to do it three times a year, rather than two, for example. Starting with a quality product is always good.

Enjoy!
CBODY67
 
I use Mother's California gold hard paste wax It makes my Newport so smooth and shiny that I use it on darn near everything in the house. Stove, refrigerator, kitchen cabinets, countertops, tables, wooden part of the couch... What can I say, it does a fantastic job! I would always recommend a hard wax, it lasts longer.
 
this is going to sound strange,but, i ran across this combination while trying to clean up my silverado. the paint had lots of specks and looked flat even after waxing.
i first used 3m paste cleaner wax applied by hand and buffed off with a wool bonnet. this took off the specks but didn't give it the shine i was looking for.
i had bought a box of car care supplies at a yard sale or auction. included was a bottle of liquid turtle wax (from 1985). so, i applied it by hand and buffed it by hand. the paint came out with a gloss so deep it looked like you could walk into it. 5 months later (3 of which have been daily winter driving) the water still beads up the size of frogs eyes.
looks like i'll be on the lookout for more ancient turtle wax this summer :)
 
Any paste wax with carnuba in it is a good choice. Stay away from silicone base products. I like to clean and renew the wax every 3/4 months on vehicles that get regular use.
 
The guy that painted my car strictly uses professional grade 3M products. He does a lot of detail work on some very expensive old classics and everytime I'm in his shop the only thing I see is professional grade 3M products.
 
I've had good luck with Maguire's Ultimate lineup that u can find at walmart. Used a variety of products to being back my neglected paint but because I have newer clear coat probably does not apply to you (example- I used NXT wax). However I'll add that whatever you use a DA polisher is a back saver for those wide flat areas we all have. I find it more useful than a buffer...more multifunctional and mostly idiot poof.
 
Meguiars #7 glaze will add back in the oils that dry out and disappear from your paint over the years- AKA make it more flexible and less likely to chip and crack. This is the way to polish without removing layers.
 
Ive tried many products but my favourite at the moment is 'turtle wax carnuba' best shine ive had on a car in years....wont break your budget to try it either
 
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