What's the best wax to use...

Hmm... my brother uses the 3M show car liquid wax... and imperial finishing glaze stuff. His car looks really good... I don't really know what he does but I raided his auto cabinet to see what he has... lol

I have always used meguiar's products on all my cars and have always had great luck. This car has the best paint i have ever owned from a dealer, i think just because i got it right off the boat and it wasn't sitting on a lot for months getting beat. First thing i did was use the detailers clay which is the best detailing product ever it makes the paint feel like silk you will be amazed!! then i used the NXT generation wax which really deepens the paint looks awesome on that flint mica which is such a dementional paint!!! the NXT protectant works very well too I live in Florida so with this sun i do not have the option of waxing once a year... no matter how much you spend on wax this sun will kill it. The meguiars has stood up for a little over a month know but is not beading like it used to needs another coat this weekend!!!!

Originally posted by LoopyLady_1@Aug 13 2004, 07:01 AM
(OH yeah, and I made the mistake of using the brush at a self-wash car wash and now I have TINY swirls in some spots...so it'd be nice if I could sorta' fix that....TOUCHLESS CARWASH for me from now on!!!)

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Never go for the brush... I like the touchless carwash too... some of them are really good... some are really bad. The only thing I wished they did was make the dry period longer...

This from consumer reports is a bit outdated, 2 years old, but here is the bottom line of their testing (they actually did scientific studies like to see how the shape of the water beads changed over time, as well as opinion surveys of how shiny the car looked afterwards). One of the big conclusions they made was that the 3-step products (like mothers) aren't any better and do not warrant the extra work involved. They actually said something like "waxing once is not fun, why would we want to do it 3 times in a row?"

None of these polishes will be all things to all people. Even the highest-rated products fell down somewhat in one or two areas of performance, so choose according to your priorities. If water still beads on your car's finish, you may not need to wax at all. Simply wash the car regularly.

For a moderately weathered finish, 3M One Step Cleaner Wax 39006 liquid is the clear choice for its cleaning ability--that is, if you don't mind waxing more often. Its durability was only fair. It costs about $6.45 for a 16-ounce bottle. For a badly oxidized finish, you may need to start off with a polishing compound, available at auto-parts, discount, and department stores.

If a shiny finish is your paramount concern, first consider Zymöl Cleaner Wax liquid and Nu Finish Car Polish paste. But be prepared to make some compromises. The cleaning ability of both products was so-so, and Zymöl's durability was just middling. Also, the Nu Finish tended to scratch or haze somewhat, a problem especially with dark-colored cars. The Zymöl is also quite expensive, at $16 a pint. The Nu Finish costs about $6.20 for a 14-ounce can.

Among the high-rated polishes, the Prestone Bullet Wax, about $7.25, and Armor All Car Wax, about $5.55, lasted the longest. But neither one quite matched the gloss that the Zymöl and Nu Finish paste produced. The Armor All scratched or hazed more than most.

A convenient applicator made Prestone Bullet Wax easier to apply than any of the other liquids and pastes we tested. Although spray polishes win hands down for ease of use, they aren't effective on cars with a very dirty or oxidized finish. And be prepared to do the job often; the durability of the sprays we tested was no better than fair. Of the three sprays, Turtle Wax Express Shine Spray Car Wax performed the best overall.



I tried looking for the prestone bullet wax since it had a "handy applicator" and was one of the top-ranked waxes in durability and gloss, but couldn't find it anywhere. Maybe it's discontinued.

Originally posted by LoopyLady_1@Aug 13 2004, 06:01 AM
2) I was thinking along the same lines of tCrazy and wanted to ask you all before I bought it. Hehe.

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are you saying you want my advice, or that I was asking for advice? Haha, either way...... I would like to point out that there is some great information in this thread. The only product out of the ones talked about here that I can reccomend in good conscience (besides my beloved Zaino) is the NXT. It will shine like the zaino, but lacks some of the great features that I love Zaino for which includes durabitliy and optical clarity. Jacker Crack, you mentioned that zaino is expensive but you only need Z-1 and Z-2 to do the job.........so maybe that changes your mind? If not, get the NXT.......its good stuff - T

Originally posted by JackerCrack@Aug 13 2004, 12:29 AM
guys, thanks for sharing... i was just at walmart before and i almost bought the meguair's gold class. i backed out decided that maybe i should ask the forum people first. i was worried that it might have some "side effects" that are not good for the car. does it?

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Sorry, I had a brain fart. I meant to quote JackerCrack....

Man, am I glad it's Friday....

Hmm... now that my fiance has left for his business trip.. I have time this weekend to wax my tC for the first time. I will try the Zymol stuff I have... and take a few pictures of it after to let you guys see what it ends up looking like...

It will be an interesting experience for me... I haven't waxed a car for about 10+ years... You know what people say about love... it makes you do the strangest things... I have to agree with them... my love for my tC has driven me out of my senses...

Anyways... I hope I don't leave lots of wax behind...

Thanks TCrazy for the info... Now I gotta check out which one of my bath towels are 100 percent cotton...