Best wax for the car ???

[Neekk1]

So I keep my boxster in the garage and love to clean it. What is the best wax out there ?? Thanks for your help.

[san rensho]

The only wax you should use is this Swissvax USA: Crystal Rock - Paul Dalton's state-of-the-art Carnauba-Glaze, 200ml, only $1500, but why not the best for your car?

But you might want to try this MeguiarsDirect.com:NXT Generation® Tech Wax® 2.0 NXT Generation® Tech Wax® 2.0.

[Kianfar]

My bigger issue is how to get swirls out first, swirls on black paint bothers me so much. Haven't found a solution, been able to eliminate a bit after a few rounds, but I want them gone.

[san rensho]

Originally Posted by Kianfar

My bigger issue is how to get swirls out first, swirls on black paint bothers me so much. Haven't found a solution, been able to eliminate a bit after a few rounds, but I want them gone.

Progressive abrasives. Do you know how to use a rotary polisher? If so, it is wonderful, but if you don't, you can burn through paint in an instant. If you know what you are doing, start with a mild rubbing compound, like 3M, then go to a medium polish and then a fine polish.

[Johnny Danger]

Originally Posted by san rensho

The only wax you should use is this Swissvax USA: Crystal Rock - Paul Dalton's state-of-the-art Carnauba-Glaze, 200ml, only $1500, but why not the best for your car?

But you might want to try this MeguiarsDirect.com:NXT Generation® Tech Wax® 2.0 NXT Generation® Tech Wax® 2.0.

Good recommendation San . I purchased a few jars of Swiss Wax this Spring, and I love it . I even use it on some appliances around the house . Also, I just picked up a jar of this stuff. Just in case, I'm thinking about trying it out on a friend's vehicle first - before using it on mine .

'World's Rarest and Most Expensive' car wax

[san rensho]

Originally Posted by Johnny Danger

Good recommendation San . I purchased a few jars of Swiss Wax this Spring, and I love it . I even use it on some appliances around the house . Also, I just picked up a jar of this stuff. Just in case, I'm thinking about trying it out on a friend's vehicle first - before using it on mine .

'World's Rarest and Most Expensive' car wax

Well, I am humbled, your one upmanship is truly epic. I wonder, is the Definitive Wax Marble a good wax for Bikini lines?

[Neekk1]

I will definitely try the meguiars wax.

[feelyx]

Originally Posted by Kianfar

My bigger issue is how to get swirls out first, swirls on black paint bothers me so much. Haven't found a solution, been able to eliminate a bit after a few rounds, but I want them gone.

I use this for swirls...


I like this wax... lasts a long time.... and is good on ribs and ....:chicken:

[Spinnaker]

Originally Posted by Kianfar

My bigger issue is how to get swirls out first, swirls on black paint bothers me so much. Haven't found a solution, been able to eliminate a bit after a few rounds, but I want them gone.

The only way to get rid of swirls is not to put them on the paint in the first place. Don't polish, wax, wash, or touch the paint at any time in a circular motion. That's why you have swirls. Always do it in a straight line from front to rear. I read a post on here at one time that said it the best, "Follow the direction of the wind". The more precise and anal you are about keeping your waxing, polishing, and washing in a straight line, the better your car will look. I learned how to do this a long time ago, and every car I have had since then has always gotten comments on how shiny they looked. I have a 20 year old van that some people say still looks new. People have asked me if I wax the Boxster every month and can't believe it when I tell them I only do it twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. BTW, it is parked outside year around under a car cover. It is Midnight Blue, just as bad as black for showing swirls. It is not so important as to what kind of wax you use, as it is how you use it.
It takes a lot of patience and time to do this correctly, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes second nature. When you step back and look at the car sparkling back at you, that's the payoff for all the hard work and diligence. I've seen people stop their cars in the middle of the street to stare at the Boxster, even though it is 12 years old.
You will need to use a mild polishing compound to get rid of the swirls the first time you do this. This is the hard part, getting rid of the swirls without making any new ones. Then as long as you are anal about always washing, waxing, and polishing in a straight line, the car will always look good. Only an occasional touchup with the polishing compound to take care of those stray scratches will keep the paint looking swirl free. I will never ever use any kind of rotary polishing equipment on my paint, guaranteed to leave swirl marks. If you go around and around by hand, you are doing the same thing.
If you have a plastic rear window this also applies, even more so, except I polish it from side to side, in a straight line. Here's a pic showing the rear window. Not bad for the original 12 year old piece of plastic. (Taken last year, so it was only 11 years old.)
I'm not saying this is going to be easy to do, it will take all of your patience and discipline, but if you are able to do it, your car will stand out from the rest.

[Spinnaker]

Deleted double post

[Neekk1]

You use that same wax on the plastic rear window ?

[Spinnaker]

Originally Posted by Neekk1

You use that same wax on the plastic rear window ?

I use the Porsche plastic polish, and Plexus on the rear window.
Using Meguiars Clear Coat Body Scrub to remove paint scratches, with Meguiars Deep Crystal Wax to finish. I've had these for a long time and I don't think they are sold anymore. They have new products that are similar.
When I am lazy (often), I hit it with a coat of Meguiars Ultimate Quick Detailer in between the paste wax sessions.
A lot of the new polymer based waxes will hide the swirls and will give the car a beautiful gloss until they wear down. Then the swirls re-appear and you have to do the whole car again. A properly polished car will look good even with no wax on it.
But like I said before, it's not the brand of wax, but how you do it.

[Kianfar]

I bought one of these buffers from walmart, and used a swirl remover compound and got no where. It's such a pain to wash the car, and spend 8 hours on it. It looks nice and shiny in the garage, or in shade, but as soon as the sun comes out, all the little swirls and circles show on the paint, and it's as if you just didn't do any cleaning on the car. I might have to get mine professionally detailed, and get the swirls out.

[Spinnaker]

Originally Posted by Kianfar

I bought one of these buffers from walmart, and used a swirl remover compound and got no where. It's such a pain to wash the car, and spend 8 hours on it. It looks nice and shiny in the garage, or in shade, but as soon as the sun comes out, all the little swirls and circles show on the paint, and it's as if you just didn't do any cleaning on the car. I might have to get mine professionally detailed, and get the swirls out.

The professionals will use a power buffer on your car also. The paint will look good for awhile until whatever wax they used wears down and the swirls begin to show again.
I want you to try something since you already have some swirl remover compound. Take a small section of your car (the rear trunk is the easiest) and lay a string or some masking tape in a straight line from front to rear to use as a reference line right down the middle. Take a terry cloth rag (I use an old cotton sock) with some of your swirl compound and rub it in by hand following the reference line you put down. Keep working the compound until it works down to a fine polish. Follow the reference line exactly and use a push/pull type of motion. Don't stand to the side and try to do this. Your arm has a natural tendency to swing in an arc that will negate what you are trying to do. It takes a lot of time and training to make your arm go in a staight line from side to side. Do just one half of the trunk and be careful to follow the reference line exactly. When you are finished with the half you are doing, clean off the residue very carefully in a straight line and apply your wax in a straight line also. Polish the wax to a shine following the reference line and then stand back and compare it to the other half. Tell me what you think.

[Kianfar]

Hmmm, I'll try that.

[jrblackman]

Originally Posted by Spinnaker

The professionals will use a power buffer on your car also. The paint will look good for awhile until whatever wax they used wears down and the swirls begin to show again.
I want you to try something since you already have some swirl remover compound. Take a small section of your car (the rear trunk is the easiest) and lay a string or some masking tape in a straight line from front to rear to use as a reference line right down the middle. Take a terry cloth rag (I use an old cotton sock) with some of your swirl compound and rub it in by hand following the reference line you put down. Keep working the compound until it works down to a fine polish. Follow the reference line exactly and use a push/pull type of motion. Don't stand to the side and try to do this. Your arm has a natural tendency to swing in an arc that will negate what you are trying to do. It takes a lot of time and training to make your arm go in a staight line from side to side. Do just one half of the trunk and be careful to follow the reference line exactly. When you are finished with the half you are doing, clean off the residue very carefully in a straight line and apply your wax in a straight line also. Polish the wax to a shine following the reference line and then stand back and compare it to the other half. Tell me what you think.

Great info, thanks. I am going to try it this weekend. My Box is also Midnight Blue and swirl marks show easily.

[Joel-Box-ster]

I saw this at Walmart.. dark paint owners might give it a try..

[particlewave]

So, I bought a nice orbital polisher for nothing?!
Sheesh...no wonder my swirls didn't go away.

I doubt I'll be doing the straight line thing. I'd like to see the swirls gone, but that sounds like some seriously painful and tedious work. My arm hurts just thinking about it.

You should design and patent a "belt polisher", like a belt sander...maybe something like that already exists?
If not, I may have to do some modding.

[Spinnaker]

Originally Posted by particlewave

So, I bought a nice orbital polisher for nothing?!
Sheesh...no wonder my swirls didn't go away.

I doubt I'll be doing the straight line thing. I'd like to see the swirls gone, but that sounds like some seriously painful and tedious work. My arm hurts just thinking about it.

You should design and patent a "belt polisher", like a belt sander...maybe something like that already exists?
If not, I may have to do some modding.

What gives, aren't you OCD enough to put up with a little pain?
Seriously though, it's not that bad if you pace yourself. Just do a small section at a time over the course of a couple of weeks. Eventually it gets done and you will be amazed how good the car looks without swirls looking back at you. I use a fairly aggressive buffing compound to start out on a car with bad swirls. Saves the arm. Then I progress to a fine polishing compound to bring out the shine. Don't try to do too much all at once, just do one panel like a fender or a door each time you feel like working on it. If you try to do too much all at once, thats when the pain factor takes over. If you are careful about how you wash the car (straight line only), you will only have to do the hard part once. I did my Box 4½ years ago when I got it and haven't had to do it again since then. A lot of people still think the car is new. (They wouldn't know a 987 if they saw one.) It is totally an illusion. From a short distance it looks great, but up close it has a ga-jillion rock chips and more than its share of road rash from 110K miles. I think one of the previous owners liked to follow gravel trucks. Had to replace the windshield because of all the rock hits. If I could afford it, the car would be a good candidate for a front end repaint, but it is shiny enough to fool most of the people that see it.

[Mrmaddbrad]

I've always had the mentality of not doing to much all at once. Do what you can, or want to. Lay a coat of wax on what you've completed and be done. Go for a drive. Enjoy your work. Next time it needs washed, wash it and do another section.

I do completely agree with Spinnaker. Straight lines do not create swirls of course. And the line equivilant of swirls are nearly unnoticeable on a well waxed car even in the blazing sun.

If you don't know where to start, just do the convertible top cover section. It's small and easy. Clay, rubbing compound, polish, glaze, and wax all in about 20-30 minutes. It'll look amazing and probably entice you to do the entire trunk.

HOWEVER! I don't agree on the bit about how it doesn't matter what products you use, its how you use them. Yes, its true. But thats like saying, it doesn't matter what car you drive, its how you drive it. No matter how well I drive my boxter at a track day, it will never keep up with the 500+ hp Ferraris....

So what products? I like turtle wax for all my polishes. They're great and have been around forever. But polishes don't make as big a difference as the wax does. Since wax is on top, its what everyone sees. It makes a huge difference. Best bang for the buck? Ziemol. Spend the extra money. Drop $60-100 on a can of color correcting wax. Bavarian Auto carries Ziemol if you dont know where else to look. There stuff is impressive and if you've never used an expensive wax, you'll be blown away.

Happy Boxstering.
~Brad

EDIT: Joel, the Black Box, is by far the best, cheap wax out there if you have a black car. It hides all those little rock chips in the hood, smells good, and is a rather decent wax. But it does require you to lay a full two coats of wax on your car. I would also recommend claying it before hand. But it does work great!!