Wax/Polish of Choice

[gregdacat]

So what is the wax or polish of choice? Are Polys better than regular wax? Liquid or paste? For those of us whose cars have a few years on them (read chips and scratches) what about the Turtle Wax Color Magic that has black dye in it? If you look close my hood looks like someone spilled a salt shaker on it. Lots of teeny tiny white specks. I know down the road I'll need to get it painted, but what about these waxes with dyes?

Greg

2002 Triple Black, 64K miles, bumper plugs, desnorkled, nitrogen filled tires

[JCL12]

In the last 6-8 months I have used the following waxes on my cars (or cars I helped wash):

-Meguiars quik wax (spay) - spray on carnauba wax that does not last long at all. If you put too much on, it is very hard to get off. I do not like this stuff at all
-Meguiars NXT Tech wax (liquid) - this is the normal stuff I use. It goes on/off easily, beads well, give a nice shine. It does not last as long as I would expect a polymer to last. If your car is outside in the heat, this is gone in 2-3 months and maybe sooner. I have heard good things about NXT tech wax 2.0 for better longevity.
-Meguiars NXT tech wax (spray) - I've used this for touch ups and it goes on really quickly. I like so far but have no clue how long it lasts.
-Eagle One nano wax (spray) - I bought this since it doesn't haze and I figured this would be for very quick supplements after a wash. It does not last long at all and I wouldn't buy it again.
-Meguiars carnauba cleaner wax. I haven't used it in a long time so I dont remember much about it. I don't see myself ever using it again so I probably wasn't impressed

The next waxes I plan on buying are Meg's NXT tech wax 2.0 (liquid) and Optimum Car Wax (spray). I have heard many good things about OCW in that is lasts a super long time and does not haze - it might be the best of all worlds.

I would personally lean toward polymer/sythetic waxes instead of carnuaba for the added longevity and ease of application. For synthetic waxes, I don't think it matters one bit if it is paste or liquid. One form or another should not do much for performance - I think reason the wax companies sell synthetic wax in paste form is for personal preference on container and psychological/marketing aspects of paste being better.

I have never used coloed/dyed waxes

[rick3000]

I have just used regular Hard Shell Turtle Wax in the past. It does the job, and Turtle Wax has been doing this so long they know how to make a quality product. Although, I might be trying something new when I detail my car this week.

[boxs2000]

The last 2 years I have been using zaino. It is awesome on black/dark cars. It is a long process to apply, but worth it. This is what I use for my Porsche. Recently I clayed my daily driver a Lexus LS 430 and after claying I tried out the Meguiars NXT and I was amazed at how easy and the wet look it gave my DD (light color Seafoam green) I did notice that it does not seem to last as long. So for your black Pcar I would go with Zaino... heres proof

[SilentThunder]

Pinnacle souveran for black. best there is.

[Perfectlap]

You probably need to invest in a real buffer and buy some menzerna intensive polish I and II. It will get the paint as free of imperfections as you're going to get it short of repainting. I've seen some real miracles with a porter cable orbital buffer and menzerna. There was one 993 Turbo restoration thread in one of the forums that a detailer in Spain put out. Really amazing. The paint was a total mess before. Looked brand new after a good 10 hours of work.

As for the white specs, if those are chips those can be minimized as well. There's a technique where you use the back of a nuber 2 pencil eraser. You take a 3 hole punch and cut out piece of 2000 grit sand paper, glue it to the eraser. Sand the chip hole by turning the pencil into the hole so that is flat. fill the chip hole with touch up paint (Langka paint pen), enough that it forms a little paint pimple. Wait an hour or two for it to cure and then take the 2000 grit sand paper and sand it down so its flush. Voila. You then wax the surface with an acrylic wax with fillers.
If the specs are just contamination it will come out with the proper amount of torque from a porter cable or Cyclo polisher ($130-$200).

As for waxes of choice, I think it often depends on the owner. If you're a guy who is cleaning the car every week you don't need a very durable wax so really any autostore wax (Meguiar's, Mothers, etc.) or boutique brand(Poorboys, Zaino, Klasse) will do. If you only wax once or twice a year you should use a more concentrated wax which the boutique brands tend to be. The autostore stuff is usually watered down a bit to throw in some of the idiot factor for a novice.
If you look in my garage cabinet I've got one bottle of every imaginable brand of car wax and my conclusion is that they all give you 99% the same result. Some are very expensive some are just as concentrated at bargain prices and some are just cheap and require a bit more effort but will give you the same end result. The key is to do allot of claying, paint cleansing and swirl removal before you even begin waxing. If you spend 20 minutes waxing you should be spending twice that amount of time claying and cleaning. Swirl removal is almost impossible by hand without spending hours.

[TorpedoZone]

What's the difference between the Klasse All-in-one polish and the Klasse high gloss sealant glaze?

Joe

[Rob-00BoxsterS]

Originally Posted by TorpedoZone

What's the difference between the Klasse All-in-one polish and the Klasse high gloss sealant glaze?

Joe

Klasse AIO is a one step polish (clean, polish, protect) similar to an all in one cleaner wax (except it is not a wax, it is an acrylic.) You can easily use this as a one step wax job and call it a day.

Klasse SG is a sealant you would use after you polish the car. If you are not familiar with the product, it can be tricky to use. (tends to leave a milky haze that is difficult to remove if applied too thick.)

Normally one would use the AIO as a cleaner and polish and the SG as a sealant. It can then be followed with a Carnauba paste applied by hand to really make the paint "pop".


Klasse is not my favorite (not the most user friendly product) but it does do a nice job.

[Jaxonalden]

If you’re looking for a wax that goes on easy and leave a beautiful shine try Super Glaze by The Wax Shop. It goes on like water and doesn't leave a powdery residue. In-between waxing I use Kit Car Wash with carnauba wax. It will leave a maintained shine just like you waxed it.

[70Sixter]

All P21S all of the time.

[Perfectlap]

The Klasse Sealant is a bit old school now. There are other brands that have figured out how to make a sprayable sealant that does the job. Not sure why Klasse never figured out if this was the approach the customer needed. Poorboys and Werkstatt make sealants that I use that do an excellent job and are idiot proof.

by the way, if you use a top wax often (once a month) a sealant is really unecessary in my opinion. I polish with each seasonal change and follow up with a synth. paste wax (FK1 1000P) which can go months and still beads vs. a couple of weeks life expectancy for a natural carnauba wax like S100. Those pricey carnaubas seem to be losing popularity, really only for red and dark nowadays.

Sonus clay bar & glide

Blackfire polish and scratch diminisher


P21S Carnuba

[Frodo]

Quote:

"As for the white specs, if those are chips those can be minimized as well. There's a technique where you use the back of a nuber 2 pencil eraser. You take a 3 hole punch and cut out piece of 2000 grit sand paper, glue it to the eraser. Sand the chip hole by turning the pencil into the hole so that is flat. fill the chip hole with touch up paint (Langka paint pen), enough that it forms a little paint pimple. Wait an hour or two for it to cure and then take the 2000 grit sand paper and sand it down so its flush. Voila. You then wax the surface with an acrylic wax with fillers.
If the specs are just contamination it will come out with the proper amount of torque from a porter cable or Cyclo polisher ($130-$200)."

Posted by Perfectlap.

When you say sand the chip til it is "flat", how flat are we talkin'? So flat that if you ran your finger over it, it would be imperceptible? (Ie sanding a relatively large area?) Or are you just talking about just knocking off the sharp edges of the chip?

I have some factory (seal grey) touch up paint, and also recently got some "Dr. Colorchip" that I was thinkin' about trying underneath in front, where I stupidly picked up dozens of very small parallel scratches when I did a quick turn into a driveway that had a little more slope to it than I realized. I figured I'd try this first (since regular "touch-up" techniques would be impractical---too many scratches, I need to be able to just smear the paint in these. Mostly for protection anyway, since no one's going to be able to see them anyway.) Then, if I liked the Dr. CC, I might try it on the (more visible) rock chips on top. If not, can go with the factory paint touch-up.

Once done, I was planning on following with the super fine wet sanding down to level, then Poorboys SSR 2.5, then Menzerna Final Polish. Sound like a reasonable plan? Or should I do MIP in between the other two polishes?

[silver arrow]

The Dr. Color Chips worked well for me. took care of all the very small chips.

[Frodo]

Quote:

"The Dr. Color Chips worked well for me. took care of all the very small chips."

Posted by silver arrow.

What color on the Dr. CC did you use? Surfin' the net, I've gotten the impression that people with solid colors, especially black or white (red too), have been very happy with the results. OTOH, I've also gotten the impression that it's a little tougher to get excellent results for people that have metallic colors (such as mine---seal grey).

[Perfectlap]

I would avoid wet sanding. This isn't something that should be attempted for the first time without an expert hovering over you.

Here' a video on paint chips. I can't see it right now but I think I've seen it before.
chip repair.

[Sloan]

I recently did a full detail (over the course of many days in the garage) - good wash, clay bar, Meguiar's swirl-free polish with the Porter Cable, the Klasse all-in-one with the Porter Cable, and then a couple of coats of the Klasse sealant (by hand). I did not find the sealant to be all that tricky to use, though there were a few spots where perhaps I had applied too much, but a spritz of detailing spray let me wipe the excess right off.

I now have an excellent gloss, super-smooth feel and easy cleaning. I had done a 'test patch' with a friends pro version of the NXT Tech Wax 2.0, and could not tell any discernible difference, so I went with what I already had (the Klasse system).

P.S. My lesson learned (the hard way) - don't let any of these products touch your black top - I have two smudges on mine now, and I don't know what I'm going to do to remove the stuff ...

[Perfectlap]

That always happens to me because I'm too lazy to tape the edges with blue painters tape. Takes two seconds and saves you a whole newe detailing project you don't need to do.

Have you tried Raggtopp? That's the only thing you should be using to clean the top with. Use a boars hair brush or an OXO feather tip. It will come out with warm water and Raggtopp. Rinse thoroughly and apply the Raggtopp protectant.

[Frodo]

Quote:

"I would avoid wet sanding. This isn't something that should be attempted for the first time without an expert hovering over you."

Posted by Perfectlap.

Isn't that what you were talking about when you talked about using the 2000 grit sand paper to take the "paint pimple" down flush? Shouldn't that be done with wet paper? Or were you talking about something different when you recommended against wet sanding?

[Darkhamr]

Is there any wax that will last through a washing? I clay a couple times a year and then use Mother's Pre-cleaner then Sealer and Glaze finished with Carnuba liquid wax about once a month. Looks great and stands up to rain etc, but is instantly gone after hand washing with any car wash soap.