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To wax or not to wax?

sawood12

sawood12

New member
After picking my car up last a week ago then having to immediately drive off to a friends in Manchester to leave it on his drive for a week while we went skiing I came back earlier today to see it sat on the drive looking absolutely stunning in its freshly polished Guards Red and I am now wondering what is the best way to keep it from fading back to pink? The guy at the bodyshop said the only way to maintain it is to regularly use a good polish every few months or so. However i'm keen to protect the paintwork by using a good quality wax like Zymol but would such a product slow the fading process? My only concern is that there is no point in applying Zymol if I need to polish the car every few months or so as it would just scrub off the the very expensive wax. Modifying the car may be an expensive hobby but it is a drop in the ocean compared to the cost of applying Zymol every few months or so!
 
A good carnauba wax will definately slow the process - and IMHO you on;y need to apply every 3 months. You really don't use a lot (in fact overwaxing causes problems) so it last ages.

I'm still using "Mothers" which I got pretty cheap from the USA. I'm sure it's not as good or as pure as Zymol, but muuuuch cheaper, and there is evidence of wax remaining after 6months. Meguiars gets good write ups too - I plan to try this once I use up my supplies of Mothers runs dry.
 
I don't have red, but I do use Zymol on my blue and black cars. If you spend all day applying it lovingly by hand then I find you only have to wax twice a year - once in Spring and once in Autumn. The only problem is finding a day in March or October when the temperature is over 16 degrees

It is much MUCH easier to apply when warm [:D]

I have one pot of Titanium, and two cars. I've had it three years and I've used about 3/4 of it so it works out pretty reasonable on that basis, and the bodywork looks fantastic for months [:)]
 
You won't rub anything off if you use wax, you will actually build up layers of wax on top of each other.

You will rub off the previous application of wax if you use a polish as this polishes off the surface.

I tend to use a carnuba wax on Beaky after most washes (though not necessarily all over). If you do the job regularly it only requires the very lightest application of wax which is then easy to buff off.

I always use a clean stockinette cloth for buffing off as this makes the job far easier. - and always go in the direction of the panels when washing, drying, and waxing or you get rings.
 
OK seems like waxing is the way to go. Now the only question is where can I get it from and which one should I get? There seems to be hundreds of different Zymol wax products at a wide varitety of prices.
 
I went to a car show last year where there was a guy with an immaculate black Ford Pop. The finish was flawless so I asked him what wax he used. "Anything I can get hold of," he replied "I've even used furniture polish".

So it would seem that, provided that it is wax not polish it doesn't make a lot of difference.

In my experience some waxes last longer than others and some melt less in the heat (important with a black car). My main criteria is how hard are they to put on/buff off.

I had some Incero Limousine Wax which produced a very hard long lasting finish but was an absolute sod to buff. As a result I didn't use it much.

With a black car you have to dry it thoroughly after every wash, or you get water marks, so I tend to wax after most washes as this ensures the car is well dried. This being the case I prefer a wax that can be applied with a damp cloth so that those inevitable wet spots don't muck up the waxing process. They seem to be difficult to come by now for some reason but tins of canuba based wax work well for this. "Mer" is also very good for damp application (you can even put it in your rise water) but it turns all black plastics grey, and makes the windscreen impossible to see out, of so I tend only to use it on a cloth.
 
I've been using Meguiars Gold Class wax in the tin, which came with the applicator pad. Was very impressed with the finish on my grey metallic 944 and even more impressed on my parents light mettalic blue 944 cab, which came up lovely. Very easy to apply, smells nice, doesn't leave any white marks, and seems to be lasting very well.
 
ORIGINAL: John Sims


So it would seem that, provided that it is wax not polish it doesn't make a lot of difference.

"Mer" is also very good for damp application (you can even put it in your rise water) but it turns all black plastics grey, and makes the windscreen impossible to see out, of so I tend only to use it on a cloth.
Click to expand...

John - you probably realise this, but in the interests of clarity (for any passing readers) - Mer is most definately a polish as opposed to a wax.
 
The bonnet on mine has a wish to go to pink at any opportunity! I've been told the only way to actually stop this is to have it repainted! However, as has been said already, you can slow the process by ensuring that it has a good waxing at regular (and frequent) intervals to get better UV protection on it. The Meguiars i've used recently seems to leave a nice deep wet shine on it, but it is a PITA to get right when compared to Zymol. I found it quite streaky as it goes on which I suppose is a bit less noticeable on a metallic (beings as "maverick" thinks the opposite!)
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I've used Zymol with good results, but have been impressed with P21-S and recently Collinite MdE which is a harder wax than the Zymol, although still has a decent carnauba content. I find the Collinite not quite as easy to apply as Zymol or P21-S but has much longer lasting results, and can provide a pretty similar shine to the more expensive products.

Justin.
 
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