tofor

After a long, arduous move to our new place, I *finally* have the time to wax my somewhat newly purchased '96, grime-grabbin' dark-green Max for the first time (OK, you can stop yelling at me for not doing it sooner...) After witnessing first hand how easily the paint scratches - a light bump with a gas nozzle was all it took I'm concerned about what kind of wax to use.

Just about every wax under the sun says "Safe With Clear Coats!" but are they really? For instance, Meguire's (sp?) Cleaner Wax says this but if it is a cleaner wax, doesn't that mean it has abrasives in it? The last thing I want to do is permanently swirl my entire car (too paranoid?). Since I just happen to have a tub of Meguire's sitting on my shelf, I'm wondering if anyone out there swears by (at) the stuff? What do ya'll recommend that I can get down at the local auto store (no time for mail order/internet - we're getting a rare 4-5 days of dry weather and tonight's the night for waxing)?

Thanks.

humaras

Meguiar makes pretty good wax. I use their Canaruba wax with my car washes. Well, given that I have been busy lately, for the last half year, I have probably washed my car a total of 3-4 times, each time I have waxed it. The Canaruba wax doesn't stay on as long, but it definetely makes your car shine.
I also use the leather conditioner from Meguiars--which has been pretty good to me.

blizz20oma

iTrader: (1)

Meguiar's has never disappointed me, personally. I have yet to try out their wax that I recently got, but two friends have had great success with it on their dark-colored cars (one black, one dark maroon). I've always liked their other cleaning products. Personally, I'd take a look at their 3-step system when you have a bit more time...I forget the specific steps now, but I have a mental note to check it out when I get my next car.

JiggsHall

I would definitely recommend Meguiars. When you are done waxing spray the car down with a hose (just misting it) and wipe it off with a chamois,(make sure the water is cold) this will harden the wax right up and your shine and protection will be a lot more noticable .

BobMax

You need to polish the car first. Decide if you have a lot of surface scratches in the clear coat. Sounds like you do, but you have to decide. If you do, start with a good polishing using a foam pad with 3M Swirl Mark Remover (SMR) for Dark Cars. Polish front to back, no circles. If you still see a lot of scratches you might need to move up to something like 3M Finese-it II which is a slightly more aggressive polish. Test a panel like the hood and see how it looks when you are done. Follow the FI2 with SMR if you see hazing. Both are definately clear coat safe. This is the most important step as you only get a shine as good as your paint surface - spend a couple of hours at this.

When the car is polished, apply a coat of Klasse All-in-1 (AIO)to 'wax'. If you want it a little better, apply a second coat of AIO. For an extra touch, apply a coat or two of the Klasse Sealant Glaze (SG). Klasse products go on and off quickly with no residue. You can do a coat of either product in less than 30 minutes.

You can get all of these products at www.autopia-carcare.com and also read lots of information about detailing. I recommend the Klasse 'Concours Kit' as it's a good deal and comes with microfiber applicators.

Bob

Vyrus

iTrader: (4)

I've tried them all and they all work the same. STP, Meguiar's Wax-Cleaner, Eagle One, Zymol, they all work equally as well. I find that more people go with Zymol because of its distinguished name and nice smell (as opposed to the chemical smell), but it honestly will remove your scratches no better than the others. What they will do is bring back the paint color, but the gash/scrape will still be there. They will look completely normal from a far, but if you go within 2 feet you will notice them. If you want to get rid of these scratches, you will need to get them buffed. You can pay people to do this, but I suggest you buy your own buffer (a decent one will run you $50) so that you can repeat buffing the scratches out until they are hardly visible. This will get your scratches out best - and believe me, I know scratches....Just trying to help.

tofor

Thumbs up on recommending this site - after just a quick perusal I have learned a good deal about car finish maintenance.

tofor (who will never polish his car in a swirl-like motion again...)