What is the best car wax out there?

StrokeThis347

I am in no way saying to rely on wax alone. But to polish every single time is unnecessary. Granted this will be different for every car and what it sees. But wax (synthetic or caranuba) does wonders in taking car of minor imperfections.

With the polishing buffing part I did not mean it damages the paint. But everytime you use a polish, compound, or buffing (7/8 times have abrasives in them) you are removing a small layer of paint (yes clearcoat). Hold a buffer on a edge/corner or in one spot too long you burn through the paint. This isn't hurting your paint job but if you are doing it 4 times a year versus someone who does it once a year your paint will thin out and not last anywhere near as long if they are given the same care otherwise.

StrokeThis347

That is turtle wax with a zymol label.

MacCool

Ah. You don't grasp the polishing concept. I am in no way saying you should polish every time you wax. A direct drive buffer is rarely used by us hobbyists...it's only virtue is its speed. It doesn't do a better job on the finish. It would take some substantial effort to damage or burn a vehicle with a Flex polisher and virtually impossible with a Porter Cable. If you want to go beyond the concept of which hardware store car wax will make your car look the best, Junkman (in this subforum) would be a good place for you to start.

StrokeThis347

I don't grasp what part lol. You can still royally f*** up a paint job with just a orbital buffer. Use the wrong pad or the wrong compound and it is swirl city. Especially on something like a black car. Seen it 100's of times. From my experience the "high speed" buffer does do a better job on the moderate to severe imperfections.

1Stunna

I will usually endorse Mcguiars NXT 2.0 wax but if u say best wax. I don't know if you would pay it unless you like Jay Leno...lol...look into this if money is not an object.

Chemical Guys N_002 Project J97 Paste Wax - Ultra Refined White Brazilian Carnauba Wax

Chemical guys Project j97 n_002 wax if you really about it.

Cmike2780

Not to sound like a ****, but it doesn't really matter if its black. The swirls are usually just in the clear. A dual action polisher like a Porter Cable or Flex polisher can be as effective as a rotary polisher with the right compound. You'd have to be an idiot to cause "swirls" with a DA polishers. That's not what usually causes swirl marks unless you have a dirty pad. The point of aggressive pads and coarse compounds as you've stated is it remove microns worth of clear. If you were a pro, you would use a paint guage to determine safety every time. It all depends on the polish, technique and tools. You're obviously not wet sanding every time, but you can get away with light touch ups before each wax application with the right products.

__________________

[09][MB][6-Spd MT][Touring][Stillen Gen III][K&N][Borla CBE][Evo-R]

StrokeThis347

Of course they are in the clear. What I meant is that a black car will show swirls instantly. Compared to something like a silver car where there could be swirls in the paint and you wouldn't see them because of the color. Like I said I have seen people put swirls in a car before with a standard orbital buffer. It is pretty easy when they use something like a wool pad and rubbing compound across the whole car lol. Yes we did use paint gauges. I totally agree you can spot buff to touch up your car to remove imperfections.

cheshirecat

The darker the color (usually), the more swirls tend to show up as the contrast between the sunlight catching on the light scratches and the dark paint is that much more apparent.

Polishing the car is done to correct paint imperfections. Usually, this is in the form of light scratches that form when moving something across the surface of the paint. For this post, we are going to assume that's the only flaw your paint has- no paint chips or deep scratches.

The 370z has a very soft clear coat. This means that light scratches will appear very easily as a result of physical contact. I've actually seen them happen from application of detailer using a cheap microfiber towel.

If you've polished the scratches out, there's no need to polish again. Please also understand that many products contain "fillers" which fill in the scratch with materials which will eventually wear down and wash off. Many waxes have these fillers which even out the coat and make your car look more "shiny" because your paint now has a more uniform surface. However, this is all just a temporary solution.

If you have a panel that has light scratches (scratches that you cannot catch a fingernail on), you can buff those scratches out to get that uniform appearance without *any* application of a product with fillers. The process goes like this:

- Wash the car with a detergent-based soap. Dawn or Joy works. This takes the existing wax/sealant and detailing products off of the paint and gives you the raw surface to work on.

- Clean the panel you're going to work on with a 70/30% water/rubbing alcohol (IPA) solution. This will get the remnants of those products off just to make sure the surface is completely clear of product.

- Remove the embedded dirt and debris from the paint using a claybar or other contaminant removing product. Get some detail spray, a bar, and put on a latex or neoprene glove. Spray the deailer on to use as lube for the bar. If the bar catches, you aren't using enough detailing spray. This should be done on a cool panel in the shade. Run your gloved hand over the panel. Feel any dirt? Run the claybar over it until it's smooth.

- Clean the panel again to get the detail spray off

- Buff the panel. This step is pretty involved, so please go to Junkman's youtube to check out the process as well as pick the right pad and product for your scratches

- Once your panel is smooth, you're ready to apply the sealant. Think of sealant as a super-wax. Not only does it last quite a while (perhaps six months or more depending on driving conditions and storage) but it will give your paint that gloss coat that you thought wax did. Apply it by hand and follow the directions on the bottle.

- let the sealant cure. the bottle should tell you how long the sealant needs to properly bond with the paint. 24 hours or more isn't uncommon

- apply your wax. the wax exists for one thing: to protect your paint. apply by hand, wait for it to dry, and wipe off. don't get it on your rubber trim, noob. tape off areas if you need.

use a final detailing spray if you'd like to give it a nice glossy sheen.

MacCool

Yeah. I don't think I can help you. Good luck, though.

cheshirecat

I also disagree with his assessment. An orbital buffer will not leave streaks as long as the paint is clean. If you don't clay to remove contaminants before buffing, you'll be moving dirt around and defeating the purpose of buffing in the first place.

StrokeThis347

I am not the one that needs the help. Besides the point I am not trying to argue with anyone I am going off of what I have seen people do when I worked in a detailing shop. It is very possible to swirl a paint job pretty easily on a clean surface. Like I said use something like a wool pad and a aggressive compound that will do it. Granted it is 10x easier to mess up paint with a "high speed" buffer.

cheshirecat

Obviously, if you use an aggressive cutting setup, you're going to get a marred surface. That's part of the beast.

That's why you follow it up with a lighter compound to take out the marring the aggressive cut creates.

I agree that it's easier for an amateur to create paint defects with a high-speed buffer, hence the popularity of many lower-speed dual action polishers. I don't understand, though, how this applies to the discussion as most of us here don't use these tools or work in a body shop.

It's very important for anyone who's thinking about paint correction to educate themselves on what buffers, pads, and compounds to use to achieve their goals. If they go at it with a brillo pad glued to a high speed makita, I assume they're going to have serious issues.

Cmike2780

I think we can all agree a dirty pad or surface can cause swirls, but I too have to disagree about a clean orbital buffers causing swirls with certain pad and compound combinations. It's more likely that there is a contaminant in the pad, compound or surface. Compounds/polishes are suppose to technically "sand" down the clear coat as we've all agreed. I think the arguement here is basically what you define as "swirls". A coarse polish technically causes "swirls" to flatten everything out. That's why you finish it with a finer "finish" polish. I for example, use Meg's 105 followed by 205. The 105 leaves a somewhat duller finish than I starter with a more uniform "swirls" throughout. The 105 reduces those "swirls" to even smaller "swirls".

Also, to avoid further confusion. There are basically three types of polishers/buffers available. A rotary, dual-action and the flex type which is sort of a hybrid of both. A rotary polisher, by its nature will cause ghosting/holograms or burn the paint before you ever get true "swirls" caused by improper technique.

__________________

[09][MB][6-Spd MT][Touring][Stillen Gen III][K&N][Borla CBE][Evo-R]

kenchan

the best wax/sealant is one that is easy (super easy) to apply and maintain for the normal folk.

Prima Hydro plain and simple.

get it from phil over at www.detailersdomain.com

Amj2020

The truth is you will never achieve a shine with wax alone. You must polish a cars paint in order to get a greater shine from the paint. You can protect and make it feel slick with wax but this will not change any imperfections in the paint surface. IF you want to cheat polishing, just use Zaino products as they produce a nice "shine" after applied but they do not require orbital polishing. Whoever said that earlier was right on point. Good luck but sounds like you may benefit from a cleaner wax or an all in one type product. It all depends on how committed you are to your cars appearance.