what car wax do you guys use? I need some for my new hood, and wanted some new ideas, prices up to 40$.

 

If you have a yellow, orange, red or dark colored car, it's hard to beat a good carnauba wax. It's a natural product and it tends to yellow in time. Not a factor for dark colors but definitely not good for white. Meguiar's makes some good liquid carnaubas that are not hard to use. I use it and Blue Coral car wash betwen waxings. Look the the Reviews section just under "Exterior."

 

Use a product called Rejex...do a search.

I saw a car that used Zaino which is good as well.

 

from my years of detailing experience- i have tried and tried and tried almost every product out there.

some of the best OTC products are zaino, zymol, meguiars(gold class). try contacting your local dealerships to see what they are using- most of the time they are using industrial stuff you won't see in the storeshelves.

keep in mind that there are many waxes and polishes out there as well as paint sealants. as bpang stated rejex is an awesome sealant. currently that is what i am using. there definitely some other products out there- and i will do a review soon.


aloha from the summit of *-^-Mauna Kea-^-*

 

you might also read autopia.org for the advice given there.

i have been using klasse AIO + SG with P21S carnuba wax for over a year now on my WRB. it has been a very easy regimen to follow; i also just picked up a porter cable RO buffer, so i'll be experimenting with that on my black civic with new paint.

 

How often do you re-apply rejex? I've got a midnight black WRX so am always looking for better, faster way to take care of the paint. I'll watch for your review. Where can you get rejex? Is it available off the shelf in CA?

 

I've been using the "Klasse Twins" (a cleaner wax and a synthetic topcoat designed to bond to one another) on my 2002 WRX, and I have a perfect finish with no swirl marks. All hand buffing, no power tools -- they should never be used unless you are trying to recover the finish on an already-damaged car.

My dealer applied AutoMate paint sealant 6 times in the first 2 years, and it really seemed to make a big difference; I've got a friend with a WRB 02 and it seems noticeably stressed by 3 years in the Arizona sun (lots of swirls and uneven color on roof and hood) but my paint (PSM) looks nearly brand new.

My favorite "ozone protection" detail is a good wash followed by Klasse all-in-one and Klasse sealant glaze. I let that "set" for a few hours, then do the whole car with Meguars NXT Tech Wax on top. I only do that 2-3 times a year; too many applications of cleaner wax (the All-in-one) stresses your clearcoat and may cause hazing. In between I just do very gentle washes with really good soap (AutoGylm or Sonus Gloss) and occasionally reapply the sealant glaze. Frankly, the less you mess with your paint, the better.

Believe it or not, auto paint has "pores" and needs to breathe so that all the layers age at the same rate; uneven aging is how you get bubbles and flaws in the finish. That is why it is important to strip off ALL the old wax before you apply new, and nothing cleans off wax better than a cleaner wax.

This is a great shop to buy from with tons of how-to's and reviews:

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/

gdogg, you like Zaino? A friend of mine (who has a detailing shop) HATES that stuff, he calls it 'Drano' and says you might as well use bleach and sandpaper on the car. Hmm, maybe he's just taking kickbacks from the Blue Coral people

 

every 6 months. here are some threads by hawaii guys that might offer some insight
cars in hawaii and rust
bpangs review of rejex
as far as rejex goes there some distributors in Cali

if not them you can always order from them online



aloha from the summit of *-^-Mauna Kea-^-*

 

Thanks to all for the great info and links on this topic