I'm going to be waxing my car this weekend. I searched to try to see what the best, most preferred, wax was, and I came across a bunch of threads with a bunch of different opinions on what is best. It seems to me that there isn't one absolute favorite, but is there anything I should avoid? I'm going to the auto parts store tonight to pick it up, and I need to know what to/not to get.

Also, is there some sort of coating/glaze product I should use after the wax?

Sorry for the n00b questions. I've only waxed my car one other time, and my buddy picked up all the stuff so I don't know what to get.

TIA

 

There is really no bad wax so to speak, they all work to some extent but my favorites over the counter are:
Megs NXT and #26

The glaze goes before the wax.

Be sure to clay first. If you can, polish ... the prep makes the biggest difference, wax makes a small difference, but if you prep right ... a $10 wax will look close to a $70 wax.

 

So ideally I would wash, clay, polish, then wax?

 

The clay bar and the right polish is the secret. The wax just seals the shine in and protects your car

 

bingo!

 

So what is the "right polish"?

I ended up doing this today. I didn't go all out - I just waxed. I went with Meguires Gold Class and really liked it. I waxed my brothers and my wifes car on Saturday, so by the time it was my car's turn today I wasn't up to a six hour detail. I'll give it the royal treatment next time.

We first used Zymol on my brother's car then switched to the Meguires for my wifes and also mine. I liked the Gold Class much better than the Zymol. They were two completely different processes. You had to buff the Zymol off quickly before it dried so it felt like I was rushed, and it left the crappy white residue in all the cracks and crevices(sp?) that I hate so much about wax. With the Gold Class, on the other hand, you had to wait for it to completely dry before buffing it off, so I could do the whole car at a reasonable pace and then buff when I was all done, and it left little to no white residue.

All the cars turned out great, I mean I can't really tell a difference between the two with the finished product, but I prefer the Meguires Gold Class. The no-white-residue is what sold me.

 

My favorite polishes are:
Menzerna IP and FPII
Optimum Compound and Optimum Polish
I use a Porter Cabe random orbital(NOT A ROTARY), works great, cant screw up your paint.

 

So are those available commercially? I went to the local Checker and only saw one polish, and it was a Meguires product.

I'm really scared to use power tools on my paint. I'm afraid I'll screw something up...

 

If you do clay your car make sure you use something like Meguires(not sure the spelling) quick detail to keep the paint very wet as to not hurt the clearcoat.

The best way I have found to wax a car, 5 years of detailing experience, is to use an orbital machine to apply the wax. Then switch to a clean bonnet and take the wax off with the orbital. It is fast, and it does a really good job.
For the wax left over in the cracks, get a little brush to take care of that.

Also, never wax your car in direct sunlight. It should be in the shade and preferably cool to the touch. this way the wax will set correctly and will be easier to take off.

 

I get my stuff from http://autogeek.net. Dont worry about the Porter-Cable, unless your paint is already failing, you wont harm a thing.