Wax recommendations (US)

[Sensibly Spirited Driver]

So, I've read a lot about ceramic coatings, and it seems the consensus is they are an expensive waste of time, and don't do any better than just inexpensively waxing the car more often. My question is related to car washes. Before getting my Stinger, I just used auto washes, like at Costco, which I was happy with. Now, though, I'm more concerned about preventing possible "swirling" and such, as I want to keep it as "new" as I can, for as long as I can. With a decent wax, are auto car washes (such as at Costco) okay, or is hand-washing required always? So far I have hand-washed my Stinger twice, in the past two days. Yesterday, I was worried about the wax/protectant spray, because I was thinking of doing a ceramic coating. I've dropped the ceramic coating idea, as it costs more than a complete paint detail after years of use (I'm leasing).

What waxes do people recommend, and how often should they be applied? Any info/tips much appreciated! Thanks in advance.

 

[scharn]

So, I've read a lot about ceramic coatings, and it seems the consensus is they are an expensive waste of time, and don't do any better than just inexpensively waxing the car more often. My question is related to car washes. Before getting my Stinger, I just used auto washes, like at Costco, which I was happy with. Now, though, I'm more concerned about preventing possible "swirling" and such, as I want to keep it as "new" as I can, for as long as I can. With a decent wax, are auto car washes (such as at Costco) okay, or is hand-washing required always? So far I have hand-washed my Stinger twice, in the past two days. Yesterday, I was worried about the wax/protectant spray, because I was thinking of doing a ceramic coating. I've dropped the ceramic coating idea, as it costs more than a complete paint detail after years of use (I'm leasing).

What waxes do people recommend, and how often should they be applied? Any info/tips much appreciated! Thanks in advance.

bahaha wow dude you found a "consensus" on something in the auto detailing world... oh wait no you didn't. Plenty of people who believe in ceramic coatings. Hell you'd be an ideal candidate since you aren't the type to care of yours cars like that very often. You'd want something that provides more longevity and protection. But hey, $100 for a coating you're right, might be too expensive, tough to compete with cheap costco swirl machines. Best of luck

edit: please don't use ceramic coat, i wouldn't trust you to make a cup of coffee, let alone apply a coating to that car. Go with a sealant, basically identical application and removal procedure as a wax but more longevity.

 

[Sensibly Spirited Driver]

bahaha wow dude you found a "consensus" on something in the auto detailing world... oh wait no you didn't. Plenty of people who believe in ceramic coatings. Hell you'd be an ideal candidate since you aren't the type to care of yours cars like that very often. You'd want something that provides more longevity and protection. But hey, $100 for a coating your right, might be too expensive, tough to compete with cheap costco swirl machines. Best of luck

edit: please don't use ceramic coat, i wouldn't trust you to make a cup of coffee, let alone apply a coating to that car. Go with a sealant, basically identical application and removal procedure as a wax but more longevity.

Thank you for the wax recommendation. Very helpful.

 

[TV3]

So, I've read a lot about ceramic coatings, and it seems the consensus is they are an expensive waste of time, and don't do any better than just inexpensively waxing the car more often. My question is related to car washes. Before getting my Stinger, I just used auto washes, like at Costco, which I was happy with. Now, though, I'm more concerned about preventing possible "swirling" and such, as I want to keep it as "new" as I can, for as long as I can. With a decent wax, are auto car washes (such as at Costco) okay, or is hand-washing required always? So far I have hand-washed my Stinger twice, in the past two days. Yesterday, I was worried about the wax/protectant spray, because I was thinking of doing a ceramic coating. I've dropped the ceramic coating idea, as it costs more than a complete paint detail after years of use (I'm leasing).

What waxes do people recommend, and how often should they be applied? Any info/tips much appreciated! Thanks in advance.

Try Meguairs Fast Finish I just used it last week. Great shine Super easy to apply and supposed to last up to a year though that's doubtful. I was very impressed with the shine for how easy it was to apply. check the you tube vids.

 

[Stinger4Banger]

I recommend applying sealant first, and then a wax layer every 2 months or so, seeing as you seek longevity and ease of use. Jescar Power Lock Plus Polymer Sealant paired with Collinite Liquid Insulator Wax #845 is a powerful combo that is going to leave you with high shine and hydrophobic paint.

If you also want to avoid swirls, I suggest that you get a quick detailer or spray wax and use that when drying your paint. Just a quick spray on the towel, and you'll see that your car will dry faster and with less water spotting. For a detailer you can go with either Chemical Guys Hybrid V7 quick detailer or CarGuys hybrid wax sealant, but this honestly is up to you since most quick waxes and sprays will do the job.

 

[Sensibly Spirited Driver]

Try Meguairs Fast Finish I just used it last week. Great shine Super easy to apply and supposed to last up to a year though that's doubtful. I was very impressed with the shine for how easy it was to apply. check the you tube vids.

That stuff looks quite impressive indeed! I watched a bunch of youtube videos, and will be trying that. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Sensibly Spirited Driver]

I recommend applying sealant first, and then a wax layer every 2 months or so, seeing as you seek longevity and ease of use. Jescar Power Lock Plus Polymer Sealant paired with Collinite Liquid Insulator Wax #845 is a powerful combo that is going to leave you with high shine and hydrophobic paint.

If you also want to avoid swirls, I suggest that you get a quick detailer or spray wax and use that when drying your paint. Just a quick spray on the towel, and you'll see that your car will dry faster and with less water spotting. For a detailer you can go with either Chemical Guys Hybrid V7 quick detailer or CarGuys hybrid wax sealant, but this honestly is up to you since most quick waxes and sprays will do the job.

Since I live in Seattle, a hydrophobic product is important. From what I've seen, some products are better at that, while others are better a shine. I don't have a desire to make the car shine more than it does from the factory, which was another reason I ruled out ceramics (way too glossy).

 

[mldavis2]

Take my opinion for what you paid for it -- and the others as well.
Many things work. The problem with ceramic coatings is that a coating that sheds water like grease on the top side also has to bond with the clear coat underneath. I've seen many cars where the ceramic coating began to peel off the underlying paint after a few years. If you lease, pass it along to someone else to worry about. I keep my cars for a decade or longer so commercial coatings are not attractive, not to mention the cost. But if you must use commercial car washes and can't (or don't want to) wash your own car, they can be OK in the short run.

I have an '05 GTO Bright Blue Metallic (almost identical to the Stinger MicroBlue) that looks like new. Never been through a car wash. Always hand washed and waxed at least every 6 months. I have had excellent durability from Black Magic which has apparently been discontinued, but any polymer or silicone wax is good if you use it. I am currently using Meguire's Gold Class Carnuba/polymer paste wax on my Stinger. The best waxes go on and come off easily but the best waxes are a little more expensive. Some are outrageously overpriced as well.

So it depends on how much time and effort you want to take to keep it clean and waxed, or if you lease and trade every couple of years and just want to run it through a commercial car wash. Many have had rims and tires scuffed by the guide-tracks in some of these systems, and of course swirl marks from "soft" brushes or inadequate cleaning from "no hands" pressure sprays. Nothing beats frequent washing and waxing in my book. Hand washing using a good lubricating soap and soft, clean lamb's wool mitt gives you a chance to look carefully for rock chips, door dings and other things that need immediate attention. JMHO. I'm sure others will disagree.

 

[scharn]

Take my opinion for what you paid for it -- and the others as well.
Many things work. The problem with ceramic coatings is that a coating that sheds water like grease on the top side also has to bond with the clear coat underneath. I've seen many cars where the ceramic coating began to peel off the underlying paint after a few years. If you lease, pass it along to someone else to worry about. I keep my cars for a decade or longer so commercial coatings are not attractive, not to mention the cost. But if you must use commercial car washes and can't (or don't want to) wash your own car, they can be OK in the short run.

I have an '05 GTO Bright Blue Metallic (almost identical to the Stinger MicroBlue) that looks like new. Never been through a car wash. Always hand washed and waxed at least every 6 months. I have had excellent durability from Black Magic which has apparently been discontinued, but any polymer or silicone wax is good if you use it. I am currently using Meguire's Gold Class Carnuba/polymer paste wax on my Stinger. The best waxes go on and come off easily but the best waxes are a little more expensive. Some are outrageously overpriced as well.

So it depends on how much time and effort you want to take to keep it clean and waxed, or if you lease and trade every couple of years and just want to run it through a commercial car wash. Many have had rims and tires scuffed by the guide-tracks in some of these systems, and of course swirl marks from "soft" brushes or inadequate cleaning from "no hands" pressure sprays. Nothing beats frequent washing and waxing in my book. Hand washing using a good lubricating soap and soft, clean lamb's wool mitt gives you a chance to look carefully for rock chips, door dings and other things that need immediate attention. JMHO. I'm sure others will disagree.

Whoa i've not heard about a coating peeling off the paint of a car before. What is weird about that is i've seen people use coatings to do the exact opposite, cars that have had their clear coat stripped or have paint peeling away apply coatings to keep it together.

Opti-Coat vs Clear Coat Failure
I've seen people who get rock chips use the little color paint pens and then put coating on top to help on the longevity.

I could see coatings do that to maybe aftermarket paint jobs... One of the reasons car companies don't do coating from the factory as the paint needs time to cure and coatings wouldn't allow for that. Do you have an example of coating peeling someone's paint?

 

[mldavis2]

Do you have an example of coating peeling someone's paint?

No but I was a service manager for a GM-Subaru-BMW dealer years ago. Coatings today are no doubt better, but I saw enough paint problems to avoid them. If I thought coatings were good, I'd run to the nearest professional detail shop and have it done. I'm not. 'Nuf said. I'm not saying I'm right, or that those who spend that money on coatings are wrong, I'm just doing what i know works for me.

 

[scharn]

No but I was a service manager for a GM-Subaru-BMW dealer years ago. Coatings today are no doubt better, but I saw enough paint problems to avoid them. If I thought coatings were good, I'd run to the nearest professional detail shop and have it done. I'm not. 'Nuf said. I'm not saying I'm right, or that those who spend that money on coatings are wrong, I'm just doing what i know works for me.

Yeah of course, just wanted to see what it looks like when a coating is peeling off the paint behind it. How long ago was this? I was under the (mistaken) impression that coatings were a pretty recent innovation.

 

[mldavis2]

Newer formulas are no doubt better. I just don't think they are worth what they cost.

 

[Soca Boy]

Newer formulas are no doubt better. I just don't think they are worth what they cost.

Am looking into doing nano coatings on mine but all of the points that you have brought up are things on my mind. I don’t mind waxing and buffing, I just need something that would help repeal like water.

 

[mldavis2]

Don't need to buff. Just wax. Works as well as any other coating.

 

[scharn]

Newer formulas are no doubt better. I just don't think they are worth what they cost.

I mean i'd hope they be a lot better if in previous generation of coatings led to paint peeling off the car. I've actually looked into a bit more now (thanks for helping with the paranoia) and I can't find anything anywhere with regards to ceramic and nano-ceramic, etc coatings causing peeling (could be before people started doing all the crazy blogging you see now in search results). In fact i found some new interesting stuff that they're doing to replace clear coats on repainted vehicles, or vehicles in which the clear has warn away significantly as a cheaper alternative to repainting.

As for cost, i mean most coatings now are around $40-$60 for the consumer grade stuff. Now the pro level stuff yeah is absolutely on the expensive side, but hard to compare apples to apples as a lot of that price is all the prep work. From what I've been told the actual "pro" product itself is in the neighborhood of $200-300 which yeah would buy a lot of wax.

edit: just for fun, wanted to see the math.

Lets say you go with cheap wax $10 vs $60 coating. Lets go 20mins to wax and buff off, and you do it once a month so for a year you spend about 4 hours doing that. Applying the ceramic coat probably takes 2-4 hours depending on temperature and humidity. So yeah basically a wash, same time, but 6x the cost (and more difficult to apply, and more could go wrong I guess). Only real bonus is that you'd only devote one 4 hour stretch of time for a year, but that is likely a decent chunk of a weekend (weekend time being more valuable). Sealants are probably even better as they're like $20 and suppose to last around 3 months; so that is an hour a 20mins a year to devote to that. Might be the best bang for buck

That is interesting though, i guess you are right that can't really claim an advantage for coating in cost or time, unless you had a life or a region where it made it difficult to wax fairly regularly.

 

[xot1]

I recommend applying sealant first, and then a wax layer every 2 months or so, seeing as you seek longevity and ease of use. Jescar Power Lock Plus Polymer Sealant paired with Collinite Liquid Insulator Wax #845 is a powerful combo that is going to leave you with high shine and hydrophobic paint.

If you also want to avoid swirls, I suggest that you get a quick detailer or spray wax and use that when drying your paint. Just a quick spray on the towel, and you'll see that your car will dry faster and with less water spotting. For a detailer you can go with either Chemical Guys Hybrid V7 quick detailer or CarGuys hybrid wax sealant, but this honestly is up to you since most quick waxes and sprays will do the job.

I am new to all these things but you seem knowledgeable so I will ask you one question, if you don't mind.
Do you need to strip off the existing wax and do clay/polishing before applying the sealant? I have been applying quick wax (not paste) on my car, and my car has not been protected for almost a year so I don't know if I can just put sealant right away...

 

[KiaWill]

I am new to all these things but you seem knowledgeable so I will ask you one question, if you don't mind.
Do you need to strip off the existing wax and do clay/polishing before applying the sealant? I have been applying quick wax (not paste) on my car, and my car has not been protected for almost a year so I don't know if I can just put sealant right away...

I'm not aware of any sealant or wax that would last an entire year. CarPro Reset or equivalent deep car shampoo would be able to remove most coatings (excluding silicone based coats). Polish/clay would only be necessary based on the condition of the clear coat ... i.e. swirls, scratches, marring.

My 2 cents.

 

[Euljiro1ga]

I want to get back to the original question for a bit.

I recommend P21S Concours wax for someone who has never applied solid wax to a car before. That one is a great beginner wax - looks great, easy to apply and remove, not too expensive, all natural ingredients, not durable at all.

Sealants are nice in that they usually give better durability and water sheeting characteristics. Harder to apply.

Ceramic coatings have their place in the market - so it's not all useless.

Avoid automatic car wash at all cost.

My car is ceramic coated - on top of that --> fully synthetic sealant applied (Soft99 Fusso) to the back half of the car, hybrid (carnauba & synthetic) wax/sealant (Bilt Hamber Double-Speed Wax) applied to the passenger side panels, P21S wax to the front half, and ceramic infused spray wax (Carpro Reload) on the driver's side. Also, all external glass is coated with Angelwax's H2go.

At a quick glance, I don't really notice the difference. Water sheets very well all over the car, heck, water even beads on my tires. I guess my point is - having something on the car is better than nothing. Just go with whatever you like. All types of products have its strengths and weaknesses. How often you need to apply, tips/tricks, etc. - this all depends on what product you eventually go with.

 

[Euljiro1ga]

I am new to all these things but you seem knowledgeable so I will ask you one question, if you don't mind.
Do you need to strip off the existing wax and do clay/polishing before applying the sealant? I have been applying quick wax (not paste) on my car, and my car has not been protected for almost a year so I don't know if I can just put sealant right away...

I'd let the person you asked answer your questions.

Quick wax or spray wax/sealants are also a form of protection. In essence, you have been doing well in terms of protecting your paintwork.

 

[scharn]

I want to get back to the original question for a bit.

I recommend P21S Concours wax for someone who has never applied solid wax to a car before. That one is a great beginner wax - looks great, easy to apply and remove, not too expensive, all natural ingredients, not durable at all.

Sealants are nice in that they usually give better durability and water sheeting characteristics. Harder to apply.

Ceramic coatings have their place in the market - so it's not all useless.

Avoid automatic car wash at all cost.

My car is ceramic coated - on top of that --> fully synthetic sealant applied (Soft99 Fusso) to the back half of the car, hybrid (carnauba & synthetic) wax/sealant (Bilt Hamber Double-Speed Wax) applied to the passenger side panels, P21S wax to the front half, and ceramic infused spray wax (Carpro Reload) on the driver's side. Also, all external glass is coated with Angelwax's H2go.

At a quick glance, I don't really notice the difference. Water sheets very well all over the car, heck, water even beads on my tires. I guess my point is - having something on the car is better than nothing. Just go with whatever you like. All types of products have its strengths and weaknesses. How often you need to apply, tips/tricks, etc. - this all depends on what product you eventually go with.

Are you planning on doing any longterm tracking/tests? Actually sounds like a pretty cool platform you've setup to test the longevity of some of this stuff.