Which wax?

T-Maxx

I've been using Autoglym shampoo followed by Autoglym Super Resin Polish for a while and I'm quite happy with the results.

I'm now looking for a wax and have sort of narrowed it down to Autoglym High Def Wax or Mequiars NXT Tech Wax 2 (the 2 most often mentioned on here). But after searching eBay I've seen waxes for a fraction of the price of these two. Sure I know the saying "you get what you pay for" but has anyone actually experience with these cheap waxes? Or maybe someone can recommend me something else?

BTW, I'm not looking for a concourse finish, just something that'll do my normal everyday car.

homer90

I find Zymol pretty good.....

http://www.pistonheads.com/reviews/reviews.asp?c=52&id=246

green-blood

AGs HD wax is easily available and very good - go with what you know, you certainly wont be disappointed

The megs is not all that hot

rebel.ranter

homer90 wrote: »

I find Zymol pretty good.....

http://www.pistonheads.com/reviews/reviews.asp?c=52&id=246

I think Zymol is very good for the price asked. I have been using it for the past few years. I really like the Zymol Car Wash liquid too.
Nice smell of bananas & coconut too

homer90

rebel.ranter wrote: »

Nice smell of bananas & coconut too

+1

:D

rebel.ranter

Oh yea, check out the Vintage Glaze wax here, seems reasonably priced....

http://www.johnswax.co.uk/acatalog/Feeding___Hand_Crafted_Waxes.html

Lex Luthor

been using the megs tech wax for years...find it very good but cant really compare it to anything else as I haven't tried the rest

NewApproach

rebel.ranter wrote: »

Nice smell of bananas & coconut too

Which is lovely until you drive through cow shit!

T-Maxx

rebel.ranter wrote: »

Oh yea, check out the Vintage Glaze wax here, seems reasonably priced....

http://www.johnswax.co.uk/acatalog/Feeding___Hand_Crafted_Waxes.html

Too deep for my wallet, how about something a tad cheaper, like the Atlantique Glaze?:P

TomMc

The Zymol smells nice and is decent enough but there are better products out there for similar money. It also can stain trim quite badly. Their retail products though have no real connection to their expensive boutique line up.

Collinite 845 Insulator Wax would be one of the better waxes to finish off after polishing with Autoglym SRP (or a good polish), as the wax will not clean the paint itself. The more expensive waxes do not add very much more either no matter how much extra you spend. At the higher end of the market it is mostly subjective and paying hundreds only results in a very marginal improvement, and only a small few could even tell the difference. What you do to prep paint before applying wax will define the results. Most of the cheap stuff in the shops is total crap. Collinite 476s Paste Wax is another one, slightly more durable but not as easy to work with. I know the Irish distributor and he told me that the 845 outsells it 4:1 in the States.

There are other waxes which are all-in-ones (with cleaning/mild polishing agents), if you didn't want to have to apply two different products each time. It depends on the condition of your paint and how often you wax in order to say what is ideal. If you didn't want to spend much Einszett Metallic Polish Wax is very good if you have well cared for paintwork. Although their two stage Paint Polish followed up with Glanz Wax is even better.

rebel.ranter

TomMc you must be able to "smell the wax" you're in like Flynn everytime there's a wax/polish question

Have you used this Dodo wax stuff? I just got a notion to buy the "Hard Candy" one on EBay just there, also got Lime Prime as well.
Just for something different.

The Zymol can stain the plastic trim alright but trusty peanut butter or simply more Zymol removes it.

Here is the results of Saturday morning with Zymol:



And here is the previous Saturday morning's efforts with Zymol:



Note: Red car taken on Dull day with Sony 10MP camera, black car taken with Nokia N95 in the evening. Pictures or photographer (me) don't do the shine justice really.

The neighbours definitely think I'm nuts a this stage when it comes to the cars!

TomMc

RR, I'm into car care the way E92 is into BMW's (and exact specs, like an encyclopaedia), so each to their own.:D

Nice work there, both look very good for their age.

I haven't used the Dodo's as I have moved on from waxes a few years back. They are fine on garage queens but on daily drivers, I prefer sealants myself. And the difference between one boutique wax and another is so slight, it is not worth investing in another one when you have roughly 25 others already. I have a EUR300 tub of Swissvax which I used only once, thought far more of some Finish Kare ones which cost a fraction of same, around 20 quid.

I could go on and on, but I won't except to say sealants are now where it is at, as waxes have more drawbacks, which limit there appeal. Water spotting, short lifespan and so the need for frequent re-application, can increase the volume of swirl marks (aside from washing itself). Technology has moved on so sealants are now engineered to look virtually as good, add UV filters, offer better protection and greater durability.

WHITE_P

Have a read of this product test by autoexpress.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/products/218733/polish_test.html

I used Autoglym for years but have started using Meguires recently, although it takes most of the day to polish then wax the car, the finish is excellent and lasts well.

This stuff is good for in between full polish / waxing, FW1 Waterless Wash & Wax, although it's only available through direct sales, 12 cans at a go. http://www.fastwax.com/

It can be got from the following and they deliever. http://skyemarketingltd.webs.com/contact.htm

rebel.ranter

TomMc wrote: »

RR, I'm into car care the way E92 is into BMW's (and exact specs, like an encyclopaedia)........
.......I prefer sealants myself.

I could go on and on, but I won't except to say sealants are now where it is at, as waxes have more drawbacks, which limit there appeal.

I'm not far behind e92 on the BMW front! The stacks of BM magazines in the attic attest to that. Hats off to e92 thought for knowing all the numbers, etc.

Funny you should mention sealants, I have two bottles of Autoglym Extra Gloss sealant. In the shed. Went through a phase with the Black car using this stuff. It seemed to be easier to get a finish.
However I still think the wax gives a better shine. Even if it doesn't last as long. As I said the cameras & lighting above don't do the finishes justice.

TomMc

rebel.ranter wrote: »

I'm not far behind e92 on the BMW front! The stacks of BM magazines in the attic attest to that. Hats off to e92 thought for knowing all the numbers, etc.

Funny you should mention sealants, I have two bottles of Autoglym Extra Gloss sealant. In the shed. Went through a phase with the Black car using this stuff. It seemed to be easier to get a finish.
However I still think the wax gives a better shine. Even if it doesn't last as long. As I said the cameras & lighting above don't do the finishes justice.

Well EGP is a good product itself on top of SRP, but you need to apply a few coats over the course of a few days for maximum effect. Then it looks that bit better and will outlast most waxes. But consider how old this product is (even allowing for a tweak in the formula), newer sealants have move the goalposts.

HJL

Ive used Meguiars Gold Class last time i gave the car a good proper clean, I was very happy with the results and it was easy to wipe off as well.

It also lasted a decent amount of time as well, i used Meguiars Gold Class car shampoo too on it which doesnt take off the wax and wiping it down after washing, i think that helped prolong the waxy shine on the car.

milltown

I have to put in a shout for Natty's wax from Poorboys world. I had been a fan of the Megs NXT for a few years but I bought the Natty's from Detailer.ie just under a year ago and have only had to use it twice so far. Car still gleams when clean (last wax was before the winter took hold) and water still beads.

I was waxing with the Megs about once a month, with the Natty's it's about once a season.

green-blood

No durability inthe Megs stuff... stay clear of gold class, nxt and any of those horrid Turtle wax ice things, especially for winter protection, great for quick summer gloss, but to protection.

honestly the OP would be better off with HD as he suggested or a good old tub of Turtle wax in a tub.

or take your pick from some of my lot!!!!!

TomMc

If you like Natty's you would probably like Collinite 845 even more as it is a doddle to apply, like a gel rather than a paste. A slightly wetter look and even longer lasting. The only drawback with these is that they are pure waxes, not cleaner waxes, although the solvent content in the Collinite will remove very light contamination. The average person doesn't want to polish and wax in two different stages, so they are only really suitable for near perfect paint.

TomMc

Green-Blood, how do you like the Klasse Twins?

I use the newer water-based versions of Carlack myself from time to time, good for prep.

HJL

green-blood, you are like a professional hitman of the car care world!

DUBLINHITMAN

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milltown

The pictures of your seats really contribute to this topic.

:rolleyes:

DUBLINHITMAN

milltown wrote: »

The pictures of your seats really contribute to this topic.

:rolleyes:

sorry milltown if i offended you by putting up pics of my seats .
they are half leather and i,ve used leather wax on them ,,
which wax ??

Seperate

Ye old wax thread, that crops up every third week

My personal opinion is that any wax needs a good, clean and smooth surface to bond to, for a start. The wash and preperation for wax is a million times more important then the actual wax used. There's no point in spending €100 on a wax, and putting it on a car which isn't properly washed and prepared.

I've been using Dodo Juice Supernatural on my own car since last summer, and it lasts really well and suits the colour of my car. I'm a big fan of Zymol Glasur on the darkish (grey, navy blue etc) colors and Nattys Wax just purely for the 'bang per buck' value - looks particulary good on blacks.

Some examples, for those who car to look....

Zymol Carbon on a RX7...





Supernatural on a TVR....







Nattys Blue on an S3 and ST....

DUBLINHITMAN

do you own that business or are they just pics of detailing world .
i,ve seen them there and i,m thinkin of gettin a professional job done ,
mainly because even thou i clean the car regularly i still think i could be damaging the car
even with the snow foam and 2bucket job

Seperate

DUBLINHITMAN wrote: »

do you own that business or are they just pics of detailing world .
i,ve seen them there and i,m thinkin of gettin a professional job done ,
mainly because even thou i clean the car regularly i still think i could be damaging the car
even with the snow foam and 2bucket job

They're pics i've taken myself.

Unlikely that you're damaging the paint if you're using a pre-wash foam and two buckets. That's not to say the previous owner hasn't already done damage to the paint though.... you should be able to tell when the sun shines on it... like this...



There's a huge gloss difference when the paint is properly taken care of.

DUBLINHITMAN

yeah there are slight swirl marks . from the old owner .
do you work in that place then as i,m looking to book my car in..

green-blood

Klasse is pure brilliance btw....

JoeA3

green-blood wrote: »

Klasse is pure brilliance btw....

Agreed. I have those 2 bottles (red and grey one!) for years now, and anytime I use them someone compliments me on the shine off my car :pac:
They've lasted absolutely ages too.

I've used other polishes / waxes in the interim, and keep going back to the klasse.

Seperate

JoeA3 wrote: »

Agreed. I have those 2 bottles (red and grey one!) for years now, and anytime I use them someone compliments me on the shine off my car :pac:
They've lasted absolutely ages too.

I've used other polishes / waxes in the interim, and keep going back to the klasse.

Interesting. I've used Klasse/Carlack myself recently, and while it stood up to some harsh weather, i was never really taken back by the initial 'shine'. You can't beat good ol' carnauba for a good shine in my books.

JoeA3

Seperate wrote: »

Interesting. I've used Klasse/Carlack myself recently, and while it stood up to some harsh weather, i was never really taken back by the initial 'shine'. You can't beat good ol' carnauba for a good shine in my books.

Yeah, maybe... but I just find the Klasse gives a very good all-round good finish. They also make a good job of cleaning up minor swirls, etc. I've used expensive waxes too such as swissol and while they give great results, I find the Klasse seems more long-lasting, especially in our miserable weather.

jame5_b

Heres two pictures of my car which i waxed recently with collinite 476s, which i think gave a nice deep shine.

milltown

jame5_b wrote: »

Heres two pictures of my car which i waxed recently with collinite 476s, which i think gave a nice deep shine.

Jaysus!
You've polished the numbers clean off the reg plate :eek: