Favorite wax / paint protectant

[mustang84]

Now that I have a decent car, I've been more attentive to the process of cleaning and waxing. What are some of your favorite brands of wax and protective products that you use? Does anybody do clay bar on their paint? I have heard Turtle Wax Ice is a pretty good cleaning solution that comes close to clay bar as far as shine and removal of contaminants but does it in 1/4 of the time.

Since I live in a winter climate, I'm looking for something I can apply this fall that will help protect the paint before the snow starts flying. My paint is in very good condition overall, but the paint of the front bumper is starting to show its age a little.

[pow]

I really like Zaino for protection; I haven't "done" anything to my paint for months, and the water still beads like new when I wash it. A spray of gloss enhancer revitalizes the slickness and shine.

It does take some work to prep the paint; Zaino doesn't do anything for blemishes, so the paint should be perfect if you want perfect results. Claying removes contaminates, and polishing removes scratches, swirls, water spots, and other imperfections.

If you just want a quick and easy shine, an all-in-one cleaner-wax would probably do the trick, followed by a wax-as-you-dry-type spray wax after each wash.

[caddycruiser]

As of late, finally, Zaino. It's a "system" that has to stay a system, but it works beautifully and the stuff is top notch. Not the easiest, but if you're open to buying a full system and not really mixing much else with it, it's a ticket to check out.

From my many years in the detailing world, another favorite I also always keep around is the lower cost version of P21S Carnauba known as S100, but is identical. And, rather than ordering, it can be bought everyday in a Harley Davidson store near you. Wonderful glow, pretty amazingly durable for a real wax, and cheap for probably the highest quality wax you can get "at a store". Underneath/before it or anything, really, Klasse All-in-One and sometimes Klasse Sealant Glaze are about as hardy as a polish & sealant get, and depending on what other work you need as far as correction, various Menzerna if you can order or a variety of Meguiar's polishing products are common.

[mustang84]

What prices am I looking at for a full Zaino system? Or some of the cheaper ones like S100 you mentioned.

[Chazman]

I'd give Zaino a try. As was mentioned, it's a system and initially takes some effort. One good feature though, is that it's "stackable". Coats build on top of each other, filling swirls, rather than needing to continually buff them out. Kind of a big deal if you own three black cars like I do.

[GMTruckGuy74]

Well, on a recommendation by a poster here back in mid-June (hyper, I think?), I bought Meguiars NXT Generation 2.0 Tech Wax (liquid, not paste) and used it on my wife's 2008 Pontiac G8 when I gave it a full wash & detail this month. So far I'm still happy with the results and will be using it on my dark blue AURA soon. I also have a combination of other car cleaning products use to wash & detail my cars. If you want to know what they are, let me know and I'll post them here.

[Northstar]

Here's what I do when I do a full detail to the Goat :

(Fair warning, this could take 8-10 hours to do)

Go to the car wash and get the manual wash... let the soap soak into any dirt and then blast it off... this ensures that you don't have to do as much work in terms of scrubbing and also gets rid of most of the dirt and grime that can cause scratches in your paint if you aren't careful.

Get four wash mitts or whatever you prefer to use. Two buckets of water. Clay bar and appropriate lubricant (usually a "quick detailer"). Wax of your choosing (I prefer 3M wax, forget the exact name of it though).

In one bucket, put in your car wash soap, the other just leave as water. Wash the tops of your car first with one mitt (roof, hood, trunklid, windows). This area of the car should be pretty clean already and shouldn't require much attention. After this, dunk the mitt in the plain water bucket a few times to get rid of any contaminates and then proceed to wash the sides of the car above the molding (for those without a molding guess about where it would be). Again, this area shouldn't be too dirty because you should have been able to get most of the dirt off at the car wash. Wash that area on the sides of the car, then front and back (order doesn't really matter). After this, dunk your mitt in the water-only bucket again, and then dump the water out and hang the mitt up to dry. Refill the bucket with just water again and get your second mitt. With this, wash everywhere that you didn't wash before (below the door moldings), but don't wash under the wheel wells, etc or on any paint on the underside of your car (very little, but there is some). After that, dunk the mitt in the water bucket. Finally, get your third mitt, and wash on any paint on the underside of your car (bumpers, side moldings, wheel wheels). You should dunk this mitt pretty frequently when washing these areas to keep the dirt and grime from scratching up too much of the paint, even if it's in an area no one will hardly ever see.

The idea with the multiple mitts and changing mitts on different areas of the car is that after multiple washes, the mitt used to clean the wheel wells and underside areas of the car will be dirty, and it would be a poor idea to use that mitt on the top of sides of the car. You could write "T" somewhere on one mitt to denote that you are using that mitt for the tops of the car, "S" for sides, and "B" for bottom, or something to that affect. The fourth mitt is used later.

Dry the car, though it doesn't have to be a thorough drying, if there are some water spots, it's not a big deal.

After this, clay bar the car. It's not too hard to do, should be instructions on the box. Basically, you want to squirt the quick detailer on a small area (1 foot by 1 foot or so) and then rub the clay bar on the area in the motion from front to back of the car (don't go in circles). After about 30 seconds per area, the area should be smooth as glass. You can run your hand over the area to make sure you didn't miss anything. Wipe off the quick detailer after you are finished with each area.

After you finish with the clay bar, the fourth mitt is used. Again get two buckets, fill both with water, and put a very small amount of soap into one bucket, and leave the other bucket as just water. Wash the entire car again. The reason for this is that you want your surface to be free of anything and everything before you wax, and some residue could be left from the quick detailer and/or clay bar. Again you should probably label this mitt to distinguish it as the mitt you use to get rid of any little residue left - my mitt for this still looks brand new.

After you dry the car again, wax!

[daves87rs]

Well, on a recommendation by a poster here back in mid-June (hyper, I think?), I bought Meguiars NXT Generation 2.0 Tech Wax (liquid, not paste) and used it on my wife's 2008 Pontiac G8 when I gave it a full wash & detail this month. So far I'm still happy with the results and will be using it on my dark blue AURA soon. I also have a combination of other car cleaning products use to wash & detail my cars. If you want to know what they are, let me know and I'll post them here.

*elbow poke*

Me.....

As much as I like Zanio and other stuff, Meg's and Mother's won't do you wrong...

[daves87rs]

Here's what I do when I do a full detail to the Goat :

(Fair warning, this could take 8-10 hours to do)

Go to the car wash and get the manual wash... let the soap soak into any dirt and then blast it off... this ensures that you don't have to do as much work in terms of scrubbing and also gets rid of most of the dirt and grime that can cause scratches in your paint if you aren't careful.

Get four wash mitts or whatever you prefer to use. Two buckets of water. Clay bar and appropriate lubricant (usually a "quick detailer"). Wax of your choosing (I prefer 3M wax, forget the exact name of it though).

In one bucket, put in your car wash soap, the other just leave as water. Wash the tops of your car first with one mitt (roof, hood, trunklid, windows). This area of the car should be pretty clean already and shouldn't require much attention. After this, dunk the mitt in the plain water bucket a few times to get rid of any contaminates and then proceed to wash the sides of the car above the molding (for those without a molding guess about where it would be). Again, this area shouldn't be too dirty because you should have been able to get most of the dirt off at the car wash. Wash that area on the sides of the car, then front and back (order doesn't really matter). After this, dunk your mitt in the water-only bucket again, and then dump the water out and hang the mitt up to dry. Refill the bucket with just water again and get your second mitt. With this, wash everywhere that you didn't wash before (below the door moldings), but don't wash under the wheel wells, etc or on any paint on the underside of your car (very little, but there is some). After that, dunk the mitt in the water bucket. Finally, get your third mitt, and wash on any paint on the underside of your car (bumpers, side moldings, wheel wheels). You should dunk this mitt pretty frequently when washing these areas to keep the dirt and grime from scratching up too much of the paint, even if it's in an area no one will hardly ever see.

The idea with the multiple mitts and changing mitts on different areas of the car is that after multiple washes, the mitt used to clean the wheel wells and underside areas of the car will be dirty, and it would be a poor idea to use that mitt on the top of sides of the car. You could write "T" somewhere on one mitt to denote that you are using that mitt for the tops of the car, "S" for sides, and "B" for bottom, or something to that affect. The fourth mitt is used later.

Dry the car, though it doesn't have to be a thorough drying, if there are some water spots, it's not a big deal.

After this, clay bar the car. It's not too hard to do, should be instructions on the box. Basically, you want to squirt the quick detailer on a small area (1 foot by 1 foot or so) and then rub the clay bar on the area in the motion from front to back of the car (don't go in circles). After about 30 seconds per area, the area should be smooth as glass. You can run your hand over the area to make sure you didn't miss anything. Wipe off the quick detailer after you are finished with each area.

After you finish with the clay bar, the fourth mitt is used. Again get two buckets, fill both with water, and put a very small amount of soap into one bucket, and leave the other bucket as just water. Wash the entire car again. The reason for this is that you want your surface to be free of anything and everything before you wax, and some residue could be left from the quick detailer and/or clay bar. Again you should probably label this mitt to distinguish it as the mitt you use to get rid of any little residue left - my mitt for this still looks brand new.

After you dry the car again, wax!

Wow!

[trinacriabob]

For the Regal, I've used Maguire's (sp?). The paint has held up well. There is a lot of discoloration on the bumpers and on the hood. I've worked on it and worked on it, but now I'm tired of this and accept it's a 17 year-old vehicle.

The LaCrosse sits in the garage, so I haven't waxed it yet. Yeah, I could benefit from finding out which over-the-counter chain-auto-store wax/cleaner I should buy.... and is it still a conventional clear coat finish? I'm open to suggestions, too.

Edited July 31, 2009 by trinacriabob

[pow]

For OTC I like Mother's the best, then Meg's. Both sell a clay bar kit that comes with clay, lube, and cleaner wax... maybe even a microfiber towel.

[caddycruiser]

The LaCrosse sits in the garage, so I haven't waxed it yet. Yeah, I could benefit from finding out which over-the-counter chain-auto-store wax/cleaner I should buy.... and is it still a conventional clear coat finish? I'm open to suggestions, too.

Yes, it is. Basecoat + clearcoat.

[GMTruckGuy74]

*elbow poke*

Me.....

As much as I like Zanio and other stuff, Meg's and Mother's won't do you wrong...

Oops! Sorry daves87rs!! I took a shot in the dark and I missed.. but let this correction give you the credit you deserve for recommending this wax. I haven't waxed a vehicle in 7 or 8 years and it was never my favorite thing to do. But the Meguiar's NXT Generation 2.0 Tech Wax was very easy to use - goes on smooth, comes off smooth, and leaves a great shine. Even the plastic chorme pieces I put the wax on still shine and have no rain spots on them. I highly recommend this wax.

[NOS2006]

I always wash, clay, polish, wax when I do the full job. Next time I do it, I am going to try Klasse All-in-One for my polish/sealant and P21S/S100 for the wax. I've heard great things about these products, especially once used together.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

I've never used Zaino, but I've always heard great things.

I always use Meguiars.

But I use the body shop grade stuff, not the Wal-Mart stuff.

I usually do a cleaner, then a finishing glaze (polish) and then wax (On second thought, I've been using Gold Class wax. So it is Wal-Mart available.)

[regfootball]

I zaino'd the 500 and to be honest, it wasn't worth the effort over what i have gotten with XYMOL.

[daves87rs]

Oops! Sorry daves87rs!! I took a shot in the dark and I missed.. but let this correction give you the credit you deserve for recommending this wax. I haven't waxed a vehicle in 7 or 8 years and it was never my favorite thing to do. But the Meguiar's NXT Generation 2.0 Tech Wax was very easy to use - goes on smooth, comes off smooth, and leaves a great shine. Even the plastic chorme pieces I put the wax on still shine and have no rain spots on them. I highly recommend this wax.

Oh, you're fine...just having a little fun with ya...

I just helped a buddy with his Silverado, and I must say, I really like the NXT 2.0 wax. His truck looks quite shiney, and has enough coats to make it through a michigan winter.

I'm going to pick some 2.0 myself for the fall wax (got a Meg's system wax on now), and I'm pretty sure I'm going to get nice results with it too.....

Even a co worker is switching from Zanio to the nXT 2.0....

[daves87rs]

I've never used Zaino, but I've always heard great things.

I always use Meguiars.

But I use the body shop grade stuff, not the Wal-Mart stuff.

I usually do a cleaner, then a finishing glaze (polish) and then wax (On second thought, I've been using Gold Class wax. So it is Wal-Mart available.)

Gc is good stuff....

[daves87rs]

I always wash, clay, polish, wax when I do the full job. Next time I do it, I am going to try Klasse All-in-One for my polish/sealant and P21S/S100 for the wax. I've heard great things about these products, especially once used together.

It's been awhile since I've heard Klasse.....sounds like a good combo.

[gm4life]

I have been using Meg's Clay Bar Kit and Meg's Gold Class. I do have some Turtle Wax Ice and compared to Meguiars Gold Class Paste Wax it doesn't come close. If you want a good wax and don't want to break the bank Gold Class is the best stuff. I have tried NXT 2.0 and found it didn't last as long nor did I like it as much personally.

[daves87rs]

I have been using Meg's Clay Bar Kit and Meg's Gold Class. I do have some Turtle Wax Ice and compared to Meguiars Gold Class Paste Wax it doesn't come close. If you want a good wax and don't want to break the bank Gold Class is the best stuff. I have tried NXT 2.0 and found it didn't last as long nor did I like it as much personally.

Was it the old NXT, or the new 2.0?

I know many people that did not like the old NXT...newer formula seems to be good though....