Best Wax?

Whistler · July 9, 2015

i know it is very subjective question, but hoping to get some sugestions of products. I will be buying my is250 tomorrow :) and would like to give it a show look :) not too expensive, up to £40? Any sugestions?

jamesm182 · July 9, 2015

Personal preference really. I'm a fan of Meguiars Ultimate Wax which is around £20-£25 I believe. Then use the change to get something else like clay/polish etc.

BarneyTT · July 9, 2015

I would highly recommend Harly Wax, reasonable price for a brilliant wax:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HARLY-WAX-car-polish-PURE-NO-1-YELLOW-CARNAUBA-WAX-harly-harley-harly-/370355728382?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item563aebeffe

Here is a picture of my car:

CustomIce · July 9, 2015

Second for Meguiar's.

I've the NXT Tech wax, easy, quick and not bad.

Although the Gold range they do, high Carnauba wax content needs plenty of work to get the best from it, but a liquid shine when done :)

Ace8800 · July 9, 2015

I have Autoglym HD wax.. does a brill job for me, then again i aint tried anyother brand.

rayaans · July 9, 2015

Soft99 Fusso - Beats everything else hands down - nothing has a patch on it atm and Autoglym HD is really just overpriced when you compare it to Fusso

Boosts gloss levels really well but the main talking point is beading. Nothing comes close to the beading from Fusso unless you're spending £100 on kamikaze products.

Best thing - Its Japanese so comes in a funky Japanese written container and lasts 6 months+

Review here : http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=328751

For a summer wax ie maximum bling, not much durability, Soft99 Authentic makes the flakes pop! However, you can still get the same effect by using Soft99 Fusso on top of an acrylic glaze such as Prima Amigo. Dont use on an oily glaze such as Meguiars 7 as it wont bond properly as its not technically a wax but a sealant.

Stuno1 · July 9, 2015

Colinite 456, the chap who detailed my car also uses it.

stevet · July 9, 2015

Wax is the last thing you put on. The ultimate finish is due to all the other bits you do beforehand.

rayaans · July 9, 2015

Wax is the last thing you put on. The ultimate finish is due to all the other bits you do beforehand.

Correct - which is why you could technically put any wax on and it would make no difference to the finish whatsoever.

So - choose a wax based on durability, price and beading and not "looks" lol. Unless you want a show wax which'd last about 1 month or so as theyre loaded with gloss enhancers

Whistler · July 9, 2015

Thanks everyone for your answers.

So what other product I shoul use to get wow effect and in which sequence? Sorry I'm completely green in the subject.

rayaans · July 9, 2015

Thanks everyone for your answers.

So what other product I shoul use to get wow effect and in which sequence? Sorry I'm completely green in the subject.

Ideally to get the shine you need a cutting polish. My go to for Lexus and pretty much every vehicle now is Sonax Perfect Finish by machine. It finishes down perfectly and leaves no machine scratches on soft paint.

However, not everyone has a machine so the best polish by hand is Gtechniq P1 with a German applicator pad (just Google them). This method is very time consuming, so if you don't want to do that, you're better off using something like Autoglym Super Resin Polish which fills the microscratches and removes a very small amount of them to enhance the shine. Autosmart Mirror Image can also be used and it has more cutting ability with less filling.

You can then top this off with a glaze to make the car pop. It's basically a quick bling and you can actually use it instead of a polish if you cba polishing. Id recommend prima amigo and Meguiars #7. Be aware though that Meguiars #7 is oily so only a wax will sit on top of it. Prima amigo on the other hand is acrylic based so both waxes and sealants go well on top.

Using a glaze will adversely affect paint bonding of the wax so durability will be reduced marginally, perhaps a month or so, less.

If you want to spend no more than 30 mins, use prima amigo and Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer. This usually lasts about 2 months

toffee_pie · July 9, 2015

I have a DAS polisher, I have a few compounds too (not sure which, all my stuff is in Ireland but I am going home for a week soon and can do a good polish then)

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing-machines/das-6-dual-action-polisher/das-6-dual-action-polisher/prod_519.html

what is the best polisher compound to use prior to a wax, like the Japanese stuff you mentioned? is that much better than carlack?

juicestop · July 10, 2015

Collinite 845 Insulator Wax is what I use.

Stuno1 · July 10, 2015

You have opened up a rather large can of worms here! It all depends on how much money and time you want to spend cleaning your car. There is a forum called 'detailing world' that will tell everything you need to know and more.

Some go nuts and rinse- foam lance-wash-rinse-clay-wax- seal-seal in wax and so on. You can even throw in a polishing machine and gazebo to stop the car getting too warm for certain products.

Basically, how much love do you want to give your car and how much do you want to spend? There are various opinions and thoughts on products for each stage.

I just use turtle way car cleaner and wax sealant, collimate 456 wax, bilberry wheel cleaner, poor boys wheel sealant, meguires leather feeder/cleaner, Autoglym window cleaner and plastic restorer and autosol for the exhaust.

Its just as important what rags you use and how you clean your car. After speaking to the chap who detailed my car recently, I bought drying towels, buffing cloths and cleaning mitt from dooka uk. The mit catches dirt and stops it being spread across the cars surface. He also said to dab the car dry and not to wipe, again to stop dirt being rubbed across the surface of the car. Use two buckets. One with cleaner and one to rinse the mitt and wash top down.

This is just basic info and does not include polishing machines and claying which I don't have time for!

Stu

CustomIce · July 10, 2015

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/101737-meguiars-detailing-seminar-free/

Might be worth a look if anyone wants a good day out for the detailing oriented!

rayaans · July 10, 2015

I have a DAS polisher, I have a few compounds too (not sure which, all my stuff is in Ireland but I am going home for a week soon and can do a good polish then)

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing-machines/das-6-dual-action-polisher/das-6-dual-action-polisher/prod_519.html

what is the best polisher compound to use prior to a wax, like the Japanese stuff you mentioned? is that much better than carlack?

Id be using Sonax Perfect Finish on Japanese paint - it can handle hard paint too if combined with a dense pad. Lovely 1 step polish, saves so much time - can literally polish the whole car in 2 hours on a machine with it to a "perfect" finish

stevet · July 10, 2015

Here are some guys detailing a Lexus

http://blog.lexus.co.uk/ultimate-car-cleaning-guide/

Whistler · July 14, 2015

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, that was very helpful. I never knew you have to use so many car cosmetics. After future research I will be trying Meguiars products (for start):

Gold Class Car Wash Cleaning Shampoo Conditioner
Lambs Wool Wash Mitt
Ultimate Compound Scratch & Swirl Remover
Ultimate Polish Liquid Formula
Ultimate Liquid Wax
Headlight Restoration Kit (Mine are a bit cloudy and yellow)
Ultimate Interior Detailer
Supreme Shine microfibre Towel

I've also invest in pressure washer, but that's a different story. My GF will kill me if she realize I spend almost £400 on pw and car cosmetics :) But this car is my new love

I will put some pictures Saturday if everything arrive on time.

CustomIce · July 14, 2015

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, that was very helpful. I never knew you have to use so many car cosmetics. After future research I will be trying Meguiars products (for start):

Gold Class Car Wash Cleaning Shampoo Conditioner

Lambs Wool Wash Mitt

Ultimate Compound Scratch & Swirl Remover

Ultimate Polish Liquid Formula

Ultimate Liquid Wax

Headlight Restoration Kit (Mine are a bit cloudy and yellow)

Ultimate Interior Detailer

Supreme Shine MicroFibre Towel

I've also invest in pressure washer, but that's a different story. My GF will kill me if she realize I spend almost £400 on pw and car cosmetics :) But this car is my new love

I will put some pictures Saturday if everything arrive on time.

Yeah, but how much does she spend on actual cosmetics.....you get my point ;)

Cracksta · July 24, 2015

This is slightly off topic but Stu, is that you? From FTO :)

Wax alone will only make your car bead and gives it some protection, you should spend the time polishing the car as thats what make the car gleam! I could go on forever on this topic but if your new to detailing then try Autoglym Super Resin Polish, its cheap to get and gives good results. After that you might get the detailing bug and start building up your arsenal.

IS200D · August 26, 2015

I've had a can of this stuff http://www.trafalgarcleaning.co.uk/catalog/trade-items/longlife-car-polish-201.html for years, and apart from using a clay mitt when I bought my car last year I just apply this and nothing else every couple of washes.

Heres my car today after giving it wash yesterday without applying any polish at all, which I last did about a month ago. Looks great when its not chucking it down too!

James Trendall · August 26, 2015

I've bought myself some Simoniz Carnauba Speed Wax.

I give the car a quick blast with the hose to remove loose dirt,

Spray over with some snow foam and leave for 5 minutes,

Rinse off with the hose once more,

Scrub with warm soapy water top to bottom in a front to back motion,

Rinse off once more,

Spray the wheels with some nice strong cleaner and spray the engine with some strong de-greaser,

Apply the wax on to wet bodywork again top to bottom front to back being liberal with it.

Rinse off the wheels, engine, body,

Wipe over the whole car with a soft mitt,

Dry with leather.

Open the doors and use the wet area to just clean off the inside of the doors and sills,

My cleaning is now complete... Ok the outside is complete. I now use some trim gel on the plastic under the bonnet with a detailing brush (Soft round paint brush) and with my spare brush i use dash cleaner/shine inside making sure to get inbetween the gaps.

After all of this i use a moist cloth with leather cleaner/restorer and wipe over the seats practicly removing the cracks in the leather.

Last thing to do is add windex or shaving foam to the inside of the windows to stop any fogging up. Simply wipe on, wipe off and the entire car is complete for the week (Or 3 days if you live in the country.

If you buy some cheap wax just be more liberal with it. Mine cost £4.99 from Tesco.

All this takes roughly 2 hours once you get in to the swing of things. and done it once or twice before. I've got a few paint chips i'm getting repaired soon and the wheels getting resprayed after my holiday. Once complete the car should look fresh from the showroom once more.