Which wax do you use ?

[Boomer54]

3 hours ago, rado16v said:

My days of polishing a car are long gone, I'm a lazy sod. As this is the nicest (and largest) car we've had I thought some paint protection would be a good idea. I declined the Autoglym lifetime protection dealers offer and went to my detailer friend.

Not used his services before as I couldn't justify the cost but this time I went for a Graphene 4 year coat, ceramic coating is old hack apparently?!

Came out pretty good, see pics. I'm yet to wash it, need to buy another bucket (one isn't enough I hear) and some new sponges.

He showed me a video of a self healing Graphene coating he did on his own car. He took a wire brush to it which scratched it. Then took a hairdryer to it and they disappeared. He said the same will happen under the sun. I couldn't justify the extra cost though.

Impressive.

[old man 2]

3 hours ago, rado16v said:

My days of polishing a car are long gone, I'm a lazy sod. As this is the nicest (and largest) car we've had I thought some paint protection would be a good idea. I declined the Autoglym lifetime protection dealers offer and went to my detailer friend.

Not used his services before as I couldn't justify the cost but this time I went for a Graphene 4 year coat, ceramic coating is old hack apparently?!

Came out pretty good, see pics. I'm yet to wash it, need to buy another bucket (one isn't enough I hear) and some new sponges.

He showed me a video of a self healing Graphene coating he did on his own car. He took a wire brush to it which scratched it. Then took a hairdryer to it and they disappeared. He said the same will happen under the sun. I couldn't justify the extra cost though.

 How much if you don't mind imparting ?

[NemesisUK]

3 hours ago, rado16v said:

He showed me a video of a self healing Graphene coating he did on his own car. He took a wire brush to it which scratched it. Then took a hairdryer to it and they disappeared. He said the same will happen under the sun. I couldn't justify the extra cost though.

Just like Lexus "self-healing" top coat? (from the NX450h handbook)

 

[old man 2]

2 minutes ago, NemesisUK said:

Just like Lexus "self-healing" top coat? (from the NX450h handbook)

 

Interesting, the nice salesman didn't mention that when I picked up the car.

[RONNIE W HODGEKINSON]

On 11/19/2024 at 2:08 PM, rich1068 said:

The main reason I like it is the fact that the protective coating it gives, as evidenced by the beading, is instant. No prep whatsoever. I picked my GS up 8th November from a mucky car lot where it had been stood for a couple of weeks, gave it a wash the following day and this is how it looked before I dried it.

Wahl....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[rado16v]

5 hours ago, old man 2 said:

 How much if you don't mind imparting ?

I got a mates rate but it would be £850 and extra for the engine bay (reminds me, I haven't even looked at the engine bay since he did it). It took 4 days. 

 

[old man 2]

53 minutes ago, rado16v said:

I got a mates rate but it would be £850 and extra for the engine bay (reminds me, I haven't even looked at the engine bay since he did it). It took 4 days. 

 

 GULP !!

[S.H.]

On 11/19/2024 at 11:09 AM, old man 2 said:

It's constant rain outside so I have time on my hands, so I'm going to go down a rabbit hole here and ask what wax do you use to keep your car looking good.

As a background, I like to keep my property in good order and looking nice. I'm not fastidious about it but in the past I've taken pleasure in giving the car a good wash and polish. However I'm getting older and all of that stuff doesn't get easier, plus I have a back problem that gets a bit debillitating during the bending down etc.

My last car was black which I knew from experience was an unwise choice in the keeping it clean stakes and I wanted to find a polish and/or wax that didn't cost a mortgage, was easy to apply and rub off, didn't show watermarks and would last a long time e.g. a year.

I asked this same question on a forum when I bought my last car and got all sorts of spurious suggestions, especially ones from those who were really into detailing and threw up products I'd never heard of.

I did my own research as well and ended up using a Turtlewax Graphene spray product that could be applied to a wet or dry car (wet was the easiest method). Research had said it wasn't designed to give the ultimate showroom shine, but it offered good protection (apparently Graphene is the hardest material on the planet) and claimed it was easy to apply and would last a year. 

Well it wasn't a bad product, but it wasn't quite as easy as claimed to apply, didn't give the best shine, but it did last about 9 months before I deemed that another coating was needed. After a couple of years I decided it wasn't quite what I wanted, so I used good old Autoglym Resin polish that I had in the garage - not the best choice on a black car as it dries white, but it's easy to apply and the finish is good. Not long before selling that car, I bought and used some Turtlewax Colour Magic in black which did a decent job of making the car look good. Unfortunately these last two products don't last as long as I'd like,.

I knew when it came time to change cars I certainly didn't want another black car and I had my mind set on white as we've owned a couple of white cars and I found them pretty good in the not showing dirt too badly stakes and were relatively easy to keep clean.

That wasn't to be, as the NX in Sonic Titanium I have was already in stock, is a nice colour and should be much easier to keep clean than black.

So, I have this shiney new car and I once again thought I'd look for a wax this time that I could apply soon after taking possession whilst the car had new polish already applied and was looking good.

So what do you guys use ? I'm not looking for products that only car detailing nuts know about and take 3 weeks to apply in various layers. I want something reasonably priced, easy to apply and buff and will last a long time before reapplying is needed.

After a hard look and lots of testing I use Soft99 and regularly Rain Drop spray sealant (spray - Foam on wet) and I only need to wax once a year max but I am not saving the Rain Drop foam.

I got a Pro polisher but not a priority but it also gives you the chance to  polish your glass. I am 63 and my fingers are not young anymore...    + after each messy drive rinse your car so the dirt does not get to stuck on your paint and eases your next washing. See my Lexus picture. It took me about 2 years of tests to find the best formula for me... including perfect glass polishing, coating, maintaining. If you want my full system procedure I will find time to rapport it..   kind regards 

[rado16v]

11 hours ago, old man 2 said:

 GULP !!

Indeed!!

[rich1068]

18 hours ago, RONNIE W HODGEKINSON said:

Wahl....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You OK Ron? 

[Boomer54]

4 hours ago, rado16v said:

Indeed!!

It sounded reasonable to me given the time involved.

[old man 2]

 Thanks for the replies and suggestions chaps. For better or worse I've chosen a product that hasn't been mentioned by anyone.

Turtle Wax 50187 Original Hard Shell Shine Car Paste Wax 397g : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive

Bought directly from Turtlewax for only £7 and is claimed to last a year. I'll be as chuffed as if it does, but if it doesn't, then all I've wasted is £7 and some time and elbow grease.

Haven't applied it yet due to weather etc, but if it lives up to claims, once I've used up my current Autoglym shampoo and conditioner, I'll be buying the Autoglym shampoo as recommended by Richard in an earlier post to keepit looking nice.