Waxing our vehicles

[Mike "Hubbie" Stearns]

I didn’t want to hijack another thread. I was wondering what wax you prefer to use on your vehicle?  I’m about half way through doing my cut and buff on my truck. Once I get that done and all the gold leaf and stripping, I’m planning on giving it a good wax job. Many years ago when we painted cars, we buffed with rubbing compound and then with turtle wax. That’s when we were using acrylic enamel. I used 2k base clear. Some say to just use a good quality wax while others say to just use a ceramic sealer. At this point, I just confused at what to do. Thanks mike

[alsancle]

I haven't waxed a car in 40 years.  I keep it detailed and clean.  EDIT:  I mean I clean it with detail spray.  Also California mop first.

Edited April 15, 2023 by alsancle (see edit history)

[60FlatTop]

Mine have a coat of Turtle Wax cream, a carry over from decades ago. I spray Mother's detailer over that frequently for dust and fingerprints. Two years ago I started using Black Ice ceramic spray when the urge hits me.

 

I haven't washed a car since before the turn of the century. Prior to that it was ice cold water and Turtle Wax. I don't like dousing the cars with water in every nook and cranny any more. I will even spritz off mud with detail spray and wash the cloth.

 

My '60 Electra was sitting in front of our morning coffee spot Thursday and one of the guys said I really had it shined up nice. That's still the shine from last year.

[alsancle]

I have not washed the car in 40 years.

 

Which is funny, because when I was a kid, I would wash my car three or four times a week.

[TAKerry]

16 minutes ago, alsancle said:

I have not washed the car in 40 years.

 

Which is funny, because when I was a kid, I would wash my car three or four times a week.

My first new car was a 1982 Firebird (big surprise....NOT). I bought it right after graduation. I would wash it at least twice a week, and wax just about every friday evening before the obligatory cruise through town. I had a work truck and kept the car in the garage with a cover. When I say wash it was almost a full detail. Wipe down the engine bay, immaculate cleaning of the int. etc. Now I could honestly care less if I ever clean a car again!

 

I am glad my son has finally taken a liking to the classic car scene and my TA in particular. He is very picky,  I could not have a more detail minded person looking after it.

 

I try to wash my truck every weekend. Pop said if you show up to a job in dirty, beat up vehicle the customer may question your work. So I have always kept my trucks very nice, and also parked in the garage. I probably have the cleanest 10yo construction vehicle out there, LOL.

 

I wash with Griots car wash. On my work truck I used a quasi ceramic wax which is supposed to be needed twice a year. I did it about a year ago and it still looks nice after a wash. I use a lot of Griots stuff, just out of habit. Mguires is my second choice. I did a very tiny bit of looking into car waxes and what I found was that a good carunuba is the best you can use. The downside is that it needs to be applied frequently if the vehicle is driven a lot. Its great for a classic though with limited seat time. 

A ceramic coating will give a good shine and be very durable, but is best done by a pro. I cant imagine what a fire truck would cost to have done. 

Edited April 15, 2023 by TAKerry (see edit history)

[46 woodie]

My cars are black, so I had been using a wax by Meguiar's that was for black or dark cars. It was a great product and my cars looked great after I used it but now I find that it has been discontinued. I had never seen a wax like this as it contained petroleum distillates and was flammable. It also states that the vapors may be harmful, probably why it is no longer available. 

[GARY F]

I wax all my cars and truck with Z-5 pro.

[Bhigdog]

Whatever goes on and comes off the easiest.....I.E...........Turtle wax. The chrome gets Turtle wax chrome polish every two years...........Bob

[60FlatTop]

I started considering all the places water would get trapped when hosed down, places where I couldn't dry and might have accumulations of dirt. The few rare occasions I get caught in the rain are enough.

 

For chrome I have Rainex glass cleaner, Happich Simichrome, Blue Magic paste, and NAPA liquid.

Rainex and Simichrome are most frequent. Blue Magic usually gets used on cars I flip. NAPA has a fine grit and I use that for new acquisitions to remove brown rust bleeding from body paint and water tracking marks.

 

I took this picture today. Simichrome rubbed on with my fingertip and buffed with both sides of a microfiber cloth, fuzzy side last sometime last year.

[EmTee]

The chrome wheels on my wife's Allante had pretty severe orange stains in the 'scallops' between the spokes due to the PO allowing metallic brake dust to accumulate.  When I purchased the car about 6 weeks ago I figured I'd likely wind-up painting the scallops some shade of charcoal gray to hide the damage.

 

 

I have a tube of Happich Simichrome so I figured I'd give it a try - not expecting much...  To my surprise, however, a dab on a microfiber cloth followed by gentle rubbing removed all of the rusty stains, leaving only a few small pits in the chrome on the worst scallops.  The transformation was amazing; the wheels look like they were refinished professionally.  I've used Simichrome on my other cars, but never on anything as badly stained as these wheels were.

 

 

 

 

[MotiveLensPhoto]

Polishing chrome requires getting it clean, first. I've tried a bunch of different stuff, and the generally best, longest lasting product I've found for all chrome is 3M Chrome & Metal https://www.amazon.com/3M-39527-Chrome-Metal-Polish/dp/B0009H50WW/ref=sr_1_3?crid=QMBZXMG5JI3U&keywords=3m+chrome+and+metal+polish&qid=1681655613&sprefix=3m+chro%2Caps%2C110&sr=8-3

 

If you just want to give a quick shine, look for one of the metal polish sprays like Mothers or Meguires as long as the underlying is pretty clean to begin with.

[60FlatTop]

Not sticking with the top but since it is Sunday: I was trying to match up some weatherstrip and found one that was labeled 3M. Although it looked fine I continued to search and found a similar product labeled 4M. Trickery I thought. Trying to sell me an off shore brand with a similar label. Turned out they were selling 3 and 4 meter lengths.

 

Made me wonder what the equivalent of the Rosetta Stone will be in the future.

Edited April 16, 2023 by 60FlatTop (see edit history)