I was just wondering what kind of wax people use on thier cars? I've got swirl marks that are starting to show up, and I want to get rid of them. I want something that's easy to use, so I don't have to spend an afternoon to make my paint look shiny again. My budget is $5. :rolleyes: I'm just looking for what people have used and have had good luck with.

Thanks,
Mark

I use whatever I can find in the garage.... usually turtle wax.

I've seen the results of most waxes and considering the effort that goes into polishing AND protecting your car, Zaino is #1 on my list.

www.zainobros.com

The pictures are proof enough, and when you see it in person... :drool:

Oh wow. That stuff looks awesome. $13 a bottle, but it looks like it works great though. Do you happen to know of any local retailers? I guess I could just order it, but it's easier to just go pick it up somewhere.

I like this pic the best.

Meguiers Gold Class paste wax following Meguiers Gold Class swirl-reducer.

I dont buy into any miracle wax. That pic that is posted is of a brand new car. G35's just came out in 2003. I wouldn't base my choice on a wax job on a brand new car in the sun. The finish is perfect.

Don't knock it until you see it in person. Did you even go to the site and look at the pictures on there?? Besides, let me know when a brand new car off the showroom floor has a mirror finish like that. It's not a miracle wax... It's a polish and protectant. Gotta see it to believe it, I guess. :blah:

Mark, you have to order it online... I don't even know if they sell it in stores, not around here anyway.

Here's a pic from a 17 yr. old BMW

THAT is what I'm talking about! :drool:

That is what a G35 looks like of the floor. My buddy Rory pick one up the day before I arrived in Phoenix last week. Total mirror except for one swirl mark in the rear fender that seemed to float around on the to of the clear.

Is this wax for the 240?

My vote is for OPW (other peoples wax.) Through a cleaning party at your house and someone will bring enough to share.

LOL... Free wax works for me. This is for the scoobie. I could care less about how the 240 looks. :P At least until I paint it.

Meguiars Gold Glass is some good stuff too and you can find it anywhere. Zymol leaves a slightly better finish, but it does not last nearly as long. Klaase is very good too, but extremely hard to find. I have heard good things about Zaino, but I haven't tried it.

Meguirs all the way. Just come out to my house and you can wax it there for free :D

Both me and my dad use Zainos. It is amazing and it is deffinatly worth the money. I have a picture of my car from the cookout with the Zainos on but it isn't that great. I'll wash the car this weekend and put up some more pics. The picture is here: http://www.mn3s.org/all-mitsu/all-mitsu2/i...es/image189.htm

Wax? What's wax?

3M makes a product called "Pink Filler Glaze" which does wonders for filling swirl marks. Goes on easy and comes off easy.

AutoMagic makes a product called "Seal-It" which does the same thing.

Both will do a great job of giving it that "wet look" and will make the finish look darker and richer.

I switched from Meguiars Show wax to the Zainos and one thing happened that suprised me. The color wasnt as deep as with the Meguiars but the metallic flakes in the paint stood out ALOT more than normal. I kinda liked that really deep, wet look but the new ultra metallic paint was just as good. Also, the paint is really smooth with the Zainos for alot longer than with a most waxes i've tried.

The best one coat wax is Meguiers cleaner/wax. It has paint cleaner in it that will help fill in and smooth out swirls and it still leaves a protective finish. I use it a lot on my Stealth. And its in your budget at $5 a bottle. ;)

If you use a cleaner it will help smooth out the swirls. A polish helps fill in swirls and give a wet look to the paint. Wax only protects the paint, although a lot of waxes contains some polish.

later,
Curt
http://www.mn3s.org

That Zaino stuff looks cool, but alot of people seem to like meguiers, so I will probably go with that. Just one question... Is it ok to use a cleaner/wax and then put a polish on top of it?

I have all three steps of the miguier set, i used it before the photo shoot and it turned out great. your supposed to go paint cleaner, polish, then wax, if you have cleaner/ wax in the same bottle you should be able to use the polish after.
BTW what is a scooby?

If you are going to use a polish, then just use a wax after that. If you apply polish it will take off the wax. You could apply polish first and then use the cleaner/wax. The "cleaner" part of the cleaner/wax kind of does the same thing as the polish. Its just a little more abbrasive.

This last Sunday, me and a buddy did the Meguiers three step process on his new 91 Talon. It turned out nice:
http://mn3s.org/PA190033.JPG

later,
Curt
http://www.mn3s.org

I use meguairs 3 step, and not the gold class, $10 a bottle is too much for me. Maybe Ill splurge and try that zainos stuff.

Anyways Ill try to find a pic with a better angle but this is my car after the 3 step process.

http://homepage.mac.com/khadgar/pic1.jpg

i've been detailing and buffing cars for 5 years for a few different shops and out of my garage a lot for side cash and i say for the price u can't beat Meguiars 3 step process and if u really want a perrrrtty finish go with 2 coats of polish and 2-3 coats of wax, the gold class is also my choice above their other one...but if u take the time 2 do all of that it comes out great..but alter their 3step with these products...i coat Scratch X, 2 coats polish, and 2-3 coats Gold Class, or just do one coat of each if u dont want the effort involved. ;)

Wow that zam stuff looks good... I personally like the picture where you can see off the guys door panel or somethign of that sort and see what he used...

He had a leaf blower! damn he must be pro :P


- :69:

You never want to put on more than 1 coat of wax, the more coats the more yellowed your finish will become. Here is my choice method:

1) wash with Dawn dishsoap to strip old wax
2) Mother's claybar
3) wash with Meguiers Gold Class
4) Meguiers swirl-reducer
5) Meguiers polish
6) Meguiers Gold Class PASTE wax
7) Meguiers wash again to remove wax dust

For drying, I use a California water blade, then a 100% cotton towel. It took me about 8 hours to complete all of those steps (including cleaning/polishing of the wheels and tires), but I never got a chance to do it this last summer...thats why the car never looked its best.

8 HOURS! :stupid: :)

- :69:

I need to get that claybar, and try your process Chris. :D

I have also heard you should never do more than one coat of wax. You want to protect the car, not make it bullet proof. :P

More than one coat is for the winter, if you're like me and will be driving your car straight through...minnesota does bad things to cars, salt is a killer! :cry:

10 coats of wax is no more protective than 1 coat of wax.

All wax does is remove oxidation and fill the holes. Water proof it a little...

btw Ussually the places you wax1 or 10 times will not rust... its ussually the places you dont wax at all. Like Under the fenders and under the car or under moldings...

I forgot to elabborate on the meguires line, i only use the gold class wash, for the three step they came out with a new system called Deep Crystal, it works great.
Peter, so your saying that we should wax under the fenders and under the car? LOL JK Wax wont remove oxidation it fills ruts, paint cleaner/swirl remover removes oxidation.

8 hours sounds about right if you want the job done right, i spent that for the photoshoot and kept the car in the garage overnight. it still looks great and the water still beads. i love meguires, always have and (hopefully if their product quality stays great) always will.
BTW Meguires released a tire shine that is in a aerosol can that has an adjustable nossel its called something like "Hot Shine" DO NOT GET IT. its not very good at all i tried it and am not happy with it at all, the shine doesnt last very long and isnt very shiny. i dont know if its because my tires are softer or what. stick with the High shine gel.
Tom

The best tire shine that I have found thus far is the Eagle One gel. It lasts a long time and doesn't fling off. Meguier's Deep Crystal system came out many years ago long before Gold Class. That shit is 1990 old school homie (my Dad used it when he bought a LeBaron back in '90...too bad he didn't get the Talon he was also looking at).