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If you truly believe that a cars shine is actually accredited to the prep and not so much the wax, then 2 questions come to mind. 1st, if that is true why did we ever move from Turtle wax? Sorry but my age only lets me go back as far as Turtle wax lol. 2nd, if there was a wax that could produce the exact same shine results without any of the prep would it not be a superior wax?
If you truly believe that a cars shine is actually accredited to the prep and not so much the wax, then 2 questions come to mind. 1st, if that is true why did we ever move from Turtle wax? Sorry but my age only lets me go back as far as Turtle wax lol. 2nd, if there was a wax that could produce the exact same shine results without any of the prep would it not be a superior wax?
I feel it's technique over anything else. Shine seems about the same to me over the years but technology has advanced how long the shine stays.
That being said, it's just my 2 cents
I'm in with Maguiars Ultimate Liquid Wax, easy, smells good, and leaves my car with shiny results, but then we all know its the final polish/buff under the wax that really is the key to great lookin paint right
NSF
Another nod to Maguiars Ultimate Liquid Wax. Hand applied.
We are a family of three black vehicles. I have tried many of the options mentioned here. In general terms I think Meguiar's make decent products with decent results. I tried the Collinite Insulator Wax once - didn't even finish the vehicle - it went straight to the Goodwill box. My C6 came with a bottle of Zaino Z-6 detail spray, so I thought I would give them a try. I bought a ton of product, studied their site, swapped some email with them. In the end, it's not for me - too hard to get off and more importantly, I didn't get the results I expect from the effort I was investing.
In the end, Chemical Guys is what works for me. On my gloss black C6, after using a polisher and correct products for clear coat correction, I use JetSeal sealant, Black Light glaze, and two alternating coats of Black and XXX. Black is a black wax that gives real depth. XXX is Carnauba/synthetic blend and gives a bright shine. All I know is heads turn when I pull up and my buddy who is way more dedicated than me to detailing his all black truck was amazed and wanted to know what I did to get the results. I need to get current shots of the car, but here is one from last year:
I see lots of great product here, but in the end its what works for you and then price. Some of the product on the market today is ridiculous so I stick with my ole favorite Meguiars, readily available at every place I shop so I pick it up when I need it, no shipping or any of those charges, priced right imho.
Good luck with whatever you use Some shiny cars here
NSF
I should have added that I use a variety of detail sprays (depending on need, purpose, and condition of the vehicle), but one that is great and easy to use for all the surfaces of the car is Meguiar's X-press spray wax. You can only get it by the gallon, but it is my go to product for our daily driver and the truck. It goes on easy, comes off easy and leaves a nice layer of protection, as well as acting as a lubricant to take off the daily dust and pollen we see.
Neither am I, I'd rather drive it and get it dirty. Taking mine in for a detailing, thinking of having him do his ceramic coating. $150.00 and no pain. He details motor with some waterless product and I have a happy little car.
Detailed my '06 for the first time this weekend. Started with Griot's Ultimate Compound which got 98% of the PO's swirl marks and looks darned good -- Not perfect (Still has a couple deeper scratches), but darned good for a first try. Finished up with Griot's One-Step sealant which, according to the label, includes a polymer wax. Shined up nicely, although not a super wet looking finish. I may steal some of son's NXT wax and give that a try tomorrow.
Same here, been using it for at least 12 years on 2 black Corvettes & 2 black daily drivers. My wife's 7 year old Jetta with 135k miles impressed the dealer how deep & shiny her paint was. Nothing better or easier to use than Zaino.
I used the Maguiars polish and liquid wax. They may have changed the polish. It almost dries instantly and it's almost impossible to take off.
I purchased the Griots Garage polishing kit at Barrett-Jackson this past January. I haven't tried it yet.
When I was in Arizona I met some Corvette guys who swear by a wax sold by a guy in Arizona. It may have been Jax Wax.
If you truly believe that a cars shine is actually accredited to the prep and not so much the wax, then 2 questions come to mind. 1st, if that is true why did we ever move from Turtle wax? Sorry but my age only lets me go back as far as Turtle wax lol. 2nd, if there was a wax that could produce the exact same shine results without any of the prep would it not be a superior wax?
I think the uptick in the number of car care products came with the times. In the 40's guys were just lucky to break 10k miles on a vehicle, they didn't care how it looked as long as it ran better than the junk built in the 30's. In the 50's guys were taking 30's cars and racing them using scrambled egg junkyard parts, it was hot rodding. I think in the 80's guys all had to have 50's led sleds, the whole grease movement. Then the 90's into the new millenium brought all the boomers into retirement and nostalgia kicked into overdrive. All of the muscle cars from the 60's went off the charts and the muscle car craze was born. Well the next generations are brought up with copious amounts of advertising thanks to the age of the internet, and social media. Out of this, comes the age of the extreme shine. You've never seen cars look better than they do today, in part because painting is much more refined and we use base coat clear coat paint.. but also because were all a heck of a lot more conscious about our vehicles in this hobby. Were all obsessed with having the nicest, the newest, the best. Companies make a fortune feeding off this frenzy of consumerism. We want choices, they provide endless products to choose from.
The second part of your question, most waxes can and will fill small scratches and swirls and make a car look better than it does without a product on it, but as you saw in my photo my car is completely stripped of all chemicals and it looks arguably better than most cars do new on dealer lots. If I seal, or wax it.. it's going to look like wet paint. I truly do believe it's all in the prep work, you wouldn't be able to guess which wax I'm using if you gave me 3 or 4 of them and told me to apply 1... could you?
A good friend of mine is a restorer, body man, mechanic. I asked him a year or so ago about waxes, and he said there is no big secret -- which shouldn't surprise anyone.
Anything can be chemically analyzed, and if somebody had some secret ingredients that made their wax obviously superior it would be quickly known.
I don't know if it's any better or worse than any other (to actually find out you would have to test several brands under laboratory conditions), but it sure is a lot easier to rub off than Rejex is.
04-08-2017, 09:10 AM
Some shiny cars here 
