Best wax?
05-11-14, 03:01 PM
#3
That is a very loaded question... any wax will look great if your car is properly polished and free of surface defects.
Contrary to popular belief, the purpose of wax on automotive paint is to provide a sacrificial layer of protection between the elements and the paint. Wax is not a miracle product that makes your vehicle look super shiny. Wax can fill in minor swirls and defects, which will give the illusion of creating a shinier surface, but the effect is very temporary as traditional carnauba waxes will not last very long.
If your car has swirls and other surface defects as seen in the following image, you'll want to remove them to provide the ultimate shine. As you can see, these defects refract light rather than reflecting light which creates a duller appearance (especially visible in direct lighting).
With proper machine polishing, the surface can be refined to a near flawless finish which will produce crisp, clear reflections that are not muted by the thousands of swirls as it previously was.
Your choice of paint protection will slightly enhance the gloss, but the majority of the work comes with proper polishing.
With that beings said, here are some waxes that I have enjoyed over the years...
Chemical Guys Pete's '53 Black Pearl Signature Paste Wax
Chemical Guys 50/50 Limited Series Concours Paste Wax Version 2
P21S 100% Carnauba Wax
Pinnacle Souveran Paste Wax
If you've got other detailing related questions, check out the Club Lexus Detailing Sub-Forum, or PM me if you'd like.
-Zach
Contrary to popular belief, the purpose of wax on automotive paint is to provide a sacrificial layer of protection between the elements and the paint. Wax is not a miracle product that makes your vehicle look super shiny. Wax can fill in minor swirls and defects, which will give the illusion of creating a shinier surface, but the effect is very temporary as traditional carnauba waxes will not last very long.
If your car has swirls and other surface defects as seen in the following image, you'll want to remove them to provide the ultimate shine. As you can see, these defects refract light rather than reflecting light which creates a duller appearance (especially visible in direct lighting).
With proper machine polishing, the surface can be refined to a near flawless finish which will produce crisp, clear reflections that are not muted by the thousands of swirls as it previously was.
Your choice of paint protection will slightly enhance the gloss, but the majority of the work comes with proper polishing.
With that beings said, here are some waxes that I have enjoyed over the years...
Chemical Guys Pete's '53 Black Pearl Signature Paste Wax
Chemical Guys 50/50 Limited Series Concours Paste Wax Version 2
P21S 100% Carnauba Wax
Pinnacle Souveran Paste Wax
If you've got other detailing related questions, check out the Club Lexus Detailing Sub-Forum, or PM me if you'd like.
-Zach
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05-13-14, 02:28 PM
#11
Like other members said, it's a loaded question. Personally I used plenty of different waxes, sealants. For example I was a zaino fan for a long time, putting down 4,5,6 +++ coats of it on my s2k, it was extremely time consuming. Now with my F, I clean up the paint and do a light polish with menzerna products, then 2 coats of Wolf Chemicals body wrap and I'm good to go for few months, as for winter, I use collinite dbl coat or 2 coats of insulator wax and I know I have good protection for winter. Power lock sealant also from menzerna will give you beautyfull beading and millions of droplets after a rain, plus nice warm shine in a nice weather. Last winter was pretty harsh over here, I had 2 coats of wolf body wrap that I 'installed' in November, 5/6 mths later people ask me if I detailed it recently after a simple wash. Still I have few waxes that I never used siting in a garage, Victoria red for example or p21, stick with whatever works for you and makes you happy, you can spend thousands on waxes that it's hard to tell apart from over the counter ones. For me most important in a wax is durability.
03-27-15, 10:08 AM
#13
LSD only contributes a very small amount of shine/gloss. All shine/gloss comes from proper polishing. Therefore, IMO, the main point of LSD is protection. Since there are so much advance in technology now from paint sealant to coating, wax to me seems outdated.
The cons of any wax no matter how expensive it is will inherit 3 cons:
1. Last very short comparing to sealant and coating. 1 month-2 months if you lucky.
2. Attract a lot of dust.
3. Does not offer good protection. A Dawn wash will remove wax all together, birb bomb will penetrate right through it.
The only reason I see old school people like using wax nowaday still is to have that "warm" and "wet" gloss.
To answer your question, there is no best wax, all wax is pretty much the same with the 3 cons I said above. Whoever spending hundreds on the super expensive wax is just wasting money, IMO because at the end of the day many paint sealant and coating out there outperform wax by a big margin in term of protection and durability.
The cons of any wax no matter how expensive it is will inherit 3 cons:
1. Last very short comparing to sealant and coating. 1 month-2 months if you lucky.
2. Attract a lot of dust.
3. Does not offer good protection. A Dawn wash will remove wax all together, birb bomb will penetrate right through it.
The only reason I see old school people like using wax nowaday still is to have that "warm" and "wet" gloss.
To answer your question, there is no best wax, all wax is pretty much the same with the 3 cons I said above. Whoever spending hundreds on the super expensive wax is just wasting money, IMO because at the end of the day many paint sealant and coating out there outperform wax by a big margin in term of protection and durability.
03-27-15, 10:53 AM
#14
Like others have said, it's all in the prep work. proper claying, polishing and paint cleaning make the biggest difference.
As for a LSP for SGM. I've used DP Max wax, Collinite 476s and Optimum Opticoat. All of them look fantastic. I found Klasse twin combined with Max Wax gave a shiny deep finish that really made the metallic flakes pop.
As for a LSP for SGM. I've used DP Max wax, Collinite 476s and Optimum Opticoat. All of them look fantastic. I found Klasse twin combined with Max Wax gave a shiny deep finish that really made the metallic flakes pop.
03-27-15, 11:23 AM
#15
LSD only contributes a very small amount of shine/gloss. All shine/gloss comes from proper polishing. Therefore, IMO, the main point of LSD is protection. Since there are so much advance in technology now from paint sealant to coating, wax to me seems outdated.
The cons of any wax no matter how expensive it is will inherit 3 cons:
1. Last very short comparing to sealant and coating. 1 month-2 months if you lucky.
2. Attract a lot of dust.
3. Does not offer good protection. A Dawn wash will remove wax all together, birb bomb will penetrate right through it.
The only reason I see old school people like using wax nowaday still is to have that "warm" and "wet" gloss.
To answer your question, there is no best wax, all wax is pretty much the same with the 3 cons I said above. Whoever spending hundreds on the super expensive wax is just wasting money, IMO because at the end of the day many paint sealant and coating out there outperform wax by a big margin in term of protection and durability.
The cons of any wax no matter how expensive it is will inherit 3 cons:
1. Last very short comparing to sealant and coating. 1 month-2 months if you lucky.
2. Attract a lot of dust.
3. Does not offer good protection. A Dawn wash will remove wax all together, birb bomb will penetrate right through it.
The only reason I see old school people like using wax nowaday still is to have that "warm" and "wet" gloss.
To answer your question, there is no best wax, all wax is pretty much the same with the 3 cons I said above. Whoever spending hundreds on the super expensive wax is just wasting money, IMO because at the end of the day many paint sealant and coating out there outperform wax by a big margin in term of protection and durability.
... LSP = last step product, ie protectionIf durability is the main concern, it is true that waxes leave a lot to be desired, however I do still enjoy waxing my car and LOVE my Pinnacle Souveran Paste Wax. It is so smooth... kind of therapeutic to spread a nice coat of wax on a car.
All 3 of your cons are true, however the point about all waxes being the same regardless of price is not. The materials used can vary greatly... there are many types of waxes, oils, etc that can be used to create "the perfect wax", and much of this stuff is pricey.
With that being said, a sealant or coating is most suited for DD's due to their better durability, however if one wants to add a wax on top... go for it. Detailing is all about doing what makes you happy
