Store Bought Waxes Part II (No Zaino Posts)

newwestd · April 2000

This really seems to be the best overall tire cleaner, although there are several. I usually use this and the spray on wheel cleaner at the same time to get all the corrosive fumes done at the same time! I beleive that the "brown stuff" is old tire treatment, dirt and grease that stick to the usually sticky tire stuff.

I spray the tire well with it, then wet a stiff brush with it and scrub the tire, then spray some more. As I am done with the last tire it is time to hose it off. Be sure to use lots of water, and really rinse. If you've cleaned the wheels too, then you must re-wax them at this point.

DON'T let the tire or wheel cleaner dry before hosing it off!!!

pjyoung · April 2000

You owe it to yourself to check out the "other" (Z) board for info. You may be surprised t find that it is easy to apply...just ask.

jster · April 2000

There are many good one-step products if you want
long-lasting paint protection. The so-called
polymer sealants, generally last longer than
carnauba-based waxes, so that is probably you're
best bet.

If you are looking for an inexpensive product,
available at most large retailers, then Nu-Finish
is probably the way to go. Many people on this
board have used it, and claimed that it is a very
long lasting product. Also Consumer Reports
claimed it was the longest lasting of the products
they tested a number of years back.

If you want to spend a little more money, I have
used Klasse All-in-One, which is a German made
product. It gives an excellent shine and is very
long lasting. It is the best polymer-type product
IMHO. Available at:

www.smoothfinish.com
www.properautocare.com

among others. Also have heard that it is
available at Mercedes dealerships.

joe166 · April 2000

I am happy to report, in my quest for the easiest products to use, that "Back to Black" by Mothers (I think) works quite well and very easily to take the white stuff that results from polymer wax off the black trim. I know that I had read that peanut butter will take it off, but I just didn't want to do that. A small amount of this stuff cleaned all the black trim on my Lincoln LS and made it look pretty good too.

As to easy to use wax, I think Nufinish takes the prize as to longevity and I am sure if you really wanted to you could do the seven stage process, but it worked quite well after a wash job too. It has lasted a couple of months since my initial application, but I know that is not a long time. I used it because I read the Consumer Reports article. I trust them with things like that, I just don't want them telling me what a great car the Checker is or what a great deal the Neon is. In the area of great cars they are clueless.

lanie1 · April 2000

A tree limb scratched the side of our car and scuffed the clear coat. Rubbing with the Kwik scratch remover from Autozone did not smooth down the scuffed area. I would appreciate any tips about how to smooth the scuffed area (the paint itself is not scratched).

Thanks!

cygnusx1 · April 2000

Anyone know of a product that will protect chrome (i.e. bumpers, trim, etc?) I know plainold wax will do the trick, but I'm hesitant to wax the chrome and constantly be rubbing it off. I'm afraid one day I'll end up rubbing the chrome off.
Any specific products out there that are good foe keeping chrome shiny and new looking?

pjyoung · April 2000

I'd tell you what I use on my chrome wheels (with little effort and no constant "rubbing it off"), but you'll have to ask me over in that "other" forum

cygnusx1 · April 2000

Something other than 'Z'. I mean like a "this is specifically for chrome only" kind of product. I have plenty of z stuff. I've never seen a specifically-for-chrome product, but I've never had much chrome until I got this new truck so I've never looked before. But I guess store waxes and z will probably do the trick.

pjyoung · April 2000

Back in the "good old days" when a lot of cars had chrome bumpers, I used to use just regular carnuba wax with excellent results.

My first car (74 Plymouth Satellite Sebring Plus, bought new - I loved that car!) had chrome bumpers. Being a lot younger then, I waxed it frequently and waxed all the chrome on it with "Classic" car wax. When I got ready to trade it in 1978, one of the new guys where I worked paid me the ulitmate compliment...he thought it was brand new. I have to admit, it did look good, better than showroom condition!

pblevine · April 2000

As pjyoung said, check out the "Z" at the end of the Maintenance Topic List. It really is the longest lasting stuff made.

peterskm · April 2000

I am not sure they even make a chrome-specific wax. The reason being, like others have stated, wax does the trick. Why buy another product? They'll all work the same.

Kevin

cygnusx1 · April 2000

Thanks for the chrome info, everyone. I guess I'll stick with carnuba or Z. I guess I was just curious as to whether a lot of rubbing on chrome would damage it over the years. I guess not from reading pjyoung's reply. If it didn't damage a '78 Plymouth then it shouldn't damage a new vehicle. Thanks again for the info.

jster · April 2000

Zymol sells a wheel cleaning kit that contains a mild wheel cleaner (similar to P21s) and a spray-on "wheel coat wax". I have used it--the cleaner is mild and works well--and the wax requires little or no buffing on my wheels. Both are mild, all-natural products. If you prefer not to use wheel cleaners, the wax is available separately, I believe.

It is sold online at a number of sources, though I believe you have to go to the Zymol website if you want to buy the Wheel Coat, separately.

Don't think you'd be hurting your wheels by just using a wax or protectant on them, however. The big advantage of the spray on wax is ease of use, more than anything else-- you don't have to buff it out from the small spaces on the wheels.

cygnusx1 · April 2000

...don't ever use a product called "Deep Purple".
It's a foam application for wheels that you can get at any run of the mill auto store. Turned the
rims on my truck (one I no longer have) a weird shade blue/purple. Ruined all 4 of them. I learned my lesson about testing products on a small inconspicuous place before going gung-ho with it.

jster · April 2000

Yeah, many of them are pretty strong solvents. Very alkaline. I usually stick to soap and water. I bought the Zymol kit mainly because of the wax, which I wanted to try. Zymol and P21s are probably the best wheel cleaners in terms of mildness, from what I have heard. But you have to hit the wheels with a sponge, mitt, or soft brush, just as if you were washing with plain car wash soap, especially with the Zymol. It's a little easier, but not that much.

I usually don't let the brake dust and road junk cake up on the wheels, and keep them waxed, so the wheel cleaners don't really have much advantage.

j_coleman · April 2000

Is NuFinish OK to use on a car that is only 11 months old? I have only waxed it once with Meguire's. It's about time for another wax job. I don't have swirl marks since I do all of the cleaning myself. I do have some bug splats on the front end, however. I only have time for two steps - wax on, wax off.

graphicguy · April 2000

I'm not a big fan of NuFinish. It has abrasives in it that, over time, will cause swirl marks in your paint. I know that Consumer Reports did a comparison with them in it a few years ago and liked it. That said, I'm not a fan of Consumer Reports either. I read recently that even NuFinish has fallen out of favor with the Consumer Reports folks.

If you are looking for a one bottle, one step procedure, I liked Eagle One Wet. I've used it in the past and for what it is, it's a good product.

jrdelirio · April 2000

I've just read the May 2000 issue of Consumer Reports: they have put out their first review of car polishes/waxes since 1994.

Very briefly:
Meguiar's Cleaner Wax is now well out in the pack. Perhaps a sign that the products that were already good stayed the same while the competition went the "new, improved" route.

New top-5 products include Zymol Cleaner Wax, Prestone Bullet Wax, 3M One-step, Nu Finish Paste and Armor-All Wax. Turtle Wax, Eagle One and Blue Coral products also make it to the "VG" bracket.

They rate for shine (no one got the 5/5 score), durability, ease of use, cleaning, and scratching/hazing. Even the best products scored just a 3 in the 1-to-5 scale on at least 2 criteria. Interestingly, they say that their test shows even the best products will give only a couple of months' service.

They do specifically point out weaknesses on their top products: scratching/hazing (sp. dark paint) with Nu-Finish and Armor-All, short durability with 3M and Zymol, "middling" cleaning performance with Zymol and Nu-Finish.

Review of the Review:

This review is directed towards a person not concerned with fine differences between polish and wax, shopping among chain-store products for something to shine his/her everyday ride w. the least effort, dedicating to it maybe two hours one morning a month, at best.

In this setting there is no consideration to be given to claying, orbital buffing, what have you -- Auto-Show quality was expressly *not* sought. The reviewers overtly declare themselves unimpressed by "persnickety" 3-step systems, I quote: "Waxing a car is drudgery enough, but imagine doing it 3 times in a row... you could spend from dawn to dusk [at it]"

Thus Nu-Finish -- good gloss, easy to apply, long duration, so-so-cleaning -- now scores well above Meguiar's -- good gloss, easy to apply, good cleaning, but short duration (i.e. more mornings of work for the customer).

robertr · April 2000

about the CR article. Have to read between the lines and consider where they are coming from. I used Meguiar's Gold Class Liquid on my dark green '97 Maxima for 3 years. Car still had like-new shine when I turned it in for 2000 dark silver-gray Maxima. Durability is not bad (waxed about every 3 months), it's non-abrasive, and has great gloss. Article didn't review the new Meguiar's Gold Class Paste. Maybe it has better durability. Has anyone tried it? How is the durability, gloss ,and ease of application compared to the Liquid?

newwestd · April 2000

I've been away for a while, so please excuse the late post -

CHROME - There are a few Chrome polishes out there from 3M and Mother's for example. BUT they are polishes, for cleaning and shining, not waxes. They do a good job of removing road grime, and other stuff that the chrome is exposed to. I would then wax over it. I beleive that they are slightly abrasive. Don't worry, chrome is extremely hard. By the way the chrome polish is also really good for glass - cleans everything off! The polishes I mention are a whitish liquid that dries to a white haze and is buffed off.

CLEAR COAT SCUFF - It sounds like it is extrememly scuffed. Sorry to hear it. I would try a more agressive buffing or polishing compound - some are much more abrasive than others. The, go finere and finer until it is gone and shiny again. As a last resort I would try some #600 wet/dry sandpaper. It is nearly paper smooth, and then you polish over it. If this makes you nervous, a good body/paint shop can buff out the scuff, if it is ot through the paint to teh primer. Good luck!

haniel · April 2000

Hi,
I'm very new to car detailing, and I've just bought a new Passport.
Over the weekend I was in autozone, shopping for a great car wax.

I bought Meguiar's Cleaner Wax. It looks great and it supposed to do the polish stage and some protection.

Then I saw Meguiar's Show Car Deep Wax that's supposed to be applied after the polish wax to give lasting protection.

Is the Deep wax really necessary ? or is it just a marketing gimmick ?

thanks in advance y'all,
Haniel.

marsha7 · April 2000

Forgive me for being out of touch, but you spoke about waxing the Passport you just bought. Please tell me who makes it, since all I can think of is my Passport radar detector from Cincinnati Microwave. Thanks.

haniel · April 2000

hi Marsha,

I meant the Honda Passport SUV.

Thanks,
Haniel.

j_coleman · April 2000

I used Meguiar's Gold Class Paste on my '96 Saturn and '99 Intrigue. It lasted about 2 months with washes every other weekend. The gloss was good, but I've seen better. I've never used liquid wax, so I can't compare ease of use vs. paste wax. I'm going to try Eagle One Wet next (liquid).

cygnusx1 · April 2000

Marsha, also take a look at Meguires #26 Hi-Tech Yellow Carnuba. Awesome stuff, but it's better if you have an orbital buffer or something to get it off with because it takes a while. It's a paste.

marsha7 · April 2000

Thanks. Of course, now that I have the answer, I recall that Honda sells a Passport. Does Honda make it or is it a re-badged Isuzu.

Sorry my mind blanked out, but I seem to get a day older with each passing day. Amazing!

wtd · April 2000

I use GM cleaner wax on our 98 chevy truck and 98 pontiac GP. I think its probably made by meguiers because its in the same exact bottle as Meguiers gold class polish but its not as thick as the gold class, thinner like meguiers cleaner wax, but it smells different than both of them. It works real well and seems to last quite awhile and both vehicles still look brand new.

wtd · April 2000

I use GM cleaner wax on our 98 chevy truck and 98 pontiac GP. I think its probably made by meguiers because its in the same exact bottle as Meguiers gold class polish but its not as thick as the gold class, thinner like meguiers cleaner wax, but it smells different than both of them. It works real well and seems to last quite awhile and both vehicles still look brand new.

dhanley · April 2000

I have been trying a lot of different products on my cars to see if I can cut through all the catr-care fog. So far, the most impressive products have been the 3M ones, specifically the swirl mark remover, which is the only thing to really take the scratches out. Zaino was a wash--all the layers didn't perform better than a simple wax, and for $80 and all that effort, I expected more. Meguiars looked great going on, but didn't hold up terribly well. Turtle wax was pretty good but not as good as the 3m. Nu finish was pretty darn good, but all the dust around here seems to really stick to it!

The passport is simply a rebadged isuzu, with a higher price tag and a shorter warranty.

dave

danstuart · April 2000

Does anyone know how long you should wait before waxing after body shop repair and painting? The work was done by a top notch shop but I don't know if their painting process requires a certain amount of time to set.

peterskm · April 2000

Usually, you should wait 90 days before washing your car after it was painted. The reason for this is because the paint is not baked on like it is at the factory.

pblevine · April 2000

It depends on the body shop. Today, many good body shops actually do 'bake' on multiple coats (including a clear coat). If so, only a few days are necessary before a good wash and wax. Ask the body shop folks about what they actually are doing and how. And tell them NOT to apply that damn 'hand glaze' stuff which is mostly mineral oil.

jdonnee · May 2000

Has anyone used the Finish First product instead of a store bought wax or Zaino. If so, what did you think about the shine and durability?

hlow · May 2000

Hi:

What exactly will happen to the paint if you wax it immediately after the body work?

jster · May 2000

Never used it myself...but check Audi World...go to search and type "finish first"...a lot of "user reviews".

http://www.audiworld.com/search/index.html

newwestd · May 2000

It really depends on whether or not the paint was baked at the paint shop. It it was baked, as at the factory, then you don't need to wait. If it was air-dried, you should really wait at least a couple of weeks for the paint to thoroughly dry from top to bottom.

If you wax on top of fresh, non-cured paint, it can start to flake off after a while, since the wax seals the paint, preventing proper drying.

hlow · May 2000

That's scary. Thanks for the info

terminalis · May 2000

Hi,

I'm new to this forum. I found it by surfing to find some info on good wax. I use mothers carnauba wax BTW.

Some questions: My car had a very small dent on the rear driver side door (I think someone dented on parking lot). I realized that they washed (I don't know if they waxed) right after the body work as a curtesy. They told me something about paint having to be dried further, but told me that it's ok to wash. When I got home, I realized that there were some strange pores (very little "holes" on the clear coats, which doesn't expose the paint inside though). Funny thing is that the car was in for the rear driver side door dent, but I could find these "pore" on the front driver's door as well. I didn't go back to them. I guess the body shop job can't be perfect after all. I'm curious, do you guys think that it's due to their washing/waxing right after body work. They did told me something about paint having to dry further. Then, why the front door? I was thinking maybe, in order for them to do the job, they have to warm the body panel in order to peel off the paint around the dent. And in this process, they might have damaged the front door as well. Or, it's them washing the car. I don't know anything about body work. It's the first time my car had to go through a minor body work. I don't think those pores will hurt the car in long term personally. But, I'm so curious. Please let me know. --terminalis

P.S.: sorry for the long post BTW.

newwestd · May 2000

Is it possible that these little pinholes in the paint were there before and you didn't notice?

Either way, take it back to the body shop and ask them about it. They probably didn't wax, just wash, that's OK.

terminalis · May 2000

newwestd,

thanks for you info. I don't think it was there before. anyway, I'll mention to them. BTW, I don't think that body shop can do a work as nice as factory painting and coating. Thanks. Later.
--terminalis

pat84 · May 2000

My goal is to protect my finish with the minimum hassle. I used Meguiar's liquid gold premium. It has a red banner on the label on the plastic bottle. It was the easiest to use wax I have ever used. I did a my mini van in about 2 1/2 hours. I have used turtle wax paste and liquid on other cars and 1 other mini van I owned. Maguiar's seemed to have a more gloss shine; hard to say without 2 cars next to each other. It went on/off in about 1/2 the time of turtle wax. BTW the van is 10 months old and this was first wax.

len_a · May 2000

The easiest I've ever used is Durashine. You wash the car, dry a little (car doesn't need to be completely dry) then apply Durashine to the entire car. Then the real bonus is you hose it off. No rubbing at all. I could do 2 small cars inside 90 minutes total. However, I don't think Durashine gives that great of a shine but if you want something fast that will protect the finish its an option. I used to use this on a 90 Corolla that I recently sold.

I now use Meguiar's liquid car cleaner on my 90 Civic which has problems with oxidation. On my new Honda Odyssey minivan I'm using Zaino.

dhoff · May 2000

dhanley, you posted a while back about the 3M swirl mark remover.

I have a 1993 Nissan (dark blue) that I used Nu Finish on, and it does have a lot of swirl marks. I'd like to try the remover you mentioned, but I haven't been able to find it anywhere. Did you get it at an auto parts store, a chain store, or online?

Dave

dhanley · May 2000

I got it at pep boys.. It really does work pretty well. It was way on bottom shelf out of view.. I had to look for it.

dave

dhoff · May 2000

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately, there are no Pep Boys stores in my state.

Next time I go to Chicago I'll have to find one. Until then I'll keep looking.

Dave

joe111 · May 2000

Has anyony tried Zymol wax? There was a comparison of most of the polishes on the market in the May issue of Consumer Reports. Zymol got the best rating, slightly better than Prestone Bullet wax and Nu Finish. I have a new black Honda and Zymol is recommended to prevent or eliminate swirl marks; very common to dark colored cars. I tried Turtle Wax Express shine, it comes in a spray bottle. It did a very good job and it was very easy and quick to use. I did the whole car in less than 10 minutes.It didn't get a very good grade for durability though, so it probably won't last very long. Zymol is 3 times the price, but it probably lasts 3 times as long. Any Zymol customers care to comment?

fastdriver · May 2000

dhoff-

Try a NAPA store. IF they don't have it, they can special order it.

fastdriver from the OTHER wax/polish topic! ;-))

dhoff · May 2000

There are NAPA stores in town, I just haven't tried them.

I'll have to try driving a different route home tonight.

Dave

losy · May 2000

I have a Black Yukon XL and I an trying to get info on a good wax to use. A post on this web site under the Zaino topic discussed how Zymol caused the paint to chip on this guys car and his dealer found the same problem with Zymol. It has something to do with the way Zymol softens the paint. Who knows but before you buy some you might want to seach for Zymol in the Zaino topic.

jdonnee · May 2000

This past week I did my daughters 95 metallic green neon and my wife's silver Lexus LS 400 with Finish first. The results blew me away. I was unhappy with all of the waxes and was about to switch to Zaino. I did clay, pre-cleaner and two coast of Finish First with the first drying over night. It went on easy and came off easy. This is a polymer polish like Zaino but with less steps.

Store Bought Waxes Part II (No Zaino Posts)

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