To Wax or not

[Hornet3D]

What is everyone's preference when it comes to making the car shine.  Is it  just a question washing the car with a wax type shampoo and leaving tit to dry or is it a wax or silicone type finish.  I know products are a very personal thing but it would be nice to know what others use.

[robt100]

If im in a rush, its given a once over with my pure water window cleaning equipment 😄
Normally a shampoo then Bilt Hamber double speed wax.
If I have time, I'd add a polymer-ceramic coat before the wax.
If I have a lot of time then a full clean, decontamination, polish, ceramic and wax.

But ideally, some form of wax, whether built in or purpose-built is very important, especially after a polish, got to keep a protective barrier to keep the paintwork tip top😉

[TonyHSD]

Hi, 

I do hand polish my car once or twice a year but i do outside washes every week and using this shampoo really makes it shiny same as just been waxed. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Holts-Car-Shampoo-Wax-Streak-Free-Professional-Wash-Polish-Shine-Detailing-5L-/184481377990?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m2548.l6249&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0
Highly recommended stuff and a good price for 5ltr. 👍

[Gray86]

Polish gives the shine, wax is for protection. If you want water beading for 4-6MONTHS, use a durable wax like Collinite 476s or 915. Both are exceptional, and make washing the car much easier too. The tin lasts ages, so you should get a few years out of it 

[NorthantsRob]

Definitely get some good quality wax on the car and as @robt100 said, ideally on top of nice clean paint and, ideally, a ceramic coat. I went over mine last week with a ceramic coat, followed by 2 coats of wax. 

[Dave the aygo]

32 minutes ago, NorthantsRob said:

Definitely get some good quality wax on the car and as @robt100 said, ideally on top of nice clean paint and, ideally, a ceramic coat. I went over mine last week with a ceramic coat, followed by 2 coats of wax. 

Looks good where did you get the red rings on your wheels 

[NorthantsRob]

29 minutes ago, Dave the aygo said:

Looks good where did you get the red rings on your wheels 

From Toyota Direct Parts:

https://toyotadirectparts.co.uk/parts/toyota-aygo/toyota-aygo-mk-2/aygo-mk-2-accessories/toyota-aygo-2014-present-centre-cap-surround-red-pop-3p0/

 

[Dave the aygo]

10 minutes ago, NorthantsRob said:

From Toyota Direct Parts:

https://toyotadirectparts.co.uk/parts/toyota-aygo/toyota-aygo-mk-2/aygo-mk-2-accessories/toyota-aygo-2014-present-centre-cap-surround-red-pop-3p0/

 

Thanks

[G L J]

Found this product gives a good fast shine and can be applied to a wet car so really quick.https://www.amazon.co.uk/Autoglym-Rapid-Aqua-Wax-Complete/dp/B0060KJLKY/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=autoglym+aqua+wax&qid=1645483203&sr=8-1

[Big_D]

Remember, it's wax on - wax off 😁

[robt100]

Thought id add this as an example of doing the "full works" version. Works best on black😁 (sadly some dust from the garage had decided to make a new home by this point!)

[Hornet3D]

I am sort of taken with the idea of the ceramic coat but it would prove difficult to do thanks to the drying time that many require.  For the last nine years I have owned a CRV which was never garaged due to the fact it was physically impossible get ii to fit.  I had a Honda Civic before that would just go in but you had to be inch prefect if you were going to get out of the car once in the garage.  Due to this the garage got used for other things so the Aygo is going to be an outdoor car which means the 24  hours curing time required by some is difficult particularly if that period has to be rain free.  So far I have used Bilt Hamber double speed wax to at least have something but I am open to other ideas down the road.

[Catlover]

I have extolled it before and will do again…… waterless wash and wax. I don’t pay too much attention to actually doing the waterless bit because I prefer to so before I wax, but I have seen demos where cars are dirtier then I would want them to be and the demonstrator has in indeed cleaned without using water.  There are a few waterless wax systems ointment the market, I saw a Maguires advert yesterday, but I use Williams and have Renault in the shed too.       
They have Carnuba wax in the solution, which envelopes dirt. Not talking here of a field load of dirt, but dirtier then I would want my car to be before I clean it. The demos I see on TV are amazing. They have a car bonnet with has been cleaned with the product. That’s important for what follows.. one demo they spray rattle can paint onto the bonnet, as a vandal would. Leave for some time for it to harden. They then spray more of the wax polish on the dried paint, leave it for 10 minutes, come back and using a microfibre cloth they remove the rattle can spray completely.  Another demo, again bonnet already cleaned with waterless wash & wax, put some lighter fuel on the bonnet, put a match too it, let it burn till it extinguishes itself. Spray a bit of waterless wash and wax, buff up with microfibre  cloth, bonnet good as new.    
This stuff can be applied on a hot sunny day, on a dull day, a damp day….l it doesn’t matter, it’s as easy to apply, clean, and polish in any of those conditions. It doesn’t cake on and difficult to polish even On the hottest summer day.      
The polish doesn’t last for more then say 6 weeks, but there again it doesn’t take a half day to do. You can do a panel at a time, taxi drivers do it while waiting in a queue, it’s so easy.         
Currently seen on sale for circa £20 for 5 litre with a 1 litre spry bottle - IDEAL world TV.  One litre will do approx 4 med size cars.
Amp other product I recommend is CarPlan No 1.  A bottle cost approx £8, and will do 4 cars.  It’s like a ceramic coat, I found it good for 6 months per application. I clean my car with waterless wash and wax with Carnuba in it, then lightly couple sprays of No1 to a panel, clean microfibre cloth to evenly spread No1 about, repeat one panel at a time. Doesn’t take 24 hours to set, doesn’t take 12 hours, no where near.      

[Hornet3D]

2 hours ago, Catlover said:

I have extolled it before and will do again…… waterless wash and wax. I don’t pay too much attention to actually doing the waterless bit because I prefer to so before I wax, but I have seen demos where cars are dirtier then I would want them to be and the demonstrator has in indeed cleaned without using water.  There are a few waterless wax systems ointment the market, I saw a Maguires advert yesterday, but I use Williams and have Renault in the shed too.       
They have Carnuba wax in the solution, which envelopes dirt. Not talking here of a field load of dirt, but dirtier then I would want my car to be before I clean it. The demos I see on TV are amazing. They have a car bonnet with has been cleaned with the product. That’s important for what follows.. one demo they spray rattle can paint onto the bonnet, as a vandal would. Leave for some time for it to harden. They then spray more of the wax polish on the dried paint, leave it for 10 minutes, come back and using a microfibre cloth they remove the rattle can spray completely.  Another demo, again bonnet already cleaned with waterless wash & wax, put some lighter fuel on the bonnet, put a match too it, let it burn till it extinguishes itself. Spray a bit of waterless wash and wax, buff up with microfibre  cloth, bonnet good as new.    
This stuff can be applied on a hot sunny day, on a dull day, a damp day….l it doesn’t matter, it’s as easy to apply, clean, and polish in any of those conditions. It doesn’t cake on and difficult to polish even On the hottest summer day.      
The polish doesn’t last for more then say 6 weeks, but there again it doesn’t take a half day to do. You can do a panel at a time, taxi drivers do it while waiting in a queue, it’s so easy.         
Currently seen on sale for circa £20 for 5 litre with a 1 litre spry bottle - IDEAL world TV.  One litre will do approx 4 med size cars.
Amp other product I recommend is CarPlan No 1.  A bottle cost approx £8, and will do 4 cars.  It’s like a ceramic coat, I found it good for 6 months per application. I clean my car with waterless wash and wax with Carnuba in it, then lightly couple sprays of No1 to a panel, clean microfibre cloth to evenly spread No1 about, repeat one panel at a time. Doesn’t take 24 hours to set, doesn’t take 12 hours, no where near.      

Product I am looking at takes 24 hours to fully cure but hardens in one to two hours the only danger after the two hours is a rain storm when the water droplets could mark the coat.  That said the base coat can be cured using another product so that rain storms will have no effect.   The claim is that it good for 12 months and I have seen a few tests on you tube where it is still protecting well and six.  IT can also be layered and as the Aygo is a very different proposition to the CRV I may try that as well.

[Hornet3D]

Engine bay now cleaned, not that it was dirty, and protection coat added.

[NorthantsRob]

38 minutes ago, Hornet3D said:

Engine bay now cleaned, not that it was dirty, and protection coat added.

Engine bay looks great, what did you use protection coat-wise?

 

[Hornet3D]

11 minutes ago, NorthantsRob said:

Engine bay looks great, what did you use protection coat-wise?

 

Two products, for the engine in general Meguiar's G17316EU Engine Bay Dressing and then for all of the rubber components such as hoses and rubber seals I used 303® Aerospace Protectant. The Engine bay dressing is new to me but I have been using the 303 protectant for a few years on my previous car and used it on extensively mainly due the the UV blockers which help keep rubber in particular supple adn crack free.

[Dave the aygo]

I clean my car with waterless wash and wax with Carnuba in it, as Catlover has said can be applied in almost any weather I have always had good experience with it when I had the red aygo I believe it looked better every time I used it. The colour seems better each time 

[Big_D]

I've bought some waterless cleaner from Greased Lightning. It's supposed to be good, but I've yet to use it.

[Catlover]

You need some microfibre cloths now. One for distributing the fluid and one for buffing up. Once your microfibre cloth is loaded up the less you need to spray on a panel. Do the job in panels, don’t cover the whole car in Polish then buff. Does all black stuff as well, door trim, tyres, and chrome, plus windows. The only window I don’t use it on the the windscreen. I do the wheels last as they usually dirtiest with brake dust etc.

 once you use it you will love it (if like me), then keep doing visit to Ideal World on tv, they do 5 litres for £20. 

[Dave the aygo]

11 minutes ago, Catlover said:

You need some microfibre cloths now. One for distributing the fluid and one for buffing up. Once your microfibre cloth is loaded up the less you need to spray on a panel. Do the job in panels, don’t cover the whole car in Polish then buff. Does all black stuff as well, door trim, tyres, and chrome, plus windows. The only window I don’t use it on the the windscreen. I do the wheels last as they usually dirtiest with brake dust etc.

 once you use it you will love it (if like me), then keep doing visit to Ideal World on tv, they do 5 litres for £20. 

Bought mine from there last time it is, a good product I'm with you the only item I don't use it on is the windowscreen worth the money for what you get

[Big_D]

I've got the microfibre cloths too. I tend to use the Autoglym Fast glass on all windows and mirrors.

 

[Hornet3D]

4 minutes ago, Big_D said:

I've got the microfibre cloths too. I tend to use the Autoglym Fast glass on all windows and mirrors.

 

Just remember not to use fabric softener when washing microfibre cloths.

[Big_D]

Thanks. I did not know that. Why, if I may ask?

[Catlover]

Soft er products soften the effect of microfibre cloths, takes away the grabbing effect of the cloth.