What kind of wax?

Hi guys, I got my car out over the Easter weekend after it's winter hibernation program. I re-washed it and now want to get a new coat of wax on it. The paint is Arctic Silver and in very good condition in my opinion. I was wondering what sort of wax/polishes you guys use. I'm interested in performance and protection. I don't want to spend all day doing a 9 step process that is 2% better than a 2 step process that I can do in an hour or two. My car is always garaged, never sees inclement weather (unless I get caught in unforseen rain) and is cleaned after almost every single time I use it. It is never allowed to sit dirty or with say, bird crap on it. I just want it to shine like crazy and protect the paint. Ease of use is a concern, but not a priority. Same with cost - I consider cost important, but not paramount. Also, do you use windshield treatments? Like I said, I RARELY get caught in rain, but it does happen occaisionally. Lastly, do you wax your wheels? Why, how, with what? Thanks for reading this far into my long posting. I appreciate your help. Jason

I love the P21S Wax. Goes on fast, smooth, easy to remove, and looks great.

Anthony Orosco resides in the Concours/Car Care forum. He is a professional detailer. I'd suggest starting there, perhaps send him a PM.

Who makes it? Do you use a cleaner wax prior?

Wow! I apologize, but I've never really taken the time to explore this site outside of the 996 forum and I didn't realize that a concours section existed. Thanks. I'm thinking most of those guys are going to be a little over the top for what I'm looking for and the time I have to devote toward this.

Hi, Anthony will probably recomend Optimum car wax, which I will second as being very easy to use with excellent results. P21S is also excellent wax that is almost as easy to use as the optimum. P21S makes a polish/cleaner called gloss enhancing paint cleaner which is excellent and is wipe on wipe off in use. You can't go wrong with either one.

I like P21S wax if the car is parked in a garage and One Grand Blitz Wax if it's parked outside. If it is parked outside, I recommend using P21S gloss enhancing paintwork cleanser before each wax, and once a year if it's in the garage (btw, wax 4 times/year if outside, 2 times if garaged). This stuff is not stocked in any store that I've seen, but is plentiful online (I get mine from carcareonline.com).

I also use P21S on top of a coat of Meguiares NXT.

I use Klasse Al In One one or twice a year to clean and seal the finish. The Kasse stuff is a PIA to use, but is kind of durable. It is a pain to remove it all, but waxing over it with P21S tends to get rid of the haze that I missed with the microfiber towel. I wax the car after washing it, and try to wax it one once a month. The car is a daily driver, and sits outside ALL the time. (Its a Black BMW) All of these products can be found on line. You may be able to find the sister product of P21S at a motorcycle shop, it goes under the name of S100 there. Try a Harley shop if there is one in your area.

No, they're not really over the top. Just regular guys, very helpful. I'd suggest searching thru the forum and posting. Lots of good information on claying, Porter Cable random orbitals, etc. FWIW, I use Pinnacle Souveran wax; does not leave white residue/marks on trim and generates next to zero wax dust when removing. http://www.pinnaclewax.com/souveran.html Lots of online resources available: http://www.carcareonline.com/ http://www.autogeek.net/ http://www.pinnaclewax.com/ http://www.griotsgarage.com/ http://www.properautocare.com/ http://www.p21s.com/ Best of luck....

Jason, I know you don't want to do a 9 step process and given that, you might not get the shine you want. It took me almost 14 hours to get mine looking like this: Point is, if your surface is covered with micro-scratches there is NO wax that's going to make it look good. That said, if your surface is in good shape, there are lots of good waxes out there. P21S, Rejex, Zaino, One Grand Blitz. -Charles

Also, do you use windshield treatments? Like I said, I RARELY get caught in rain, but it does happen occaisionally. PPG Aquapel. That is the best stuff available. It is about $5 per application, but well worth it.

Charles - couldn't agree more. I've used Griot's Best of Show with excellent results. Recently, I've been using Zaino - once the surface is prepared well, the stuff is a snap to put on - you can do 2 coats in an hour or so. The finish is second to none. Great stuff. Phil G. ________________________________________ 2004 C4S Coupe - Atlas/Black

Zaino rocks -- did the Zaino treatment for my C2 this weekend. Used Dawn to clean the car (and get rid of existing cost of wax); clay bar away the road tar and applied two coats -- all in 2 hr. Car looks GREAT!

The reality is that the number of steps you need is a function of how "prepared" your car finish is. That being said the greatest effort should be on paint preparation. It may take a significant effort on the "first" prep job, but you will be rewarded with much easier applications later. The first prep job should include removing old waxes (like with dawn), then clay bar, then wash again. What you do from here is dependent on the current finish. If you have swirls or spiderweb, you will need to polish those out with some sort of polisher and agent (Porter Cable and Menzerna or Poorboys or...). Then you can think about sealant (like a Klasse AIO). You also need to decide if you want to go the polymer route (rejex, zaino et. al.) or the pure carnuba route (e.g., P21S). Now I personally have been turned into a Zaino Zealout. It is IMO the best process out there. Once done properly the maintenance is easy and the finish is remarkable (bugs literally wipe right off). I posted my Zaino process already.

Zaino, easy to use, does a great job. been using it for years.

So have any of You tried Rejex? I have been using it for several years now... first on my 993 and now on my 987. I have been very pleased. Does anyone know of any negative reasons?

I am a big fan of Rejex, but there are some great organic waxes out there that are almost as good as Rejex. Here are my Seven Strategic Steps to a Simply Slippery & Stellar Shine I'm sure that others have some equally good advice.

Zaino's and McGuires NXT over here. The Zaino is longer lasting. The NXT is the best, if you don't take durability of the effect into account

Ditto Yves.

I won't use Meguiars ever since they lost a class action suit because their wheel cleaner strips the paint off wheels, and then they still market that wheel cleaner and it still strips the paint off wheels.

I've used P21S since day one. Very happy with it.

Since you keep this car more or less a garage queen, I would recomend to go down to your local Harley shop and buy S100. Its the same stuff as P21S. Its a wipe on and wipe off wax that you can do in 15-20 minutes. It will last you 3-4 months in your application, but on a car parked outside you will get only 4-6 weeks. The outside cars will benefit from Ziano or Klasse. Your car hardly even gets too much contaminates so you don't need to multi step polish it before you wax it, but however you do create some swril marks every time you wash the car. you must prevent swrils by using the two bucket wash system and dry with a soft clean towel. I recomend the microfibeer drying towels. To get out the swrils I would recomend using some light polish. My personal favorite is Mezernma and Einzsette which are boutique online stuff. Another good alternative is go to a body shop supply or ask a Nappa to get you a bottle of Meguiars #80. People who recomend the multistep stuff like Ziano or Klasse do so for the longevity of the product. They don't really make a paint better looking. Remember your shine is 90% prep and 10% wax. What that means is the polish/cleaner must get rid of the swrils to get the best results. Different waxes has different caratcheristics on different color paint. In general carnuba waxes look more deep and polymers/ synthetics are more bright looking. for more info on car wax and detailing go to autopia.org.

S100 is very good at half the price os P21S.

Do it once do it right with Zaino. Then use their Z6 product to maintain it in just five minutes. Wipe on wipe off. Bugs, dust etc just disappear.