I am going to the car show in Tallahassee next weekend with 2 of our cars. Gonna wipe of the dust and put a coat of wax on the cars before I go, Whats a good wax? I have always used a paste wax in the past, but as Rifeldriver would remind me, these cars don't have cranks in front to start them, Wax has improved too.
I asked a local restoration shop in the SF Bay Area and they recommended Meguairs 21. Not a wax but a sealant. Been using it for a couple of years and my platinum level 328 looks good.
Used this for multiple years (#21)- very solid stuff and very reasonably priced. Platinum proves it to be arguably the best. : ) If you want a carnuba wax, I LOVE the Auto Finesse product line. Insanely easy to apply and remove if you do some reasonable prep work. You will get increasing shine and longevity as you pay more : ) They also have excellent sealants, but #21 is in the same quality range at a better price. They key to most of these sealants is some solid prep work with a paint cleaner...or surface correction if needed. I came from #21, and you will be stunned by the gloss of the AF waxes... ...but one can always "seal" in Meguiar's #7 glaze under almost any wax with pretty stunning results. #7 is a pain to work with IMHO though...not sure what people are using these days for glazes. I always attempt to fully restore paint unless it is too thin/old - then filling it with products is fair game : ) I have some "thin" spots on my 78 and a couple of tiny scratches...but don't we all after 35 years? EDIT - and if you are looking to walk into a store and buy, then I would recommend the Meguiar's NXT (or better) product as something I used long ago and was solid. It is not as durable as #21 though (3-4 months on a daily driver (NXT) vs. 6-8 (#21)). If the car is garage kept, and waxed once a year, then it is almost a moot point.
I always found meguiars products to be overrated. I stick with Zaino for the show stuff. If I need a quick detail, and I dont want to wait a week for Zaino, I go with mothers brand products (found them to be underrated for the price).
I dumped all my Zaino products which I have been using since about 2004 and moved my polish over to Meguires Ultimate Polish and P21S Wax. People tend to confuse Zaino with a wax but it is not, it's a polish. I've tried many polishes that I ultimately thought were less effective than Zaino. However, Ultimate Polish removed all the marks Zaino could not. I tested them using a Porter Cable orbital polisher/sander. It removed all the spider webs and marks. P21S is reasonably priced on Amazon and is easy on/off. To each his own but for my Rosa Corsa Red, this combo works fantastic. Good luck.
I just detailed my car with Pinnacle Soveriegn, very easy on and off, smells nice and pleasant to apply, and it's just glows on Rosso Corsa. I have used Griots polishes periodically, and use mothers glaze in their three part system before the pinnacle top coat. I use Turtle Wax Ice for the wheels, a thin watery liquid that also applies well and lasts along time.
I tried Zaino years ago, and gave up on it after one season. Good results, but way too much hassle putting on multiple coats with long curing time required in between. I've used Autoglym products with great results lately, and also Meguiars Ultimate product line are all winners.
+1/-1 on P21S. As many of us Ive spend countless hours on this subject (granted it was years ago). My conclusion was P21S until I found S100 at the HD Dealer at half the cost. Heading off a P21S vs S100 discussion Id say that for me S100 is a better value although whats an additional $20 nowadays. A few years back when I was just about out of P21S I did a test on the rear quarter panels which are notorious for road and exhaust grime. I found the S100 to hold up better to detail spray. The S100 appears to be a little yellower in color but my eyes couldn't tell the difference in shine. Id suggest that you also get a gallon of Adams (or another) detail spray. Adams is excellent and it smells good too.
I use a quick waterless spray 'quick detailer' cant remember the brand then Meguairs NXT to finish, the NXT is very easy to use just use it sparingly wipe on a fine mist then wait a few minutes for it to dry then buff off. PS my car is in a garage as well as inside a bubble so very little surface dust.
You can't go wrong with several coats of Griot's Best of Show Wax over properly prepared paint. If you are looking for a sealer product that will withstand daily wear-and-tear and last several months, I've been happy with the results of Blackfire Wet Diamond over a properly prepared finish (that is key) on my daily drivers.
I am a mirror glaze number 7 guy for years. But for a great but lengthy guide to DIY check out this post from the VCA Junkman's, The Mother of All "How to Fix Your Paint for Novices" Thread!! I just did a super black Chevelle SS that looked like it was washed with brillo. My body shop said it was burnt through in many places but it came out awesome. 105, 205, 7 then 20. It looks 5 miles deep.
Haven't used "Wax" for at least 20 years. Been using Zaino for most of that time after getting a recommendation for it when I had a black Porsche 911. (Note to self, NEVER buy another black car!) I was quite impressed and that continues to be what I use. However, I only apply it maybe twice a year. Otherwise the car just gets washed/dried occasionally plus dusted/sprayed with the Zaino detail spray (I don't think they call it detail spray" but whatever) fairly regularly.
Meguiar's Carnauba wax very good, Meguiar's -Nextgen- Tech wax 2.0 amazing stuff! make sure car is very clean and dry before applying, avoid dust, wet surrounding area to avoid dust(wind) check instruction how to apply with applicator, be patient, wait 3-4 hours and remove with microfibre cloth, amazing results ! check out instructions on tech wax 2.0 on Youtube (great demonstation) cheers...
My Nono used pledge on his Mercury Marquis, ******** it was shiny! and smelled like lemons.... stayed that way for a week and then had to do it again, 52 times a year.
