what type of wax?

Crisco? Good lord it's not a french fry!

First congrats on your 355, fine choice! As for waxes, if you search I'm sure there's tons of informative threads on the topic. Personally I swear by Meguiars NXT Tech wax, best stuff I've ever used.

 

Not too long ago there was a thread about this.
Many people use ZAINO products. Great stuff.
If you want to overspend $$, be ZYMOL's guest and buy their ITALCAR wax.
My own experience, after trying all these goodies, I keep going back to my local auto parts store (or Wal Mart), and get Meguiar's waxes. Don't know why, but they've convinced me.

 

The absolute best detail job ever done to my 328 -- before Monterey -- was done using some generic liquid carnauba wax in a shop bottle at Symbolic Motors in San Diego. I had no idea what they used, and when the detailer showed me he kind of shrugged as if it wasn't the most important question.

I think it all comes down to technique - how clean the car is (clay bar/wash) and the skill of the detailer using a dual orbital buffer. when he was done, there were no swirl marks on my black metallic 328.

I'm sure Meguiar's is fine, as is Zymol (I used it on my Mercedes). But all the mysticism around wax seems overblown. Maybe the polymer products like Zaino are different.

 

I used the Zymol Ital, good wax, but P21S is just as good, AND it goes on easier, and is much easier to remove. P21S will not stain black trim either. It is well thought of by many detailers as well. Best part? It retails for about $35, and if you are super thrifty like me, you go to the Harley Davidson dealership, and pick up a tub of the S100, which is the exact same product (same packaging too), but sells for $15. Apparently they feel the HD riders will not spend $35 for wax, fine by me.

BTW, perform a search using the search function in the upper left corner of the page, there are many threads on various waxes and paint treatments. Lot's of good advice from experts in the field.

 

I think either Meguairs, Zymol and 3M they all make some pretty damn good wax.

 

Zaino for me many of the Pro Detailers use it I have also had good success with Zymol particularly the colored stuff which really brings the color on the car out.

 

Has anyone tried Turtle Wax's Ice Liquid Clay Bar? Their infomercial looked pretty convincing......

 

To echo the thoughts on here, 90-95 percent of the final appearance of the car comes from the prep work before the wax application. Perfectly prepped paint (paint which has been buffed level and reflects light vs. refracts light) will always look better. Wax or sealant is nothing more then icing on the cake, and the appearance differences are pretty small.

To give you an example, here is a F430 Spider that has no wax, sealant, oil, ect on the paint (you can still see some of the masking tape on the paint from what we taped before we polished). The paint looks wet, glossy, ect... because it has been perfected and has full reflectivity. All the swirls, micromarring, hazing, and scratches that bounce and diffuse light have been removed.

If you are looking for the ultimate in wetness and depth, then consider a high grade carnuaba wax such as Zymol Concours or Vintage, P21s Concours or P21s 100 (or as mentioned S100), Pinnacle Souvern, Swissvax Mystery, ect...

If you are looking for the crispest reflections and high gloss, you might want to consider a sealant (as a bonus most sealants last for a much longer time then carnuaba) such as Jeff Werkstatt (my favorite), Zaino (longest lasting), Meguiars NXT (looks great, doesn't last long). Ect....

There are also great store bought options that can be had for fairly cheap (Meguiars #26 comes to mind) that provides 90 percent of the look of a $1900 wax for $15 dollars... And since wax/sealant only makes up 5 percent of the total appearance of the car, your talking about 1/2 a percent for a savings of 1885 dollars.

Here is the picture, this is after being polished and wiped down with body shop Prep-Sol to make sure all oils had been removed. Its bare, perfect paint... Any wax on it (nu-finish to Zymol Royale) is going to look amazing, because the car is already amazing.
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zymol, nano wax and meguires

 

I have had very nice results from SWAX - Anyone else?

 

to me the best products are Swisswax ...

 

Taking this one step further, if you are not interested in having the paintwork professionaly detailed, then you are probably going to be happier with a "filler" wax or cleaner/wax.

These waxes are designed with the goal of masking or hiding imperfections. These are generally sold over the counter and aimed towards enthusists. Meguiars NXT is a very good version of this that features Kaolin Clay that appears to hide some minor swirl marks and such.

 

I've used liquid ice because of their commercials and will NEVER use any of their products again. I used a paste wax and was extremely upset with the results.

For normal "wax" I use Menzerna Full Molecular Jacket and also P21S carnuba wax 24 hours after that.

 

I would say if it's a "new-to-him" 355 then it is money very well spent to have it professional washed/clayed/detailed the first time. It is far easier to maintain the finish than try to buff it out yourself if it hasn't been done right.

My car arrived with a bunch of swirl marks, no wax, and road dirt from inside the trailer, etc. After a show-level detail, I can easily keep it quick detailed (Griot Speed Shine, Meguiars Ultimate Detailer, etc.) between washes.

 

Agreed. I think that if you're interested in taking care of your car but don't want to risk messing up the paint and dealing with the learning curve of using new equipment, you should hire a detailer the first time and explain that you're only wanting them to detail it this one time and would like to care for it yourself after that. If the detailer is smart he or she would sit down with you and explain what they're going to do and set up a sort of maintenance plan as well as a list of stuff to use so that you can maintain the vehicle after that.

 

P21S is awesome.

 

I've used Meguiars NXT Tech wax and have been very happy with the results.

 

i'm still going with crisco. or the search function.

 

Here's Zaino today:
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I wash with Turtle Wax wash and then wax with Gold wax from Meguiars.

 

If you want the best product, buy Swissvax ”Concorso” or ”Mystery”
I go for “Concorso” due to the fact that “Mystery” is extremely expensive…
http://www.swissvax.com

 

P21S P21S P21S...... The depth of shine is as good or better than any of the other products mentioned but the ease of use cannot be match. It does not stain black trim and goes on and off so easy. I ususally do a 2ftx2ft section at a time, wax on then wax right off. if you let a large area sit and haze over it takes more elbow grease. I have never tried Klaos AIO or Zaino. The process seems like it is way to labor intensive and I have read enough bad stories to make me not take the chance. I know people who get it right swear by it but you can mess up the process.....there is no way to mess up carnuba.

 

You own one the finest cars in the world, spend the money to get it polished correctly and have it look outstanding rather than just another cool looking Ferrari. The wax is just the make-up you need the paint to be outstanding first. You could put make up on Rosie O'Donnell, you get the point............... If need some help deciding upon how to choose a professional detailer, I'm sure Todd or I could help out with your questions.

Like Todd (tropicaldetail) stated you can use a carnauba based wax, but you will need to reapply it about every 2-6 weeks for best look and protection. Sealants are so very good now days and most last so much longer than waxes. I would only use a "filler" wax b/t the polishing details at best.

Cheers,

 

Perty fuuny horndog. Where's the ban?