Wax Brand Recommendations

Looking to wax the truck soon and was wondering if I could get some recommendations thrown my way. I'm looking for something that will also be able to buff out a few light scratches here and there. I thought I saw a thread somewhere on here about wax brands but I received nothing on a search.

I use meguiars swirlx and meguiars ultimate compound for light scratches and then meguiars ultimate paste wax to finish it.

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2013sport said:

I use meguiars swirlx and meguiars ultimate compound for light scratches and then meguiars ultimate paste wax to finish it.

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That brand rings a bell, I think I saw it on here with good reviews too. I'll have to check them out, thanks!

Lots of people swear by meguiars but there are tons of good brands out there. Just do some research and it's a bit off trial and error I just personally like meguiars better then some other brands I use.

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Steve,
Check out the "Detailing" section on the site. You will get more information, but to be honest with you, your question is about the same as walking into a room of 50 guys and asking, What kind of beer do you like best? Everyone has there own preference. In the detailing section there is a huge amount of information about waxes and sealants and recommendations from members about what their favorite is and why. After going through all that info if you still have specific questions, ask away.
Jay

Pull Ya said:

Steve,
Check out the "Detailing" section on the site. You will get more information, but to be honest with you, your question is about the same as walking into a room of 50 guys and asking, What kind of beer do you like best? Everyone has there own preference. In the detailing section there is a huge amount of information about waxes and sealants and recommendations from members about what their favorite is and why. After going through all that info if you still have specific questions, ask away.
Jay

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Figures, the one spot I didn't see. Thanks lol

As far as waxes that will also buff out light scratches you'd need something along the lines of Griots Garage 3 in 1 wax. It's a cleaner wax with some light polishing abrasives in it.

A better option would probably be two separate products like mention above. When I was doing my car care by hand I used Griots Garage Complete Compound/Complete polish to work out light imperfections then wax I used and still use now my machine is Mequiars Black Paste Wax.

Another all in one product would be Chemical Guys Black Light or Chemical Guys White light depending on if you have a dark or light colored truck. Doesn't have to be black or white. They advertise it as a "hybrid" as its so what of a glaze/sealant with light polishing effects. I use it as part of my multi step detail but I've seen guys use it with nothing else on top and it leaves a really nice finish as in.

One last recommendation I'll give is Griots Garage Liquid Gloss Poly Wax. It's completely synthetic and is more along the lines of a sealant that only needs to be applied 1-2 times per year but it really leaves an amazing shine. Better than some other sealants I've seen.

I'm kind of partial to Griota Garage, Chemical Guys, and Meguiars but there's a lot of other good brands out there.

Are we talking swirl marks or actual scratches. Give us some pics and I could tell you the best way to proceed. Also I would skip the wax and go for a sealant or coating. Just my opinion though.

Meguiar's Cleaner Wax.

You might want to look into a light polishing compound for those scratches, then a good wax or sealant to finish. Do research on AutoGeek or Autopia for detailing tips!

Joshwaa said:

Are we talking swirl marks or actual scratches. Give us some pics and I could tell you the best way to proceed. Also I would skip the wax and go for a sealant or coating. Just my opinion though.

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Both lol. I'm on Youtube right now checking out Collinite and Meguiars right now. Thinking about grabbing a sealant too to put under the wax.

I'm looking for something more specific to black paint.

What do you guys use to apply the wax or sealant? I'm seeing a lot about micro fiber towels?

As far as the wax is concerned, I'm thinking about either of these two

http://www.meguiars.com/en/automotive/products/#mvTsxvJjqwcSkIRz.97

black wax (second row, in the middle) and gold class premium quik wax (fourth row, in the middle)

Haven't researched any sealants yet.

A couple summers ago I did the Meguir's Ultimate Compound -> Ultimate Polish -> Ultimate Liquid Wax song and dance to my '10 Santa Fe using their DA Power System Kit (it's basically 3 difference level of abrasive pads that attach to your drill motor). It was a long and arduous process, one that I don't think I'd ever repeat using those small 4" DA pads. Having said that, the rig looked insane after doing all the work. It's got a great shade of red and it popped like crazy. Some people even go one step further and add a carnuba wax for added shine, which is nuts because it was so shiny after the 3 steps I did.

On your truck I'd recommend grabbing a 10" polisher from Amazon or Walmart. You could still use the Meguiar's compound/polish/wax combo and it would look killer (although you can probably skip the compound step on a new truck like yours). I plan on doing the ultimate polish-> ultimate liquid wax job on my truck in the next few weeks.

I kind of have a list going:

Meguiar's ultimate polish
Meguiar's black wax

Polishing/Waxing pads (amazon?) or should i just get this http://www.meguiars.com/en/automotive/products/g3500-da-power-system/#Pic6mOBf7D5AtvbQ.97

or like you said (quick amazon search) http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=10"+polisher

Micro-fiber towels (3-pack) (should i get those?)

haven't looked into a sealant yet.

Edit: definitely getting a polisher. Ill be out there all day with those pads lol but i may grab the pads to polish the wheels.

02Steve15 said:

I kind of have a list going:

Meguiar's ultimate polish
Meguiar's black wax

Polishing/Waxing pads (amazon?) or should i just get this http://www.meguiars.com/en/automotive/products/g3500-da-power-system/#Pic6mOBf7D5AtvbQ.97

or like you said (quick amazon search) http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=10"+polisher

Micro-fiber towels (3-pack) (should i get those?)

haven't looked into a sealant yet.

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I'll save you some time on sealant as I researched the heck out of it. Wolfgang 3.0 is going to be the general consensus not just from Ram members but more than likely all over the Internet.

I use a random orbital polisher for all my stuff. I don't do by hand anymore. I use a 6.5" and then I also have a 3" for the tight spots. If you go the machine route 6.5" is the biggest I'd go. Much bigger than that and you'll have a hard time do much else getting into spots.

That being said doing it by hand is more than adequate and the majority of people do it all by hand. Yes it's a time consuming process but if you really want the protection and appearance it's worth it to take the time.

In addition to our detailing section on the forum Auto Geek is also an excellent resource. An entire website/forum/store full of detailing tips, products, and reviews for just about everything imaginable.

As someone mentioned in the beginning a lot of this is personal preference just like so many things out there. There are tons of high quality detailing products out there, some guys just have better personal experiences using one over the other.

The pads made for it. A new can should come with one.

Edit: posted this prior to realizing there was another page of post.

IMO

I'll jot down wolfgang 3.0 and take a look into them, thank you for the suggestion. I'm assuming when using the polisher, the pads are one and done? Or can you rinse and use again next time.

Also, from what im reading, sealant is used twice a year (about every six months) and wax/polish can be used after about a month or so from the last polish/wax?

I'm pretty antsy to try this stuff out but I'm probably better off waiting until after all the pollen goes away.

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02Steve15 said:

I'll jot down wolfgang 3.0 and take a look into them, thank you for the suggestion. I'm assuming when using the polisher, the pads are one and done? Or can you rinse and use again next time.

Also, from what im reading, sealant is used twice a year (about every six months) and wax/polish can be used after about a month or so from the last polish/wax?

I'm pretty antsy to try this stuff out but I'm probably better off waiting until after all the pollen goes away.

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Correct sealant lasts up to 6 months usual depending on other factors like whether you keep your truck in the garage or outside in the elements and what not. I usually seal mine 2 times a year 3 if I have the opportunity. Waxing can be done more frequently over top. I usually wax every few weeks or monthly.

Polishing will remove sealant, waxing will not.

And regarding pads, they are reusable if you clean them and take care of them. I reuse mine all the time. A lot of brands make foam pad/microfiber pad cleaner that you can soak or spray your pads with and rinse them out to get rid of old product.

JGBimle said:

Polishing will remove sealant, waxing will not.

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This i didn't know. Thanks. So basically don't incorporate polishing into the mix if you plan to use sealant. I was going to use sealant, polish and wax in that order but i guess i will have to polish either a few weeks before using sealant or way after using sealant.

02Steve15 said:

This i didn't know. Thanks. So basically don't incorporate polishing into the mix if you plan to use sealant. I was going to use sealant, polish and wax in that order but i guess i will have to polish either a few weeks before using sealant or way after using sealant.

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I always polish before I seal. Polishing is always done before applied sealant then wax on top of sealant. You can apply sealant as soon as you remove polish.

Here's a handy flow chart that shows the order of steps:



Another thing that hasn't been mentioned in this thread yet I don't think is clay bar. First step after you wash the car before applying the other products is clay barring. It removes any contaminants that are on/in the paint that a standard car washing won't remove.