Glossy wet looking wax

[ejenner]

Around 10 years ago I took my car to a hand car wash, a couple of times... I paid around £80.00 for a full valet and each time the car came back with a wet looking wax on it which made the car really sparkle. It would have been a professional product the guy was using but I just wondered if anyone knew what retail products are available which might replicate this effect?

I've tried the following waxes so far and none of them have been particularly glossy. They clean the car really well and create a coating which resists water beading but I never get much of a show-shine with these sorts of products.

- McGuires Gold Class Wax
- Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection
- TurtleWax Platinum Protective Extra Gloss
- Autoglym instant show shine
- TurtleWax High Gloss Car Wax

I'm half-tempted to try the autoglym one which comes in the small pot and costs about £35.00 but it's a lot of money if it turns out to be rubbish. Can anyone recommend a particularly glossly looking wax?

[Badgerboy]

The AutoGlym Hi-Def wax does get a good results, although its not the easiest to work with. I typically will clay, SRP, EGP, then apply the Hi-Def last. It does give a very good finish, but it is dependant on the paint. My metallic silver S2000 doesn't show that much depth but a good shine, but if I apply to my red FTO I get a superb finish.

[mrmr96]

ejenner said:

small pot and costs about £35.00 but it's a lot of money

You'll find £35 isn't that much if theres good stuff in the pot. (NOT Autoglym BTW!!)

But at least you've got the right idea to ask on here instead of working your way through the Halfords range.

Seriously, have a look at Dodo Juice or Swissvax for good quality car wax.

[Rinko]

I've had pretty good results with Clearkote Red Moose Glaze (albeit on a Red car), which I topped with a Carnauba wax.

ETA - the wax was Collinite Marque D'Elegance (915), which lasts for ages!

[pherlopolus]

you might be due a session with a clay bar or a proper polishing session first.

the clay will remove any of the contaminents that are bonded in to the surface and a proper (machine) polish will remove the surface scratching.

I got this finish using a clay bar followed by turtlewax products...

[sixspeed]

As above.

The wax is only half the job. You might need to give the machine a good polish first to remove paint defects.

Alternatively, 3M Hand Glaze is amazing at hiding all imperfections and making a car look fantastic. It's the typical bodyshop's secret weapon (especially for hiding all the shocking swirls they induce after flatting back and compounding the paint).

Shame it lasts about 5 minutes.

[CoolC]

THIS

It's about middle of the line price wise, but the pot will last your many many applications.

My old SEAT finnished with it.

[j4ckos mate]

id try the two buckey method, dont use a sponge or chamois use a wash mit,

i currently use color magic to fill some scratches, possibly two coats, then
two coats of collinte 476, i waxed it four months ago and its not needed it since, and its outside all the time.

[ejenner]

sixspeed said:

As above.

The wax is only half the job. You might need to give the machine a good polish first to remove paint defects.

Alternatively, 3M Hand Glaze is amazing at hiding all imperfections and making a car look fantastic. It's the typical bodyshop's secret weapon (especially for hiding all the shocking swirls they induce after flatting back and compounding the paint).

Shame it lasts about 5 minutes.

It's probably that 3M stuff. I wonder if I can get my hands on a bit of that. My car is already very clean and has quite a lot of new paint on it as well. Just when I want it to look extra special for a show I've never been particularly happy with the standard waxes.

[trv8]

Bilt Hamber products give fantastic results .
I have their whole range, but here's three I can recomend .....

http://www.bilthamber.com/pro-introduction.php?cna... Wax :: Polish&name=auto-clay soft

http://www.bilthamber.com/pro-introduction.php?cna... Wax :: Polish&name=cleanser-polish

http://www.bilthamber.com/pro-introduction.php?cna... Wax :: Polish&name=finis-wax

Edited by trv8 on Friday 13th January 14:41

Edited by trv8 on Friday 13th January 14:45

Edited by trv8 on Friday 13th January 14:46

[993kimbo]

Good post OP, and have you found a wax yet?

I was going to post the same but you beat me to it.

In the past I have bought two cars from dealers, and the finish on them was incredible and lasted a good 6 months, but I've never been able to replicate it. To me it looked like a very slippery coating, with lots of shine. It felt slightly slippery to the touch, even when the car was dry. I can't imagine dealers claying the car or having it detailed or spending lots of money on wax.

Maybe it was the 3m stuff? Does it really only last a short time?

[ejenner]

This time I tried McGuires NXT Generation wax. I read on the back of the packet that it would look wet and glossy but in the end it turned out to be very difficult to apply and I wasn't particularly impressed with the overall result. It was flippin expensive as well! At the moment I think I still prefer the TurtleWax Platinum Protective Extra Gloss.

Edited by ejenner on Sunday 22 January 16:23

[993kimbo]

A minefield this shining lark and all very subjective.

Very hard to judge on silver cars too. I tried Zaino Z2 today and that was impressive, then Autoglym High Gloss protection and that looked just as good - a bit easier to polish off.

[E38Ross]

i'm going to play devils advocate here and say 99% of the finish is in the prep work, not the final stage product.

the best looking car is a freshly polished car, a wax or sealant shouldn't add anything to that, just prolong it; and waxes are far from the best products for that job.

[trv8]

E38Ross said:

i'm going to play devils advocate here and say 99% of the finish is in the prep work, not the final stage product.

Correct .

[trv8]

ejenner said:

This time I tried McGuires NXT Generation wax. I read on the back of the packet that it would look wet and glossy but in the end it turned out to be very difficult to apply and I wasn't particularly impressed with the overall result. It was flippin expensive as well! At the moment I think I still prefer the TurtleWax Platinum Protective Extra Gloss.

Edited by ejenner on Sunday 22 January 16:23

Do you mean Megs Tech Wax 2........ You only need to apply this wax thinly. Easy on, easy off and leaves a great finish.

Edited by trv8 on Monday 23 January 16:48

Edited by trv8 on Monday 23 January 16:49

[budgie smuggler]

E38Ross said:

i'm going to play devils advocate here and say 99% of the finish is in the prep work, not the final stage product.

the best looking car is a freshly polished car, a wax or sealant shouldn't add anything to that, just prolong it; and waxes are far from the best products for that job.

Prep work being - wash, clay, (hand) polish? Or more to it than that?

[E38Ross]

budgie smuggler said:

E38Ross said:

i'm going to play devils advocate here and say 99% of the finish is in the prep work, not the final stage product.

the best looking car is a freshly polished car, a wax or sealant shouldn't add anything to that, just prolong it; and waxes are far from the best products for that job.

Prep work being - wash, clay, (hand) polish? Or more to it than that?

When doing a full detox on the paint is wash, use iron x then some tardis (though claying will remove the stuff these do, it reduces risk of marring) then claying, another wash to remove clay lube residue, polish and then an IPA wipedown to remove polishing oils. Though you'll only do an IPA wipedown if you're not using a filler polish.

[ejenner]

That sounds like too much work for me. I've got quite a few cars so can't do that to all of them very regularly.

What's an IPA wipedown?

How often would you recommend going through that entire procedure. Obviously hard to say but every other clean or once every 10 cleans?

[E38Ross]

ejenner said:

That sounds like too much work for me. I've got quite a few cars so can't do that to all of them very regularly.

What's an IPA wipedown?

How often would you recommend going through that entire procedure. Obviously hard to say but every other clean or once every 10 cleans?

IPA is iso-propyl alcohol, it helps to remove the oils from the polish. if they aren't removed the wax won't bond properly and won't last as long.

how often? how long is a piece of string, though certainly not every 10 washes. it depends on what coating you put on your car, a wax can last from a few weeks to up to 12 months.

i'm past the wax thing as i found they didn't perform that well to the nano-coatings, but, the nano-coatings are far more fussy to application. the one i have on my car is pro-use only; but it lasts 3-5 years, is very hard so offers some scratch resistance and it leaves a surface far more slippery than any wax, meaning the car stays cleaner for a LOT longer than whenever it was ever wearing a wax. the only gripe is if you want to remove it, you need to polish it off, even tar removers or strong all purpose cleaners won't even touch it. i won't be needing to do that full detox thing i mentioned above for another couple of years; i used to do it 2-3 times a year when using waxes.

you might have guessed, i go a bit overboard with detailing, but it helped my E21 sell,which i purchased for £600 and sold for £2500; and my E38 looks better now than it probably has for at least 6-7 years, barring some creases on the drivers seat.

edit - this was post-polishing but before any sealant was applied....a pretty good finish for an 11 year old car with 116k on the clock i think you'll agree (also before i applied any trim sealant...hence grey mudguards)

Edited by E38Ross on Monday 23 January 18:50