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?

[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.

[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

[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?

[ejenner]

What's the nano coating for pro use which you are using? Sounds like I good idea. I don't mind having to do something properly once if it does not have to be repeated over and over again.

What's your recommended method... assuming I'm starting with a car which was waxed but has been out in the rain / driven / not massivly dirty but needs a clean?

[ejenner]

I wouldn't bother posting photos. They can't show how shiney a car is. All the pics above show cars which look very clean anyway.

I'm not afraid of a bit of hard work, willing to put in the effort to do the proper C1 coating.

[ejenner]

Apparently not. I can imagine from what I've read that if you apply it incorrectly it could end up as the most almighty f-up. Luckily I am a professional so just waiting for a response from the company now. I hope they don't think I want to order 20 cases without trying a bit first!