car polish or wax recommendation
Discussion
It might be worth some background reading to make sure you are clear about what you want to do. Manufacturer websites, like Meguiars, offer some good information.
http://www.meguiars.co.uk/knowledge-centre
In short, some products, like polishes, abrade the surface. Other products, like waxes, protect the surface. Depending on how much correction you need to the car surface, will determine which abrading product to go for. Swirl removers are gentle, T-cut is aggressive. Always go for the least abrasive product possible for your requirement and expend elbow grease instead.
http://www.meguiars.co.uk/knowledge-centre
In short, some products, like polishes, abrade the surface. Other products, like waxes, protect the surface. Depending on how much correction you need to the car surface, will determine which abrading product to go for. Swirl removers are gentle, T-cut is aggressive. Always go for the least abrasive product possible for your requirement and expend elbow grease instead.
Which do you want, a wax or a polish? They are almost exact opposites - 1 polish cuts away the top layer of paint to expose the (hopefully undamaged) paint underneath. A wax applies a protective coating over the top of the paint.
If the paint just generally needs sprucing up having been neglected, you probably want to do both. Polish it first to cut away the imperfections of the surface paint, then wax over the top to protect the new finish (and make it shiny).
If the paint just generally needs sprucing up having been neglected, you probably want to do both. Polish it first to cut away the imperfections of the surface paint, then wax over the top to protect the new finish (and make it shiny).
You need to get the crap off the surface before you try polishing/waxing, otherwise you'll just scrape it around on the paint and make it worse. Halfords sell a clay mitt branded G3 if memory serves, for about £12 which with some rapid detailer will remove all the deposits you can feel in the paint when you run your hand over it - if you're feeling tight water and a small amount of detergent will do - it just acts as a lubricant and you're taking any remaining protection off anyway so it's no big deal. Once done, a coat or two of polish like Autoglym will take a very small amount of the surface imperfections out of the paint, assuming they are only in the lacquer. Autoglym is a bit of an 'all in one' so does offer a bit of protection as well. You can if you wish use Extra Gloss Protection, which is really a sealant. After that it's time for a wax to act as a physical barrier to stuff landing on your paint. This is what will make water bead on your paintwork and shows it's still protected.
Adrian E said:
You need to get the crap off the surface before you try polishing/waxing, otherwise you'll just scrape it around on the paint and make it worse. Halfords sell a clay mitt branded G3 if memory serves, for about £12 which with some rapid detailer will remove all the deposits you can feel in the paint when you run your hand over it - if you're feeling tight water and a small amount of detergent will do - it just acts as a lubricant and you're taking any remaining protection off anyway so it's no big deal. Once done, a coat or two of polish like Autoglym will take a very small amount of the surface imperfections out of the paint, assuming they are only in the lacquer. Autoglym is a bit of an 'all in one' so does offer a bit of protection as well. You can if you wish use Extra Gloss Protection, which is really a sealant. After that it's time for a wax to act as a physical barrier to stuff landing on your paint. This is what will make water bead on your paintwork and shows it's still protected.
On my bonnet, using said products I get beading all over my car where i've used it. As I test I polished one door, and polished and sealed the other and the sealed door beaded better, but both did. Clay barring the car and using G3 is my next venture though.Mr SFJ said:
On my bonnet, using said products I get beading all over my car where i've used it. As I test I polished one door, and polished and sealed the other and the sealed door beaded better, but both did. Clay barring the car and using G3 is my next venture though.
I should've added that a synthetic sealant like extra gloss protection is basically a non-wax based product that aims to achieve the same result, ie a barrier layer between contaminants and your paint. Wax takes more effort to apply but will generally give a slightly better/longer lasting finish if you leave the car out all year round.My S8 is a garage queen most of the time but I prefer the effect of a wax on the light silver paintwork - from memory I think the synthetic products are supposed to look better on darker paint? I may be making that up though!
toasty said:
This is a complete minefield but without getting geeky about it, you can't go wrong with Autoglym products.
Bear in mind that polish and wax are two different things. Polish will reduce scratches and bring back shine, wax will protect the outcome.
Agreed autoglym,I've used them all at one time or another.Bear in mind that polish and wax are two different things. Polish will reduce scratches and bring back shine, wax will protect the outcome.
Autoglym is great.
Halfords are doing 3 for 2 and I'll echo the comments about the excellent G3 clay mitt.
If you want to spend a couple hours on the car these products are easy to use and work well.
G3 Clay mitt: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...
use with G3 body prep shampoo: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...
Then to remove scratches etc use G3 Scratch remover: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...
Or if no major scratches then their polish, G3 Paint renovator: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...
Followed by a wax, this G3 stuff is pretty good: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...
These applicators are good for the polish: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...
I used all the above to remove a lot of scratches I had on the car by hand (will still need a machine polish at some stage)and results were very good.
btw a good friend of mine is a detailer and reviews stuff on a regular basis for a car magazine and pointed me in the direction of these products.
If you want to spend a couple hours on the car these products are easy to use and work well.
G3 Clay mitt: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...
use with G3 body prep shampoo: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...
Then to remove scratches etc use G3 Scratch remover: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...
Or if no major scratches then their polish, G3 Paint renovator: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...
Followed by a wax, this G3 stuff is pretty good: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...
These applicators are good for the polish: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...
I used all the above to remove a lot of scratches I had on the car by hand (will still need a machine polish at some stage)and results were very good.
btw a good friend of mine is a detailer and reviews stuff on a regular basis for a car magazine and pointed me in the direction of these products.
Adrian E said:
I should've added that a synthetic sealant like extra gloss protection is basically a non-wax based product that aims to achieve the same result, ie a barrier layer between contaminants and your paint. Wax takes more effort to apply but will generally give a slightly better/longer lasting finish if you leave the car out all year round.
My S8 is a garage queen most of the time but I prefer the effect of a wax on the light silver paintwork - from memory I think the synthetic products are supposed to look better on darker paint? I may be making that up though!
I don't think you are as my car's dark blue, and it does look brilliant on the dark paint, whereas on my dad's light grey car it doesn't make the much of a difference!My S8 is a garage queen most of the time but I prefer the effect of a wax on the light silver paintwork - from memory I think the synthetic products are supposed to look better on darker paint? I may be making that up though!
I generally use both as I had a £30 voucher for halfords and utilised the 3 for 2 deal
Silver is crap for looking glossy. I found with my Passat that was silver the best thing to do was de-tar, clay, polish then seal the paint. Don't forget to dress any trims and thoroughly clean the glass for the full effect.
Auto Glym SRP and EGP is perfectly adequate although I recently used a sample of the Amour All Shield and was very impressed.
Auto Glym SRP and EGP is perfectly adequate although I recently used a sample of the Amour All Shield and was very impressed.
Collinite 845 does a good job on silver cars. Not too dear at £15.95 and a bottle should last ages.
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/wax/collinite-no-845...
Plus it beads for ages.
To give you an idea, here's my twingo. I just wash it and wax it, I don't bother with polishing, clay bars etc.
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/wax/collinite-no-845...
Plus it beads for ages.
To give you an idea, here's my twingo. I just wash it and wax it, I don't bother with polishing, clay bars etc.
Edited by Noesph on Wednesday 28th May 17:35
The best stuff I've ever used is from Zymol.
You can buy a relatively cheap Cleaner Wax from Halfords which gives fairly good results for minimal effort. You'll need to wash the car first, I'd use their shampoo and run a clay bar over the car. Then you can apply the Cleaner Wax which will Polish out most imperfections whilst leaving a layer of carnauba wax behind.
If you want to go to another extreme you could buy a proper Zymol kit. They have a Smart Kit that comes with most of the bits you'll need to do a full job.
The one for a silver car would be the kit with Creame Wax which is intended for lighter colour vehicles. The kit comes with HD-Cleanse which is the key to getting the job done properly. This stuff smells like chocolate and removes any old wax or contaminants on the paint whilst getting rid of light scratches and swirl marks. This stuff can be tough to remove if you let it dry. Once the paint is clean and nice you can apply the Creame Wax as per the instructions from Zymol.
I put the Glasur version on a Porsche and BMW (Baltic Blue and Sparkling Graphite respectively) and they looked amazing. It also stayed on for quite a long time. The HD-Cleanse is the real star though as it properly prepared the paint underneath.
Another combo I've just tried recently on a Black Sapphire BMW is the Meguiar's Ultimate Compound, Ultimate Polish and Ultimate Wax. These gave really good results and were quite easy to work with.
Cost-wise you are looking at £25 or so for the Cleaner Wax (plus Zymol Shampoo) option. Just over £50 for the Meguiar's trio and £100 or so for a full on Zymol kit.
Alternatively, you could get a body shop or detailer to MOP and wax the car for you!
You can buy a relatively cheap Cleaner Wax from Halfords which gives fairly good results for minimal effort. You'll need to wash the car first, I'd use their shampoo and run a clay bar over the car. Then you can apply the Cleaner Wax which will Polish out most imperfections whilst leaving a layer of carnauba wax behind.
If you want to go to another extreme you could buy a proper Zymol kit. They have a Smart Kit that comes with most of the bits you'll need to do a full job.
The one for a silver car would be the kit with Creame Wax which is intended for lighter colour vehicles. The kit comes with HD-Cleanse which is the key to getting the job done properly. This stuff smells like chocolate and removes any old wax or contaminants on the paint whilst getting rid of light scratches and swirl marks. This stuff can be tough to remove if you let it dry. Once the paint is clean and nice you can apply the Creame Wax as per the instructions from Zymol.
I put the Glasur version on a Porsche and BMW (Baltic Blue and Sparkling Graphite respectively) and they looked amazing. It also stayed on for quite a long time. The HD-Cleanse is the real star though as it properly prepared the paint underneath.
Another combo I've just tried recently on a Black Sapphire BMW is the Meguiar's Ultimate Compound, Ultimate Polish and Ultimate Wax. These gave really good results and were quite easy to work with.
Cost-wise you are looking at £25 or so for the Cleaner Wax (plus Zymol Shampoo) option. Just over £50 for the Meguiar's trio and £100 or so for a full on Zymol kit.
Alternatively, you could get a body shop or detailer to MOP and wax the car for you!
This stuff was surprisingly good and decent value too, not sure how it compares with zymol etc
Smelt good too, I once applied life shine to a silver audi and it came out a treat, I've used the clay and rapid detailer on a few cars recently and am surprised at the difference it makes. Would recommend it.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Slick-Mist-Speed-Wax-Tyr...
Smelt good too, I once applied life shine to a silver audi and it came out a treat, I've used the clay and rapid detailer on a few cars recently and am surprised at the difference it makes. Would recommend it.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Slick-Mist-Speed-Wax-Tyr...
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