Wax or Polish Giving The Best Protection

[leo]

OK guys, having asked and gotten an answer for does wax build up on your cars surface we can now move on to the next question which is what wax or polish gives the best protection. Consumer Reports implies that Nu Finish gives the best bang for the buck. That being said which product do you Model A people recommend? I'm certain that this is a difficult question because not every Model A has the same type or quality of paint job and car waxes and polishes come and go every year. What say you?

[Mitch//pa]

Polish does not protect anything no matter what type of paint surface it's on....

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Some use polish only, they don't want an ULTRA SHINE. Makes no sense, to me.
A friend demonstrated his "MIRACLE WAX" on top of Minervas' front fender, looked just like the rest of the fender---LOL
Bill Shine

[rosenkranswa]

Polish is just that, it polishes the paint but doesn't offer any protection. There are various waxes and sealers available, just browse the aisles at the local Pep Boys. I personally like the Griots products, which are mail order only, and Mequire's which are usually at the local stores.

I tend to stay away from the more modern sounding Teflons and such since to me they tend to look too shiny and plasticy. Hard to beat the deep shine of a good carnuba wax, but you have to use a cleaner or mild polish first to remove the old wax.

Whatever you do though, avoid anything with silicone in it anywhere near the car, including the Armor All products. Silicone makes any paint work you might do at some point really difficult.

[P.S.]

Dri Wash-N-Guard. Clean/polish/protect all in one.

The 1998 FORD pickup I bought new has never been garaged, have only used Dri Wash Classic on it from day one. Paint still looks brand new.

On the nearly fine-point Model A, Dri Wash is all I use. The lacquer is nearly 40 year old, with some touchups. One of the judges commented that the paint looked like "candy".

Go with the Classic, not the newer Ultr Ion, if you do get Dri Wash. The classic works better. Available online from Amazon.com, ebay, and others. Not available in stores.

[raprice]

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No one has mentioned Mothers Wax. I have used Mothers Carnauba Cleaner Wax on my Model A and it seems to do a terrific job. You have many choices.
Rog

[Larry Jenkins]

Originally Posted by raprice

No one has mentioned Mothers Wax. I have used Mothers Carnauba Cleaner Wax on my Model A and it seems to do a terrific job. You have many choices.
Rog

Carnauba based wax has arguably been then very best car wax known.

For those who care, here's some information about Carnauba. The white, powdery wax is formed on the leaves of the Carnauba Palm trees grown in South America.

The powder is then refined and processed into food grade wax blocks that are used in preserving fruit and vegetables. It is also used as a protective cover for pills. It is also the hardest vegetable wax known to man.

The major Car Wax Companies offer some of their waxes with standard liquid Carnauba added. Not many are sold due to the difficulty in arriving at the marvelous shine Carnauba is known for. Here's what I use and how I apply it.

This method is probably well known by most of you, so, bear with me.

I use a product called Maguires. This one has Carnauba in it as shown on the bottle.

Using a damp wash cloth (Terry cloth,) apply a this coat approximately 3 square feet. Let set a little. Using another soft cloth ( like old cotton diapers) polish off the wax residue. Do this twice.

The real shine comes from the second, clean cotton towel. Polish well. This will take some time to fully develop the very high shine that Carnauba wax can give you, so be patient.

FWIW..

Larry

[leo]

Anyone have experience with a product called "Yellow Wax"?

[30ccpickup]

I have a lot of grazing in my paint. I use Turtle Wax Ice. It drys clear and you do not see a white residue in the cracks.

[WestCoast]

as Rosenkranswa said in post #4n ever use silicone wax or polish on your car, it gets down in the pores of the paint and unless you take the body all the way down to bare metal your paint job will wind up with fish eyes in the paint, ask me how I know this, I don't care how much you sand and clean with any prep solution you can not remove it, silicone will screw up your paint job

[SeaSlugs]

Originally Posted by leo

OK guys, having asked and gotten an answer for does wax build up on your cars surface we can now move on to the next question which is what wax or polish gives the best protection. Consumer Reports implies that Nu Finish gives the best bang for the buck. That being said which product do you Model A people recommend? I'm certain that this is a difficult question because not every Model A has the same type or quality of paint job and car waxes and polishes come and go every year. What say you?

i have used the nu finish and it is a great wax, ive also used mothers and meguiars with similar results.

[Russ/40]

I don't believe NuFinish is a wax. Its some kind of a polymer. It seems to work well, but I question if it prevents the paint from drying out.

[mike657894]

nu finish is nice easy on easy off. all "wax's" seem to give simialar results. i have used turtle and mothers all are good products.

[R-Rocks]

Maguires Gold is what I use, second in line and ever bit as good would be Mothers Carnauba wax, a paste wax in a red tin. Prior to I do make sure the surface is clean, as stated above, a clay bar with a quick detailer may be in order.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Generally, if you use a proven POLISH/CLEANER & CARANUBA paste wax, you'll get a nice shine. Don't be tricked by TRICK NAMES or MIRACLE CLAIMS!!
Bill Shine

[Mike V. Florida]

Depending on the paint condition there are all kinds of steps one can take.

Cleaner/polish - to remove the old stuff
Glaze - to fill in the small imperfections that a compound would be overkill.
Paint sealer - to seal the pores of the paint.
Wax - to give the shine.

There are as many ways to get a shine on your car as there are products to do it.

[leo]

Thanks guys, it appears that no one has ever used W-41 Yellow Wax which is not a cleaner wax. I've read some very good reviews which say it is as good as the most expensive car Carnauba waxes on the market.

[loubob]

I've used Finish First cleaner prep for years.
Then follow that up with numerous waxes: Mothers, Maguires, and Surf City Garage to name a few All are very good. Surf City has the greatest guarantee. Should you need to call customer service, the owner answers the phone and has always made things right!

[Mikeinnj]

It seems that no one has mentioned which wax they use on what type of paint.

There are many Model A's around that were painted years ago still sporting "old school" original type lacquer paint finishes which require the occasional use of rubbing compound to remove oxidation from the paint surface followed by a glaze and a good carnauba wax.

There are enamel finishes, urethane, epoxy, as well as the modern "base coat/clear coat" paints, each requiring a different type of polish and/or wax.

My shoulder rotator cuff aches often reminds me of applying and removing "Simonize Paste Wax" by hand in the 1950's but it worked great on the older paints.

PS - Nu Finish contains silicon as do many of the new "miracle" polishes.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Simonize was the buzz work when I was a teenager, to that's what I also used. It was hard to apply and hard to remove, and the shine didn't seem to last long. After a couple years I learned about Turtle Liquid paste wax, and never looked at another can of Simonize. Turtle wax went on easy, polished off easy, and the shine lasted much longer.

Seems every time I had a nice shiny car some jerk driver made sure it didn't stay nice, so for many years I drove cars not worth waxing.

[31 Model A]

Allow me to chime in here since I've polished Sarah somewhere between 15-20 times since I had her............................she likes being slowly rubbed!!!!
She's never been washed but dusted many many times, lightly, without adding surface scratches.
I've read wax and polish, wax and polish and.....removing wax which brings me to a question.....are you removing all the scratch remover when you remove wax and start all over? Once I got scratches filled in, it seems the last thing I want to do is, remove what I filled in.
I found Nu-Finish scratch remover and Nu-Finish polish is the best for Sarah. I use Ice on my Sunday-Go-To-Church (someday) car and I tried it on Sarah......and she kept me up all night telling me to get that crap off her!!!! Women!!! So temperamental!!!!

[jaysberman]

It seems to me that NuFinish holds up longer than the more expensive waxes. Also use it on my boat it holds up the sun and salt.