The title says it all, I live in sunny Florida and my car is outside 24/7. It sits in direct sunlight all day, and under a tree at night. Sees plenty of sap, bird droppings and LOTS OF RAIN AND SUN during the summer. It sees rain almost every afternoon. Right now I am using Meguiars Ultimate Liquid Wax once every 3 months on average. Water beads very well at first, but after a couple rain showers it doesnt bead as well, even after washing it. There is one spot on rear driverside door that looks to be getting hazy so I want to keep it waxed and protected best I can. I am not overly concerned about the wax providing a shine, I just want the best protection. What would be the best affordable, and easy to obtain option(s)?
What is the best wax to protect from the elements?
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I use meguairs ultimate paste. I live in virtually the same climate you do and it works for my car well. I rinse it off weekly with a hose and hand dry it. Every other week I give it a quick wipe down with ultimate quick wax. Even if I don't do it it still beads for months.
I typically remove it and add new stuff every 5 month never really had a problem with lack of beading.
How aggressive is the soap you are using? It could possibly be stripping it.
From personally experience i don't rinse off my other cars and they stop beading but even after I rinse it off once and dry it out it beads like new again.
I typically remove it and add new stuff every 5 month never really had a problem with lack of beading.
How aggressive is the soap you are using? It could possibly be stripping it.
From personally experience i don't rinse off my other cars and they stop beading but even after I rinse it off once and dry it out it beads like new again.
You would have to order it, and on initial purchase its not cheap, but its goes so far that its actually very economical. I use Klasse. The All in one, then the sealant glaze. You use so little that at bottle will last years on one car. Its a sealant not a wax. Th AIO cleans before the sealant goes on. I apply at 6 month intervals. It could probably go longer, but 6 months works out for me. You can top this with a wax. Its great for bugs , treesap, bird droppings. I live in a wooded area so i have lots of all these.
Amazon has it in a kit for $49.00.
Amazon has it in a kit for $49.00.
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If you you can afford it a car cover works (get the waterproof kind. Iv seen people leave the in-door kind outside for several weeks and it ended up staining the paint slightly.
Originally Posted By: spasm3
You would have to order it, and on initial purchase its not cheap, but its goes so far that its actually very economical. I use Klasse. The All in one, then the sealant glaze. You use so little that at bottle will last years on one car. Its a sealant not a wax. Th AIO cleans before the sealant goes on. I apply at 6 month intervals. It could probably go longer, but 6 months works out for me. You can top this with a wax. Its great for bugs , treesap, bird droppings. I live in a wooded area so i have lots of all these.
Amazon has it in a kit for $49.00.
How does the All In One work? I am looking into Klasse, and see that its a 25 year old formulation, will this chemical harm the paint? And does is protect from the sun? That is most important.
You would have to order it, and on initial purchase its not cheap, but its goes so far that its actually very economical. I use Klasse. The All in one, then the sealant glaze. You use so little that at bottle will last years on one car. Its a sealant not a wax. Th AIO cleans before the sealant goes on. I apply at 6 month intervals. It could probably go longer, but 6 months works out for me. You can top this with a wax. Its great for bugs , treesap, bird droppings. I live in a wooded area so i have lots of all these.
Amazon has it in a kit for $49.00.
How does the All In One work? I am looking into Klasse, and see that its a 25 year old formulation, will this chemical harm the paint? And does is protect from the sun? That is most important.
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To throw out a less than popular opinion:
NuFinish. Doesn't give the deepest gloss or shine, and be careful keeping it off black trim. But bang for the buck, nothing has held up better on my Subaru here in Chicago, and it has spent most of its' life outside: 95F summer, -10 winter, tons of rain, more salt than should ever be legal (oh, the rust...), but NuFinish holds up.
NuFinish. Doesn't give the deepest gloss or shine, and be careful keeping it off black trim. But bang for the buck, nothing has held up better on my Subaru here in Chicago, and it has spent most of its' life outside: 95F summer, -10 winter, tons of rain, more salt than should ever be legal (oh, the rust...), but NuFinish holds up.
Originally Posted By: Hollow
To throw out a less than popular opinion:
NuFinish. Doesn't give the deepest gloss or shine, and be careful keeping it off black trim. But bang for the buck, nothing has held up better on my Subaru here in Chicago, and it has spent most of its' life outside: 95F summer, -10 winter, tons of rain, more salt than should ever be legal (oh, the rust...), but NuFinish holds up.
Thanks for the suggestion, I have tired it before. It seemed to last as long as anything else I tried, but harder to wipe on, off.
To throw out a less than popular opinion:
NuFinish. Doesn't give the deepest gloss or shine, and be careful keeping it off black trim. But bang for the buck, nothing has held up better on my Subaru here in Chicago, and it has spent most of its' life outside: 95F summer, -10 winter, tons of rain, more salt than should ever be legal (oh, the rust...), but NuFinish holds up.
Thanks for the suggestion, I have tired it before. It seemed to last as long as anything else I tried, but harder to wipe on, off.
I use the AIO before the sealant, never used it by itself. I don't know about sun protection. I'm really not sure any wax or sealant and really filter out the sun. My car is white, so every bug and bit of tree sap shows up. I use this every 6 months , somtimes i use a spray wax on top. It still beads at 6 months but i like to use it before winter and before summer.
if your paint is in good condition, i would say one of the new "nano-" or "quartz-" "ceramic" coating, such as CQuartz or opticoat is the toughest auto paint "sealant" if you want to group it in with those other products.
Other than that, I'd vote for the collinite products over whatever sealant you currently are using.
Other than that, I'd vote for the collinite products over whatever sealant you currently are using.
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Collinite 476..but I hear its hard to remove...but it lasts..apparently.
Originally Posted By: spasm3
I use the AIO before the sealant, never used it by itself. I don't know about sun protection. I'm really not sure any wax or sealant and really filter out the sun. My car is white, so every bug and bit of tree sap shows up. I use this every 6 months , somtimes i use a spray wax on top. It still beads at 6 months but i like to use it before winter and before summer.
Some Waxed/sealants to offer UV protection. Im just not sure if Klasse does. If it does not then I am not interested.
I use the AIO before the sealant, never used it by itself. I don't know about sun protection. I'm really not sure any wax or sealant and really filter out the sun. My car is white, so every bug and bit of tree sap shows up. I use this every 6 months , somtimes i use a spray wax on top. It still beads at 6 months but i like to use it before winter and before summer.
Some Waxed/sealants to offer UV protection. Im just not sure if Klasse does. If it does not then I am not interested.
Originally Posted By: spasm3
You would have to order it, and on initial purchase its not cheap, but its goes so far that its actually very economical. I use Klasse. The All in one, then the sealant glaze. You use so little that at bottle will last years on one car. Its a sealant not a wax. Th AIO cleans before the sealant goes on. I apply at 6 month intervals. It could probably go longer, but 6 months works out for me. You can top this with a wax. Its great for bugs , treesap, bird droppings. I live in a wooded area so i have lots of all these.
Amazon has it in a kit for $49.00.
I've used this combo with good results. The red is a very impressive cleaner. I would give Wolfgang the edge over the Klasse sealant, though.
You would have to order it, and on initial purchase its not cheap, but its goes so far that its actually very economical. I use Klasse. The All in one, then the sealant glaze. You use so little that at bottle will last years on one car. Its a sealant not a wax. Th AIO cleans before the sealant goes on. I apply at 6 month intervals. It could probably go longer, but 6 months works out for me. You can top this with a wax. Its great for bugs , treesap, bird droppings. I live in a wooded area so i have lots of all these.
Amazon has it in a kit for $49.00.
I've used this combo with good results. The red is a very impressive cleaner. I would give Wolfgang the edge over the Klasse sealant, though.
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From every report that I have ever read, I don't think any wax can claim to protect a car finish better than another. Articles rate waxes and polishes on gloss, durability (how long the gloss lasts), ease of use, how well it cleans, compatibility with plastic trim, etc. But never have I seen an article that begins to rate a wax on how well it protects paint.
I know all of us that wax our cars regularly want to believe that we are protecting the finish from harsh conditions. But I don't think you can find any evidence to support that. If I'm wrong, please provide evidence. I'd love to see it.
I know all of us that wax our cars regularly want to believe that we are protecting the finish from harsh conditions. But I don't think you can find any evidence to support that. If I'm wrong, please provide evidence. I'd love to see it.
There's plenty of comparos on durability; especially non-scientific enthusiast ones in detailing forums.
I have usually seen the opposite. Just about every wax/polish "review" looks spectacular immediately after the job on good paint. You'd be hardpressed to be able to identify one wax from another wax when it's freshly done.
It's how they look awhile down the road that most people are looking to find out....
But if sounds like you're going into this with a closed mind, so all this stuff won't be rigorous enough to meet your criteria.
Search any car detailing forum with + durability and you get info on it.
I have usually seen the opposite. Just about every wax/polish "review" looks spectacular immediately after the job on good paint. You'd be hardpressed to be able to identify one wax from another wax when it's freshly done.
It's how they look awhile down the road that most people are looking to find out....
But if sounds like you're going into this with a closed mind, so all this stuff won't be rigorous enough to meet your criteria.
Search any car detailing forum with + durability and you get info on it.
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Originally Posted By: Hollow
To throw out a less than popular opinion:
NuFinish. Doesn't give the deepest gloss or shine, and be careful keeping it off black trim. But bang for the buck, nothing has held up better on my Subaru here in Chicago, and it has spent most of its' life outside: 95F summer, -10 winter, tons of rain, more salt than should ever be legal (oh, the rust...), but NuFinish holds up.
I second Nu Finish. It beads the longest - 1 year and still beads. Not a deep shine like Meguiar's Ultimate Paste, Nxt Tech 2 or Turtle wax Ice paste but after 1 year it's still beading.
To throw out a less than popular opinion:
NuFinish. Doesn't give the deepest gloss or shine, and be careful keeping it off black trim. But bang for the buck, nothing has held up better on my Subaru here in Chicago, and it has spent most of its' life outside: 95F summer, -10 winter, tons of rain, more salt than should ever be legal (oh, the rust...), but NuFinish holds up.
I second Nu Finish. It beads the longest - 1 year and still beads. Not a deep shine like Meguiar's Ultimate Paste, Nxt Tech 2 or Turtle wax Ice paste but after 1 year it's still beading.
I've said this before - if you need more than a few months of protection, the car should be coated.
CQuartz UK, Opti-Coat 2.0, C.A.R. Bullet Proof Coating are all options.
So far, I'd say the easiest one to apply is C.A.R. Bullet Proof. It goes on/off just like a wax. I don't have enough experience it with its durability, though.
However, all of these coatings are going to require some amount of prep work. You will need to first polish the vehicle, followed by removing any remaining polishing oils, then apply the coating.
CQuartz UK, Opti-Coat 2.0, C.A.R. Bullet Proof Coating are all options.
So far, I'd say the easiest one to apply is C.A.R. Bullet Proof. It goes on/off just like a wax. I don't have enough experience it with its durability, though.
However, all of these coatings are going to require some amount of prep work. You will need to first polish the vehicle, followed by removing any remaining polishing oils, then apply the coating.
If you are looking for long lasting protection then Collinite 476. This stuff is made in Utica, NY and they sure know their waxes, it will last about two years (even through central NY winters). This stuff is also great for painted wheels.
http://www.autogeek.net/collinite-super-doublecoat--wax-476.html
http://www.autogeek.net/collinite-super-doublecoat--wax-476.html
+2 NuFinish. It is easy to get off IF you use a very thin coat as directed.
The only wax that will last in direct sunshine is called "Often Wax".
Meaning you should often wax your car. Others have mentioned it, NO WAX REALLY LASTS IN DIRECT SUNSHINE. There I yelled it. I waxed with Collonite a few months ago. Don't get me wrong, it's one of the best as for durability. We are having about the hottest sunniest summer in the PNW I have ever experienced. Blazing sun for days. With some cooling and rain and thundershowers. My wax is not holding up - I can tell by the look and the feel on my skin. But this is nothing new for me and car wax. I always used to wonder since 16 years old in 1974, why the heck do I wax my car and three weeks later, it's like I never did!
That said I am also not ready to recommend some/any of the new age chemistry coatings. I worry long term paint and clear coat with those.
Wax Often.
Meaning you should often wax your car. Others have mentioned it, NO WAX REALLY LASTS IN DIRECT SUNSHINE. There I yelled it. I waxed with Collonite a few months ago. Don't get me wrong, it's one of the best as for durability. We are having about the hottest sunniest summer in the PNW I have ever experienced. Blazing sun for days. With some cooling and rain and thundershowers. My wax is not holding up - I can tell by the look and the feel on my skin. But this is nothing new for me and car wax. I always used to wonder since 16 years old in 1974, why the heck do I wax my car and three weeks later, it's like I never did!
That said I am also not ready to recommend some/any of the new age chemistry coatings. I worry long term paint and clear coat with those.
Wax Often.
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