Waxes, sealants, paint protectors etc

S

supersebbo

Member
Can people recommend some of the paint protection products that they use at home? I'm talking about stuff that can be applied at home by hand without the need for special heat lamps or detailing equipment.

Any good recommendations, or products that should definitely be avoided?

Also - do the cars come with any sort of protection applied from BMW, other than just the base lacquer and maybe a wax from the dealer?

Thanks!
 
If you don't want hassle and fuss then you can exclude the so called "super sealants" as they are a bit annoying sometimes, need the right temps etc...

So that leaves you with 2.5 choices... a wax, or a normal sealant, or the half choice known as a hybrid...

I use both.... I prefer waxing... something nice and relaxing about waxing your car after a busy week.... :D

waxes can be as little as £10 and as expensive as you want them to be... I have Zymol Royale for example (£8k) and some bespoke blends from companies like Mitchell and King and Definitive Wax...

It's all up to you....

for a no fuss, use on bodywork and wheels hybrid that's easy to get on with, and lasts for a good few months, I would look at something called FK1000P...

But everyone into "detailing" will have a different opinion... and there is no right or wrong....well except the "supa guard" that main stealers try to fob off... it's a £30 product that isn't very good IMO, and most of the ones I have seen haven't been put on properly and don't last well enough... so I would avoid them! :wink:

:thumbsup:
 
Great info cueball, thanks. How often do you re-wax to maintain protection? Also, if you get tar etc onto the wax coating - can you just wash the wax coating off taking the tar with it? Will wax come off with normal car cleaner?

I've heard a lot of people raving about CQuartz on other forums, they do a version for the UK that cures at lower temps (lol). Any experience with that?
 
ehhhh... I rewax every couple of weeks... total overkill and no need for it...

If I was "normal" I would say a decent wax should last as least 2 months...and that is with a weekly wash - again a decent one... not a £5 roadside one... they things are dangerous! :rofl:

For tar spots, I use a product called Tardis... this can be applied right on the spot with a cloth to remove the tar... it will effect the wax so I would usually just top up to be on the safe side... but unless the tar spots really annoy me, then I leave them to do once a month during my "big wash" :wink:

I know the CQuartz guys in the UK... it's a good product line, and I think people are getting on better with the UK version (I haven't used that though)... maybe have a look at their hydr02... I'm about to test that on my Jeep... and I already use PERL for the seats etc as this has UV protection....

hope that helps a little....

:thumbsup:
 
I'm a dodo juice fan - have used their waxes for a while and I like the finish. Have tried the werkstatt acrylic range on a new range rover sport and it looked great on but I'm not sure it's been that durable to be honest. Or probably I just prefer applying dodo juice.



Another for steering clear of Supaguard - it's overhyped .
 
the cueball said:
I use both.... I prefer waxing... something nice and relaxing about waxing your car after a busy week....
Click to expand...

Yes! Polished and waxed mine on Friday, even managed to get a bit of a tan from the reflection off the car :lol:

I use DODO Juice wax, nice and easy to use, no need for a polisher etc.

Infact this is my routine....

Wash
Polish with Auto Glym Super Resin Polish
Pre Wax Cleanse with Dodo Juice Lime Prime
Wax with Dodo Juice Hard Candy
Wax 24hrs later or so with Dodo Juice Super Natural

All done by hand.

The only thing I would recommend with the Lime Prime is to use a slightly damp applicator otherwise is seems to be a a lot of effort to buff up in places and can get smeary.
 
That last step... 24 hours later... aren't you concerned about the grit that will have landed on the paint in that time, or did you simply omit the 'wash' stage between the first and last waxes?
 
I just used some Natty's Paste Wax for the first time at the weekend. Was recommended by my detailer for black cars. Have to say I am really impressed with the results. I do have a ceramic coat under with the detailer put, which gave it some good shine, but putting the Natty's on top took it to another level, it was also very easy to apply and to take off.





The rain beaded off very nicely this morning.
 
I have to confess that I'm nothing more than an enthusiastic amateur when it comes to detailing etc and have always used Autglym products including The HD wax which seems to give goods results.

Not sure why but thought I would give BMW's hard wax a go the other weekend and to be fair, for a product that is an easy on, easy off affair, it produced a pretty good shine that is still beading really well 3 weeks down the line.

Whilst its not going to compete with some of the more expensive products I think its pretty impressive for 30 minutes effort
 
Maniac said:
That last step... 24 hours later... aren't you concerned about the grit that will have landed on the paint in that time, or did you simply omit the 'wash' stage between the first and last waxes?
Click to expand...


Car is either in the garage until its waxed again or I just wash it and then wax if I've used it.

I did the first coat on Friday and tonight I did the second coat, but had to wash the car first as I used it all weekend.

But yea your right, there's no way you should wax straight away if you have used the car.
 
Napastar said:
I have to confess that I'm nothing more than an enthusiastic amateur when it comes to detailing etc and have always used Autglym products including The HD wax which seems to give goods results.

Not sure why but thought I would give BMW's hard wax a go the other weekend and to be fair, for a product that is an easy on, easy off affair, it produced a pretty good shine that is still beading really well 3 weeks down the line.

Whilst its not going to compete with some of the more expensive products I think its pretty impressive for 30 minutes effort
Click to expand...

Spot on post. For a quick spruce up the new Super Resin Polish is great for hiding swirls and tiny surface scratches (fills them more than actually remove) and with the HD on top it's hard to beat. Keep the SRP away from the black trim though.

I would be inclined to spend more cash on decent wash products. Snow foam and gun, decent lubricating shampoo and decent wash mitts (two bucket method)NO SPONGES!

Wash the car properly and not only will you do less damage the polish and wax will last longer. Use the softest/best cloths you can afford.
 
Did this last weekend....

1.Washed with Meguirs ultimate
2.Meguirs clay bar (used most of a bottle of ultimate detailer doing it )
3.Surf City Beyond Clay (which after reading the instructions is actually a cleaner polish) worked very well a good shine for min effort , used surprising little....
4.Swisswax carnauba

Very pleased with the results .... Clay baring once a year is usually enough if the car is the regularly cleaned :driving:
 
You guys are going to bankrupt me ...

Reading this thread (plus the warmer weather) gave me such an urge to spend some quality time with the Zed and some cleaning chemicals I rushed out to the auto store and picked up:

* 1 large (50% extra free!) bottle of Autoglym Super Resin Polish.
* 1 bottle of Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection that will go on over the SRP.
* 1 bottle of Autoglym Aqua Wax for quick gloss-up after those casual washes in between the serious washes.
* 2 clay bars, just in case.

... plus numerous other odds and ends that lightened my wallet by a total of about 150 of your British Pound Sterling type thingies. That's cool. I have two cars to do, and I plan to take it slowly and enjoy it.
 
ZeeFore said:
and I plan to take it slowly and enjoy it.
Click to expand...

Exactly! 8)

There's no way I'd call myself a detailer, I just like looking after my cars and its nice to make some use of the sun shine we are having.
 
Bilt-Hamber do a clay bar that doesn't require a detailer for lubrication, you just use water instead. Having never used any other clay bar products I am not qualified to rate it against the competition but it was excellent value and did the job well.
 
Thanks for the thought Mustard Kid.

Most of the clay bars sold around where I live are meant to be used with water. The instructions say to keep the water flowing over the area you're working on, and to just glide the clay lightly over the surface. I've used them on alloys before to remove stubborn brake dust, but never on paintwork, so I will be proceeding with caution.
 
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